|
|
| |
| Sat, Nov. 22, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Larry Chandler's painting of "Big Woods Mallards" is on the 2005-2006 Arkansas migratory waterfowl hunting stamp. Wildlife art leaves positive stamp on Arkansas outdoors Saturday, Sep 10, 2005 By Joe Mosby Nearly all of us enjoy wildlife art, even though most of us can't draw, paint or sketch worth a darn. Quietly, year after year for a quarter century now, wildlife art has made an impact on the Arkansas outdoors. Through the state duck stamp program and the companion turkey stamp program, multiple millions of dollars have been generated, earmarked for wildlife habitat. The duck stamp, or formally the migratory waterfowl hunting stamp, is required for duck and goose hunters in Arkansas. The turkey stamp is not. It's a voluntary endeavor. An addition this year - and details will be announced in a few days - is the conservation stamp with its artwork of an ivory-billed woodpecker. It will be voluntary, as well, with the money going to acquire habitat in the east Arkansas ivory-billed country. The key factor in these wildlife art programs in Arkansas is the print - the colorful decorations that people buy, have framed and hang on walls of living rooms, dens, hunting lodges and offices all over the state. Some Arkansans have all 25 duck stamp prints that have been produced. This year makes the 25th. The program in itself is remarkable. The late Dr. Rex Hancock handled it the first year, 1981, and Larry Grisham of Jonesboro has handled it since. It is done on a contractual basis with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. This year, the three artworks are closely tied to the East Arkansas bottomland hardwood country. That's where the ivory-billed woodpecker was found, but to most Arkansas outdoors people, it is also the bedrock of wildlife in this state. It's duck country like nobody else has, and it's deer country and turkey country. Arkansas' duck stamp program leads the nation, a ringing success in comparison to modest or less than favorable results from duck stamp print programs in other stamps. Other states get good revenue from duck stamps, but they don't receive the added money boost from wildlife prints like Arkansas. Texas' program was a hit for a number of years, but has tapped off some, and the big neighbor to the southwest doesn't make as much as Arkansas on its print program, according to Grisham. Two related elements are behind the success of Arkansas' duck stamp program, which has produced more than $9 million for wetland habitat. One, Hancock, then Grisham, insisted on using prominent artists with top national and international reputations for the artwork on a contract arrangement. Many other states use local artists or have contests to select the art each year. Two, the publisher, Grisham since 1982, runs the show. Game and Fish Commission officials stay out of the picture. And it works. The duck stamp art this year is by Larry Chandler, a well-known Alabama artist who has a long list of credits, including a previous Arkansas duck stamp. Chandler's 2005 scene is "Big Woods Mallards," with a black Lab watching a mallard drake and hen on the wing. Chandler also is providing the ivory-billed woodpecker stamp's art. This project has Cornell University and the Nature Conservancy as partners, along with the Game and Fish Commission. Unlike most ivory-billed art that has erupted lately, Chandler's painting has the bird in flight. Thomas Brooks furnished the turkey stamp artwork, the third time he's done an Arkansas turkey stamp. Brooks' painting is of Cook's Lake Wild Turkeys. Cook's Lake is a conservation education facility near the White River east of Stuttgart. The Arkansas turkey program is in its 21st year. Anyone who hunts ducks and geese in Arkansas has a bit of this artwork in his or her pocket. It's required. Another requirement is that the stamp be signed in ink across its face. That's all right. It's still a small bit of art to appreciate. If you are interested in one of the prints, call Grisham's Art toll-free at 1-800-232-2409. -------- Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com. |
