April 23, 2025 - By Valerie Fellows - A talented young artist from Texas has taken top honors at the National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest. A northern shoveler by 18-year-old Catheryn Liang, will grace the 2025-2026 Junior Duck Stamp, which raises funds to educate and engage our nation’s youth in wildlife and wetlands conservation and outdoor recreation.
A panel of five judges chose the oil painting, titled "Gliding Through Gold," among 58 best-of-show entries from 50 states, Washington, D.C. and one U.S. Territory. Liang placed second in the 2022 National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest with a pair of Canada geese.
Students in kindergarten through grade twelve participated in their annual state Junior Duck Stamp Program through their school, home, art studio or after-school group, or from a refuge, park or nature center. After learning about wetlands, waterfowl, and wildlife conservation, they express their learning through a drawing or painting of a duck, goose, or swan.
Students submit their entries to their State contest for local recognition. Each State Best of Show is then forwarded to the National Competition.
The top piece of art in the nation – chosen at this annual competition – is featured on the Junior Duck Stamp, sales of which support educational programs and activities that nurture our next generation of conservationists.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program began in 1989 as an extension of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly known as the Duck Stamp. It’s a dynamic art- and science-based curriculum that teaches wetland and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school. The program encourages students to explore their natural world, invites them to investigate biology and wildlife management principles and challenges them to express and share what they have learned with others.
Each year, tens of thousands of students have the opportunity to learn principles of wildlife conservation, connect with the outdoors, sparking a lifetime love of hunting, fishing, birdwatching and other wildlife-related recreation activities. Using science, art and language, the Junior Duck Stamp Program has been shown to kindle an initial spark, creating conservation stewards of tomorrow.
The first national Junior Duck Stamp art contest was held in 1993. Approximately 3,000 Junior Duck Stamps are sold annually for $5 each.
The second place winner in the 2025 National Contest is Sophie Xu, 16, of Maryland, with "Inner Peace," an oil painting of harlequin ducks.
Third place went to 17-year-old Dan-Nhi Nguyen from Oregon, who entered "Nesting Tree," an acrylic painting of a common merganser female tending to her nest.
In addition to the art contest, a Junior Duck Stamp Conservation Message Contest encourages students to express in words the spirit of what they have learned through classroom discussions, research, and planning for their Junior Duck Stamp Contest entries. This year’s winner is Kaylen Kasel, 16, of North Dakota with the message: “Nature needs heroes; be one.”
This year, over 13,500 young artists submitted entries to the Junior Duck Stamp contests around the nation. View the gallery of the 2025 Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest entries.
The Junior Duck Stamp Contest winner receives $1,000. The second place winner receives $500; the third-place winner receives $200; the Conservation Message winner receives $200.
You can buy Junior Duck Stamps online through the U.S. Postal Service and Amplex and at some national wildlife refuges. Proceeds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamps are used for recognition of individuals who submit winning designs in state or national competitions and to further activities related to the conservation education goals of the program.
The First Day of Issue for the 2025-2026 Duck Stamp and Junior Duck Stamp is planned for June 27, 2025 in Stuttgart, Arkansas.
Source: USFWS
