Submitted by
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri - Southeast Missouri is rated among some of the best duck hunting paradises in the country. The Dexter area has many great private waterfowl hunting areas, as well as one public area that is known for it's ducks that being the Otter Slough Conservation Area.
Each year hunters are responsible for license and permits. For more information regarding permits, go to http://mdc.mo.gov/permits. Many who do not duck hunt are not aware that there is another key item hunters are be required to purchase in the state of Missouri and that is the Federal Duck Stamp.
Robert Steiner designed the 2013-2014 Federal Duck Stamp. His acrylic painting of a duck known as the Common Goldeneye beat 191 other artists’ works in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s annual Duck Stamp Contest held last year. This is the only art competition mandated by the federal government.
As a result, the 80th Federal Duck Stamp will be sold to about a two million people. Anyone can purchase a Duck Stamp. You don't have to be a hunter, but perhaps a collector or even a lover of great wildlife artistry. When you purchase the $15 Duck Stamp, 98% of the money goes directly toward wildlife habitat conservation.
The Duck Stamp was formally introduced in a ceremony at the Bass Pro Shop in Ashland, Virginia last week and all duck hunters who are required to put the stamp on their hunting licenses, account for most of the sales. Stamp collectors, conservationists and fans of wildlife art also purchase the Duck Stamp and help continue the the protection of wildlife habitats.
Robert Steiner receives no prize money, only a pane of stamps signed by the Secretary of Interior. But he retains the rights to sell prints of his work.
The contest originally grew out of the 1934 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act, aiming at reversing the drastic shrinkage of the nation’s wetlands. To date, the program has raised more than $850 million to help acquire six million acres of wildlife habitat.
If you would like to know more about the Federal Duck Stamp or to purchase one, go to http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/.
To purchase a Duck Stamp locally just stop by American Outdoors located at 2104 N. Outer Road in Dexter. Or call owner, Mark Jacques at 624-5421. He’ll be glad to help you with your duck hunting supplies.
