James Hautman has established a duck dynasty.
Hautman, an artist from Chaska, a Twin Cities suburb, is the winner of the 2025 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a news release.
But it’s not the first time he has won the contest – or the second or third time, either. It’s his seventh time.
His artwork for this year’s contest, an acrylic painting of three buffleheads, will be made into the 2026-27 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in late June 2026, the news release says.
Every year, the sale of the stamp raises about $40 million to support conservation of wetland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
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“The stamp created using James’ art will serve as a lasting reminder of our rich waterfowl hunting heritage,” Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I encourage everyone, including those who do not hunt, to buy a Duck Stamp, which raises millions of dollars to conserve wildlife and healthy wetland habitats for waterfowl and numerous other species.”
Another Minnesota resident, Thomas E. Miller, of Kilkenny, placed second with an acrylic painting of a cinnamon teal. Jeffrey Mobley, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, placed third.
A total of 290 entries were judged, with 83 making it to the final round. There were five duck species eligible to be painted in this year’s contest: bufflehead, cinnamon teal, gadwall, ruddy duck and wood duck. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an online gallery of the contest entries.
James Hautman, an artist from Chaska, a Twin Cities suburb, is the winner of the 2025 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest with an acrylic painting of three buffleheads.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Minnesota artist James Hautman again wins federal Duck Stamp contest
