HURON — The 2023-24 Jr. Duck Stamp competition received more than 240 entries from students all over South Dakota, with judging taking place at the Earl Nordby 4-H Exhibit Hall in Huron.

The entries were evaluated on various criteria, including originality, anatomical accuracy, artistic composition, and suitability for reproduction on a 1½” by 2” stamp. For South Dakota, there were around 100 awards: One Best of Show, 12 first places, 12 second places, 12 third places, and approximately 60 honorable mentions. 

This year’s Best in Show came from an artist familiar to the competition - 17-year-old Madison Grimm of Wallace. This is the fourth year Madison has submitted an entry into the contest as she is a three-time winner for both the S.D. Junior Duck Stamp Best of Show and the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest.

Previous entries have included a Canvasback (age 6), a Wood Duck in 2020 and a Green-winged Teal two years ago.

Her entry this year is an acrylic painting, titled “Evening’s Enchantment,” a captivating depiction of a Northern Pintail gracefully perched above cattails in a serene wetland, which the judges selected as this year’s Best in Show winner.

The Jr. Duck Stamp program is a wildlife art contest put on by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for students from kindergarten to twelfth grade that allows students to show what they have learned about waterfowl and wetland conservation by drawing or painting a native North American duck, goose, or swan.

The contest began in 1989 as an extension of the Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, commonly known as the Federal Duck Stamp. Each year, students from all over the nation are encouraged to use scientific principles and wildlife observations to communicate visually with different native waterfowl species through art.

Out of thousands of entries, one best-of-show winner is chosen from each state to compete at the national contest.

From there, a national best-of-show artwork winner is chosen to provide the design for the Junior Duck Stamp, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sells for $5 each year, with all profits going back towards conservation education.

Heartland area first, second or third-place winners:
1st Place - Group 1 (Grade K-3)
Alexis Oslund – Wolsey (Judge’s Choice)

3rd Place - Group 2 (Grade 4-6)
Danielle Kruger – De Smet

Heartland area Honorable Mention winners:
Group 1 (K – Grade 3)