Wildlife art on display at State Legislature

According to a recent press release by the Nevada department of Wildlife (NDOW), it has loaned 44 duck and trout stamp prints to the Nevada State Legislature, which will be on display to the public during the upcoming Legislative session. The artwork is on display on the second floor of the legislative building and can be viewed during regular business hours.

The prints displayed include the agency's collection of conservation edition prints, and prints donated to NDOW by Nevada Fine Arts, a Reno-based, framing and art supply store.

Doug and Debbie Wolff, co-owners of the art supply and framing store, said that due to the lack of display space, the archived state prints had been stored as a collection in the store's attic. All prints were framed at the store using museum quality archival framing techniques.

A number of Nevada artists have artwork in the collection on display, including Jani Lamoreux, of Ely, who won the 1998 duck stamp contest featuring the hooded merganser, and won the Nevada trout stamp contest in 1991 and 1999. Becky McCall, of Sparks, and Steve Asikainen, and Greg Weyrick, are other Nevada artists who won the trout stamp contest.

The remainder of prints that are not on display at the Legislature, are on display in the conference room at the Nevada Department of Wildlife's headquarters office at 1100 Valley Road, in Reno.

"It seemed a shame to have such beautiful wildlife art stored in a vault, so I called Terry Sullivan at the Legislature and he liked the idea of displaying Nevada trout and duck stamp prints at the Legislature," said Kelly Clark, Conservation Education Chief for NDOW. "They are in a well-lit area, and it's wonderful that the public will be able to view these beautiful prints, which represent the legacy of wildlife conservation in the state."

The Nevada state duck stamp was first signed into law by then Gov. Robert List on April 24, 1979. The stamp is required for anyone 12-64 years of age who hunts waterfowl. The funds raised from the $10 state duck stamp must be used for projects approved by the Wildlife Commission for the protection and propagation of migratory game birds, and for the acquisition, development and preservation of wetlands in Nevada. The state's first duck stamp featured the 1,000 year old canvasback duck "Tule Decoy" unearthed from Lovelock Caves in 1924.

The Nevada trout stamp was initiated with Assembly Bill Number 251, approved on February 25, 1985. The first state trout stamp was issued in the 1986-1987 license year, and featured the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, Nevada's state fish. Funds from the $10 trout stamp are used to protect, raise and manage trout in Nevada.

The trout stamp art contest was discontinued in 2006, so the trout stamp print on display will be the last in its series. Trout stamps are still required by those anglers fishing for, or possessing trout on Nevada's waters. but in 2007 the stamp will be a simplified form.