2025 Spectacled Eiders federal duck stamp to be issued June 27 in Stuttgart, Arkansas

Jun 24, 2025, 9 AM

By Charles Snee

South Dakota artist Adam Grimm’s oil painting of male and female spectacled eiders with a mountain scene in the background is featured on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s federal duck stamp that will be issued June 27 in Stuttgart, Ark.

A first-day ceremony for the federal stamp and the 2025 junior duck stamp is planned to take place at the Mack’s Prairie Wings located at 2335 U.S. Route 63 in Stuttgart.

The ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. Fish and Wildlife officials created a website for the event and will publish updates there.

Of 239 entries submitted to the 2024 federal duck stamp art contest, 15 entries (including Grimm’s) made it to the final round of judging.

This is Grimm’s third win in the national annual contest. His painting of a mottled duck appears on the 2000 duck stamp (Scott RW67), and his painting of male and female canvasback ducks graces the duck stamp issued in 2014 (RW81).

Eligible species for this year’s duck stamp contest were the brant, northern shoveler, greater scaup, spectacled eider and hooded merganser.

Rebekah Knight of Missouri placed second with an oil painting of a hooded merganser drake, and Abraham Hunter of Tennessee took third place with an oil painting of a pair of hooded mergansers.

Serving as judges for the 2024 contest were Jennifer Scully, artist and conservation partner for the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission; Tom Melius, retired Service Migratory Bird Program assistant director; John Gregory Mensik, retired biologist, land manager and co-author of Waterfowl of the World; Norma Opgrand, former Service Duck Stamp Office chief; and Anne von Stuelpnagel, director of exhibitions at the Bruce Museum. Margie Crisp, artist and author of Duck Walk: A Birder’s Improbable Path to Hunting as Conservation, served as the alternate judge.

Montana artist Chuck Black’s oil painting of a northern pintail floating on the water in a marshland is featured on the 2024 $25 duck stamp (RW91).

Minnesota artist Joseph Hautman’s acrylic painting of a trio of tundra swans in flight over a wetland is shown on the 2023 $25 duck stamp (Scott RW90).

The Hautman brothers — James, Joseph and Robert — have collectively won the duck stamp art contest a record 15 times. James notched the most recent win; his painting of a pair of redheads floating on water appears on the 2022 $25 duck stamp (Scott RW89).

Robert’s painting of a pair of mallards in flight appears on the 2018 $25 duck stamp (Scott RW85). The 2017 $25 duck stamp features James’ painting of Canada geese (RW84).

Joseph last came out on top in the 2015 contest, when his painting of two trumpeter swans was selected to appear on the 2016 $25 duck stamp (Scott RW83).

The U.S. migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp, commonly known as the federal duck stamp, is issued annually by the Fish and Wildlife Service to serve as a permit for waterfowl hunting, and as a collectible for fans of wildlife art and conservation efforts.

Although not valid for postage, duck stamps are sold by the U.S. Postal Service at post offices (in single-stamp panes only) and through its Stamp Fulfillment Services division in Kansas City, Mo. They are also available at selected national wildlife refuges and sporting goods retailers and from Amplex Corp.

According to production details published in the June 12 issue of the Postal Bulletin, the new 2025 stamps are offset printed by Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. in two self-adhesive formats: a pane of one and a pane of 20. The stamps also include an invisible fluorescent ink applied using flexography.

“U.S. Department of the Interior,” “Spectacled Eider” and “Void after June 30, 2026” appear across the bottom of the stamp.

“Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp” is printed across the top of the stamp.

According to the Postal Service, the pane of 20 will only be distributed by Stamp Fulfillment Services in Kansas City, Mo., and by consignment via Amplex Corporation in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The new junior duck stamp also will go on sale June 27. The $5 stamp illustrates a northern shoveler painted by 18-year-old artist Catheryn Liang of Texas.

Funds raised from sales of the junior duck stamp are used to educate youngsters about wildlife and wetlands conservation and outdoor recreation.

Both the federal duck stamp and the junior duck stamp are listed under Hunting Permit Stamps in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers. The federal duck stamps are also listed in Vol. 1A of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue.

A total of 98 percent of the sale of every federal duck stamp is used to conserve wildlife habitat through the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

Since the duck stamp program was established in 1934, sales of the federal duck stamp to hunters, bird-watchers, outdoor enthusiasts and collectors have raised more than $1.2 billion to conserve more than 6 million acres of habitat for birds and other wildlife and provide countless opportunities for hunting and other wildlife-oriented recreation on public lands in the United States.

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