H.R. 7642

To reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 719 et seq.)

Statement for the Record
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

House Committee on Natural Resources 
Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries

Legislative Hearing on
H.R. 7642, To Reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994

November 20, 2024

Introduction
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) appreciates the opportunity to submit a statement for the record on H.R. 7642, To Reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994. The Service supports H.R. 7642, which would continue a 30-year legacy of bolstering conservation education programs in the United States.

The mission of the Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service’s efforts to achieve this mission span a wide variety of programs, including the Federal Duck Stamp Office, which works to engage youth across the nation with our mission and recognize the role of young people in wildlife and habitat conservation.

H.R. 7642 would reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp program through 2030. This legislation would make two primary changes to the program, including replacing broader eligibility
language with the specific listing of U.S. territories or possessions eligible to participate. Secondly, H.R. 7642 would increase the authorization of appropriations available to the program.

Background
The Junior Duck Stamp program began in 1989 as an extension of the Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, which is more commonly known as the Federal Duck Stamp. The Junior Duck Stamp program was later formally recognized by Congress through the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994. While the Federal Duck Stamp is required annually for all waterfowl hunters, helping to raise over $1.2 billion to conserve over 6 million acres of habitat since 1934, the Junior Duck Stamp is a non-regulatory program. The Junior Duck Stamp is a pictorial stamp produced by the Service to recognize the conservation efforts of young people and support conservation in the classroom, homeschool, and non-formal education settings. To enhance learning across these educational environments, the Service has a four-part curriculum guide with activities and resources for students to explore science in real-
life applications and learn about natural resource careers. The curriculum meets National Science Education Content Standards, North American Association for Environmental Education Guidelines for Learning, and National Visual Arts Education Content Standards. Each year the program reaches over 300,000 students and families in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories.

Like the Federal Duck Stamp, the Junior Duck Stamp program also administers a popular art contest to choose the winning design that will be placed on each year’s stamp. The art contest was first started in 1993, with designs submitted from eight states. In 2024, the winning design was selected out of 15,000 entries from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, demonstrating the growing participation and interest in the program. The art contest encourages students to use scientific and wildlife management principles to communicate visually about what they’ve learned through the program.

Approximately 4,000 Junior Duck Stamps are sold annually for $5 each, raising $20,000 for conservation education, wildlife art-related activities and programs, student recognition, and program promotion. 100% of the proceeds from stamp sales are distributed to state coordinators, including partners from federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions, who assist with program implementation in each of the participating states. Previously, the program has not received directed appropriations from Congress. The Service uses resource management funds to perform all administrative aspects of the program, which includes all staff salaries, overhead costs such as postage, and covering any shortfalls in the Junior Duck Stamp sale revenues that support program promotion, educational activities, and administration of the state and national-level art contests.

H.R. 7642, To Reauthorize the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act of 1994
H.R. 7642 would continue three decades of the Service’s success in engaging young people and communities in environmental education and waterfowl conservation. The Junior Duck Stamp is one example of the creative ways in which art and other disciplines can be used to reach a broader audience to increase support for conserving species that are valuable to hunters, recreationists, and ecological communities alike. We appreciate the sponsors’ and Subcommittee’s continued support for this valuable program.

The reauthorization of the Junior Duck Stamp program would allow the Service to ensure the opportunities provided by the program continue through 2030. While the technical edits to strike “, and any other territory or possession” in Section 5 of 16 USC 719b-1 are unlikely to impact how the Service implements the legislation, the Service does note that students and educators located on military bases, whether in a state, territory, or abroad, are also eligible to participate. We would welcome the opportunity to work with the Subcommittee to ensure Congress’s intent is for military installations to remain eligible, despite the greater specificity on eligible participants.

Secondly, H.R. 7642 would increase the authorization of appropriations for the program. Due to rising student participation, coupled with increasing costs after the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount required to administer the program has increased. If funded, the increased authorization of appropriations would allow the Service to maintain current levels of program delivery while increasing funding support for state coordinators and local programs. Additionally, the current need for the Service to administer the program using resource management funding results in reduced capacity for other conservation and education activities. The authorization levels reflected in H.R. 7642 would more closely align with the Service’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request for a $500,000 increase to grow participation in the program with an initial focus in states that are home to Urban National Wildlife Refuges.

Conclusion
The Service supports H.R. 7642, which would provide important support to environmental education and efforts to engage young people in waterfowl conservation. We appreciate the sponsors’ and the Subcommittee’s interest in waterfowl hunting, outdoor recreation, and conservation and the continued support for the Junior Duck Stamp program. The Service remains committed to working with federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, businesses, and educators to increase youth engagement with natural resources. We look forward to working with the sponsors and Subcommittee on this legislation.