Adam Grimm, a native of Elyria, Ohio and current South Dakota resident, won his third Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest on Friday, Sept. 20. His acrylic painting of a pair of spectacled eiders, large ducks known for their brightly colored bills and white spectacle-like eye patches, won from a group of 239 entries.
Grimm first won the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest in 1999 at 21 years of age, and is still the youngest person to ever win the prestigious competition. He was a student at the Columbus College of Art and Design at the time.
Previously, Grimm has also won the Ohio Wetland Habitat Stamp Contest three times (2005, 2014, and 2021). His artwork is found on the cover of Ohio's 2023-24 hunting and trapping regulations (A Forgotten Day to Remember) and the 2003-04 hunting and trapping regulations (Bountiful Heritage).
In addition, Grimm donated some of the artwork featured on the Ohio sportsmen’s vehicle license plate series. For his contributions to conservation, wetland was restored and dedicated in his honor by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife in Erie County.
The Federal Duck Stamp Contest started in 1934, and those hunting waterfowl in the United States have been required to purchase the current Federal Duck Stamp ever since. Proceeds from the sale of the stamp are used to acquire, restore and protect wetland habitat. For more information on the history of the federal duck stamp, click here.