The 2026 Louisiana Duck Stamp picture by Tim Taylor.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has announced the rules, timeframe and subject species for the 2027 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp, or Louisiana Duck Stamp, competition. In its 39th year, the Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp will feature the wood duck.
“This is the fourth time the wood duck has been the focus of Louisiana’s duck stamp art selection,” said LDWF Waterfowl Program Manager Jason Olszak. “It was first featured in 1991 when there was not an art competition. In 2008, it was the duck species depicted when it accompanied a golden retriever as a part of the “Retrievers Save Game” series. A few years later in 2011, when species submissions were open to artists’ choice, it was again selected as the top artwork.’’
The 2027 contest will be restricted to designs with the wood duck(s) as the focal species. Artists are reminded of the requirement for associated habitat representative of Louisiana wetlands.
“The primary objective of this program is to provide revenue to create, enhance and maintain habitat for waterfowl and associated wetland wildlife,” Olszak said, “so a habitat component, representative of Louisiana, is required in each entry and is one of the five judging criteria.”
To enter, an artist must submit an original, unpublished work of art, along with a signed and notarized artist's agreement and a $50 entry fee. Entries should be addressed to:
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Attn: Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp Program
2000 Quail Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Entries will be accepted from Oct. 19-Oct. 26, 2026, with the contest to be held in the Joe L. Herring (Louisiana) Room at the LDWF Headquarters building beginning at 10 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2026. The public is invited.
Click here to fill out the 2027 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp competition artist agreement and see the full list of rules.
The wood duck is classified in the waterfowl subfamily Anatinae. It is in the genus Aix, which it shares with only one other species globally, the mandarin duck of eastern Asia. Wood ducks are common in the eastern United States and Canada, especially so in geographies that contain extensive flooded bottomland forest, common along major river courses and deltas.
Wood ducks occur in every parish in Louisiana but they are most abundant in the Mississippi River alluvial valley and inland swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin. This woodland habitat preference is due to their obligatory cavity nesting strategy. Not only does this necessitate intermittently flooded forest, but a subset of trees within the forest must accommodate a cavity, either natural or excavated by another species, large enough for a hen wood duck to occupy and create a nest.
Most locally breeding wood ducks are year-round residents, and contribute substantially to annual harvest, but Louisiana also provides wintering habitat for migratory wood ducks from the north. From 2014-2023, Louisiana’s average annual harvest of wood ducks was 66,000 firmly making it the fourth highest harvested species in the state behind gadwall, blue-winged teal and green-winged teal.
The 2026 contest was restricted to designs featuring the Ross’s goose. Tim Taylor, of Watertown, South Dakota won last year’s competition with his submission of a single Ross’s goose in an emblematic Louisiana setting, among grubbed wetland grasses accented by a single stalk of rice. The Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp bearing that design will go on sale June 1, 2026. Click here to purchase stamps or send a request form that can found by clicking here.
The Louisiana Legislature authorized the Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp program in 1988. The program was created to generate revenue for conservation and enhancement of waterfowl populations and habitats in Louisiana. During the last 38 years, more than $17 million has been generated for wetland conservation with approximately $6 million spent on land acquisition. In addition, revenue has supported wetland development projects on Wildlife Management Areas and the Louisiana Waterfowl Project, a cooperative endeavor between LDWF, Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide habitat for waterfowl and other wetland birds on private lands.
Judging for the art competition will be based on the following criteria:
- Accuracy of form, size, proportion, color and posture.
- Level and accuracy of detail in all aspects of the waterfowl.
- Appropriateness, accuracy and detail in depiction of the habitat.
- Attractiveness and creativity in composition, subject, background and lighting.
- Suitability for reproduction as stamps and prints.
A panel of judges with experience in waterfowl biology and/or artistic method will select the winning design. The competition is open to all artists 18 years of age and older. Employees of LDWF and members of their immediate families are ineligible.
For more information, contact Jason Olszak at 337-735-8687 or jolszak@wlf.la.gov.