For Release: October 20, 1999

Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402
Stephanie Powell 222-4700 ext. 4418

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management has announced that licensed hunters can obtain this year's mandatory state duck stamps, at no charge, at license vendors throughout Rhode Island. All waterfowl hunters 16 years of age or older are required to carry a state duck stamp, signed with the hunter's name across its face, at all times while hunting waterfowl.

This year's stamp is the first of a four-year duck and lighthouse series, and has been created by artist and author Keith Mueller, a native New Englander. The stamp depicts Common Eider at the Point Judith Lighthouse in Narragansett, which has been a beacon to sailors since 1810. Common Eider breed from central Labrador to southern Maine, and winter from Newfoundland south to Massachusetts. Varying numbers of wintering populations are found along the Rhode Island coast, depending on the supply of mussels and sea urchins available for feeding. Small breeding populations of Common Eider can be found on the Elizabeth Island chain off the Massachusetts coast, and DEM Fish and Wildlife staff believe it is only a matter of time before breeding birds are found in Rhode Island coastal ponds.

DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife is offering a number of special edition duck stamps for sale, including stamps hand-signed by the artist or by Governor Lincoln Almond. Stamps range in price from $7.50 for a mint stamp to $225 for a sheet of 30 mint stamps. Prints are available from the artist. All proceeds from duck stamps, and a small portion of proceeds from prints, are used for waterfowl research and management and habitat acquisition, such as the recent restoration of the Galilee Salt Marsh. For more information or a duck stamp order form, or to be referred to the artist, please call DEM at 222-3075 or 789-0281.