The VDGIF will begin selling its 2008 Virginia State Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamp July 1, 2008. The stamp is mandatory for persons age 16 and older to hunt migratory waterfowl, unless license exempt. The stamp is valid July 1 through June 30, 2009.
The artwork for the stamp, painted by Spike Knuth, depicts a pair of gadwalls in flight over a marsh familiar to many waterfowlers as the VDGIF Hog Island Wildlife Management Area on the James River in Surry County. This is the fifth time since 1978 that Spike's paintings have been selected for state waterfowl conservation stamps. See the information below for more on Spike's outstanding career as a naturalists, artist and writer. The artwork was selected from seven other Virginia artists' entries by a panel of six judges that had representation from the major waterfowl conservation organizations and staff from VDGIF. The judges were: Richard Hudson, Chairman, Virginia Ducks Unlimited; Todd Cocker, President, Virginia Waterfowlers Association; Frank Wade, President, Virginia Waterfowl USA and VDGIF staff members, Gary Costanza, Emily Pels, and Bob Duncan.
Ducks Unlimited, under contract with the Department, retains the license for the artwork and provides the service in fulfillment of the hunter stamps and the collector stamps. Ducks Unlimited also handles the sale of the prints. Last year a total of 21,000 Virginia State Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamps were sold generating $210,000. The funds from sales of the stamp will be used to contract with appropriate nonprofit organizations for cooperative waterfowl habitat improvement projects; to protect, preserve, restore, enhance and develop waterfowl habitat in Virginia through the Department's waterfowl program; and to offset the administrative costs associated with production, issuance of, and accounting for the stamp. The annual Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamp can be purchased for a fee of $10.00 (resident or non-resident) at license agents or clerks that sell Virginia hunting licenses or from the Department's Web site.