A South Dakota teenager has won the Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.
Madison Grimm, 15, will represent the 2022-2023 Junior Duck Stamp with her green-winged teal, according to a news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“I’m excited to announce the top winners of this unique contest,” service director Martha Williams said.
The Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest is part of a related educational program, according to FWS. Youths studying the habitat and anatomy of waterfowl are encouraged to display the new information they’ve learned through drawings, paintings or sketches of eligible North American waterfowl species.
Best of Show from each competition is submitted to the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest, where a panel of judges will select one image to become the next Junior Duck Stamp.
The Junior Duck Stamp Program encourages students to explore their natural world through science, art and writing, share their gift with others and nurture a lifelong love of nature and outdoors.
According to the release, the contest raises funds to educate the nation's youth in wildlife and wetland conservation and in outdoor recreation.
“Because students express themselves best in different formats, the conservation message contest gives them an opportunity to use the written word to express their knowledge,” the release states. “Students from across the United States submit their artwork to their state, territory or district competition.”
Grimm’s first win in this content came when she was only 6 in the 2013-14 competition, according to Madison Grimm Art.
According to the Argus-Leader, Grimm's first win was controversial because there were questions about how she could have created the painting at her young age. Argus-Leader reports that after an investigation was completed, her win and award were restored.
