2007 Waterfowl Stamp and Print Portrait Available July 2

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 19, 2007 ) — “Wood Ducks at Roanoke River Lowgrounds,” the 2007 Waterfowl Stamp and Print, will be available from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on July 2.

Signed and numbered regular edition prints with mint stamps will sell for $145. The collector’s mint stamp sells for $10.

This year’s print, based on an acrylic portrait by Gerald Putt of Boiling Springs, Pa., portrays a trio of brilliantly colored wood ducks clustered by a fallen tree in the swampy lowground.

“Wood Ducks at Roanoke River Lowgrounds” marks the fourth consecutive year that Putt, a nationally renowned wildlife artist, has created North Carolina’s duck stamp. For 2008, the agency, along with the East Carolina Wildfowl Guild, will open the portrait and stamp to a nationwide competition .

The purchase of waterfowl hunting stamps and prints is an important source of revenue for the Waterfowl Fund, which supports waterfowl conservation and restoration projects in North Carolina. Some of the projects include:

• Management improvements and structural repairs at Suggs Mill Pond and Butner-Falls of Neuse waterfowl impoundments;
• Habitat enhancement and restoration of breeding grounds in the Canadian Maritime provinces;
• Assistance with submerged aquatic vegetation mapping in North Carolina’s coastal waters.

To purchase a print and mint stamp or for additional information, call toll-free (866) 945-3746, or visit the Commission’s N.C. Wild Store .