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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 163 / Thursday, August 26, 2021 / Rules and Regulations vi Any other information requested by the issuing official.
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FR Doc. 202117532 Filed 82521; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 311005P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 91
Docket No. FWSHQMB20210048;
FXMB 12330900000//212//FF09M13000
RIN 1018BF62

Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Duck Stamp Contest Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Service, are revising the regulations governing the annual Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Contest also known as the Federal Duck Stamp Contest Contest. We are removing the previously specified permanent theme and the mandatory inclusion of an appropriate hunting element within all Contest entries and revising the qualifications of the judging panel to reflect this change beginning with the 2022 Contest.
DATES: This rule is effective September 27, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You can view the 2022
Contest Artist Brochure after October 1, 2021, by one of the following methods:
Accessing the Duck Stamp Contest & Event Information page at: https
www.fws.gov/birds/get-involved/duckstamp/duck-stamp-contest-and-eventinformation.php.
Requesting a copy by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jerome Ford, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, 202 2081050.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

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Background History of the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Duck Stamp Program On March 16, 1934, Congress passed and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, which was later amended to
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become the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act 16 U.S.C. 718
718j, 48 Stat. 452. Popularly known as the Duck Stamp Act, the law requires all waterfowl hunters who have attained the age of 16 to buy an annual stamp.
Funds generated from Duck Stamp sales are used to protect waterfowl and wetland habitat that is incorporated into the National Wildlife Refuge System from willing sellers and those interested in obtaining conservation easements.
Over 1.5 million stamps are sold each year, and, as of 2021, Federal Duck Stamps have generated more than $1.1
billion for the conservation of more than 6 million acres of waterfowl habitat in the United States. In addition to waterfowl, numerous other birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians benefit from habitat protected by the Duck Stamp revenues, including an estimated one-third of the nations endangered and threatened species. The healthy wetlands protected by Duck Stamp funding sequester carbon and contribute to addressing the impacts of climate change, including absorbing flood waters and storm surge. These wetlands purify water supplies and provide economic support to local communities as they attract outdoor recreationists from many different backgrounds.
History of the Duck Stamp Contest The first Federal Duck Stamp was designed at President Roosevelts request by Jay N. Ding Darling, a nationally known political cartoonist for the Des Moines Register and a hunter and wildlife conservationist. In subsequent years, noted wildlife artists were asked to submit designs for the stamp. The first Contest was opened in 1949 to any U.S. artist who wished to enter. Since then, the Contest has attracted large numbers of entrants, and it remains the only art competition of its kind sponsored by the U.S. Government.
The Secretary of the Interior appoints a panel of judges who have expertise in the area of art, waterfowl, or philately to select each years winning design.
Winners receive no compensation for the work, except a pane of Duck Stamps, based on their winning design, signed by the Secretary of the Interior.
However, winners maintain the copyright to their artwork and may sell prints of their designs, which are sought by hunters, conservationists, and art collectors.
Waterfowl hunters have been the greatest contributors to the program, as they are required to purchase Duck Stamps in order to hunt waterfowl.
Many individuals not engaged in hunting also purchase Duck Stamps to
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contribute to conservation or for the stamps artistic value.
The 2020 Final Rule and 2021 Contest On May 8, 2020, the Service published a final rule 85 FR 27313
revising the regulations in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR at part 91 50 CFR part 91 governing the annual Federal Duck Stamp Contest.
The Contest regulations made permanent the theme celebrating our waterfowl hunting heritage for all future Contests. The regulations required the inclusion of a waterfowl hunting-related scene or accessory in every entry but did not specify what accessories to include. Requirements for the judging panel specified that all judges would have one or more prerequisite qualifications, which could include the ability to recognize waterfowl hunting accessories. An image of a drake lesser scaup with a lanyard and duck calls was chosen as the winner of the 2020 Contest, and this image appears on the 20212022
Federal Duck Stamp.
The 2021 Contest species and regulations, with the permanent theme and mandatory inclusion of waterfowl hunting-related accessories or scenes in all entries, were widely publicized and in effect for the 2021 Contest. The entry period for artwork closed on August 15, 2021. The Service reminded artists that their entries for the 2021 Contest must adhere to the theme, entry qualifications, and judging requirements published in the regulations. Regardless of the effective date of this rule see DATES, above, the 2021 Contest species and regulations apply to the 2021
Contest.
Proposed Rule To Amend the Duck Stamp Regulations On June 23, 2021, we published a proposed rule 86 FR 32878 to remove the permanent celebrating our waterfowl hunting heritage theme, which required the mandatory inclusion of an appropriate hunting-related element in all Contest entries, and accordingly to revise the qualifications for selection as a judge and the scoring criteria for the Contest, beginning with the 2022 Contest. The Service proposed the changes to the regulations to allow artists more freedom of expression when designing their Contest entries.
Summary of Public Comments and Responses We accepted public comments on our June 23, 2021, proposed rule for 30
days, ending July 23, 2021, and we invited comments on the proposed changes from artists, stamp collectors,
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