DENVER – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this month announced that Rohit Pandit, a 17-year-old student from Fort Collins, took top honors once again by winning the “Best of Show” in Colorado at the 2020 Junior Duck Stamp Contest. Rohit’s artwork was selected from a large number of amazing entries from across the state. His colored pencil rendition of two male wood ducks in flight, entitled “Paired Perspective,” will represent Colorado and be entered at the National Junior Duck Stamp Competition in Washington, D.C. in mid-April.
Entries from Colorado were judged by a panel of waterfowl enthusiasts and professional wildlife artists. Recognition for all participants and prizes for the top 25 drawings in each of four age groups (K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12) are awarded each year.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is an educational program designed for all public, private, and homeschooled students in grades K-12 to learn more about waterfowl and habitat conservation. Incorporating scientific and wildlife management principles into visual arts, the curriculum creates an active awareness of the critical need to protect, preserve and enhance America’s wetland habitats for waterfowl, migratory songbirds and the hundreds of other plants and wildlife that depend on wetlands for their survival.
The Junior Duck Stamp program began in 1989 as an extension of the Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, commonly known as the Duck Stamp. The first national Junior Duck Stamp art contest was held in 1993. The stamp encourages students to explore their natural world, participate in outdoor recreation activities, and learn wildlife management principles. Some 3,000 Junior Duck Stamps are sold annually for $5 each.
Proceeds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamps are invested into the program to support conservation education and provide recognition for contest participants and winners. The stamp has become a much sought after collector’s item, similar to Federal Duck Stamps.
First Place winners in all (age) categories:
- Best of Show – Rohit Pandit (17), Ft. Collins
- 1st – Connor Dalrymple (18) Colorado Springs
- 1st – Sarah Greene (16), Golden
- 1st – Kenzie Gonzalez (14), Colorado Springs
- 1st – Ava Berger (13), Boulder
- 1st – Yosha Gautam (13), Boulder
- 1st – Hope Kayl (11), Colorado Springs
- 1st – Ella Clark (10), Monument
- 1st – Kye Prairie (9), Boulder
- 1st – Ava Howe (9), Colorado Springs
- 1st – Joel Kayl (9), Colorado Springs
- 1st – Ruby Ricks (9), Colorado Springs
Second Place winners in all (age) categories:
- 2nd – Marne Jordan (17), Arvada
- 2nd – Jaeyeong Park (16), Aurora
- 2nd – Johana Boyer (15), Arvada
- 2nd – Ezra Kayl (15), Colorado Springs
- 2nd – Avanti Gautam (13), Boulder
- 2nd – Oscar Cytrynowicz (12), Ft. Collins
- 2nd – Lillian Young (12), Boulder
- 2nd – Maren Wyss (11), Colorado Springs
- 2nd – Sophia Siegal (10), Boulder
- 2nd – Yana Kaikova (9), Thornton
- 2nd – Yuna Lim (8), Aurora
- 2nd – Eric Anderson (6), Colorado Springs
Third Place winners in all (age) categories:
- 3rd – Sadie Hine (16), Arvada
- 3rd – Noah Kayl (16), Colorado Springs
- 3rd – Hannah Aplanalp (15), Golden
- 3rd – Allison Chollar (14), Colorado Springs
- 3rd – Caleb Kayl (13), Colorado Springs
- 3rd – Jade Liu (12), Boulder
- 3rd – Emily Parker (12), Westminster
- 3rd – Sofia Toohey (11), Boulder
- 3rd – Dasha Solovyeva (9), Thornton
- 3rd – Alexandra Zasypkina (9), Thornton
- 3rd – Lucy Hobbs (8), Arvada
- 3rd – Layna Barrett (6), Boulder
Honorable Mention winners in all (age) categories:
- HM – Navaeh Oswalt (17), Arvada
- HM – Amanda Opp (17), Lakewood
- HM – Rachel Buschy (16), Arvada
- HM – Jasmine Choi (16), Aurora
- HM – Rebekah Branham (16), Golden
- HM – Cosette Saul (16) Golden
- HM – Audrey Singer (16), Golden
- HM – Elizabeth Ohara (15), Arvada
- HM – Jazmin Santos (15), Golden
- HM – Valerie Fritz (14), Broomfield
- HM – Image Holcombe (14), Arvada
- HM – Aaron Lange (14), Monument
- HM – June Lee (14), Aurora
- HM – Reane Smith (14), Colorado Springs
- HM – Aditi Malvankar (13), Ft. Collins
- HM – Jackson Duchesne (13), Colorado Springs
- HM – Benjamin Graf (13), Colorado Springs
- HM – Ian Koldenhoven (13), Colorado Springs
- HM – Grier Tocci (13), Colorado Springs
- HM – Luis Vigil (13), Westminster
- HM – Gabriel Fritz (12), Broomfield
- HM – Gavin Netzel (12), Peyton
- HM – Simon Helin (12), Ft. Collins
- HM – Sophia Imark (12), Ft. Collins
- HM – Ian Johnson (12), Ft. Collins
- HM – Luke Pottle (12), Ft. Collins
- HM – Finn Mutuc (12), Boulder
- HM – Kallan Simmerson (12), Boulder
- HM – Ryan Boese (12), Colorado Springs
- HM – Rhoda Choi (11), Aurora
- HM – Lydia Crummett (11), Ft. Collins
- HM – Taneya Kantipudi (11), Ft. Collins
- HM – Connor Myers (11), Ft. Collins
- HM – Caitlyn Moore (11), Colorado Springs
- HM – Joshua Clayton (11), Colorado Springs
- HM – Ivy Cabot (11), Westminster
- HM – Mikayla Crump (11), Westminster
- HM – Abigail Garid-Stephensen (11), Westminster
- HM – Mischa Grimes (11), Westminster
- HM – Larissa Jamison (11), Westminster
- HM – Nico Mitchell (11), Westminster
- HM – Rowan Quinn (11), Westminster
- HM – Lucy Reilly (11), Westminster
- HM – Elyanna Strakh (11), Westminster
- HM – Serenity Yakes (11), Westminster
- HM – Sofia Duplikhin (10), Thornton
- HM – Emily Khomyakov (10), Thornton
- HM – Daria Loosli (10), Colorado Springs
- HM – Ethan Young (10), Boulder
- HM – Kathryn Lynch (10), Colorado Springs
- HM - Ellen Krivtsova (9) Thornton
- HM - Adam Lynch (9) Colorado Springs
- HM – Kaylee Park (8), Aurora
- HM – Scarlett Bauer (8), Arvada
- HM – John Chambers (8), Arvada
- HM – Mika Davis (8), Arvada
- HM – Lily Iannone (8), Arvada
- HM – Grayson McDaniel (8), Arvada
- HM – Finley Norberg (8), Arvada
- HM – Gabe Novac (8), Arvada
- HM – Abrey Sieracki (8), Arvada
- HM – Kaylee Vestad (8), Arvada
- HM – Abigail Khomyakov (8), Thornton
- HM – Aryana DeSantiago (7), Boulder
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen in the West, visit our website, or connect with us through any of these social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Instagram.
