Submissions are due soon for the 2021 Wyoming Game and Fish Department Collectible Conservation Stamp art contest. The subject of the 37th annual contest is the osprey, and the winning image will be featured on the 2021 collectible conservation stamp. Entries must be received by the Game and Fish Headquarters in Cheyenne by 5 p.m. on March 2, 2020. The rulebook is online now for artists. 

“The osprey is a unique and challenging subject for artists,” said Margaret James, who organizes the contest for Game and Fish. “Judges will focus closely on the anatomical accuracy of the artist’s depiction and ecological correctness of any habitat. Judges will ensure any habitat illustrated is habitat found in Wyoming.”

The osprey is one of the largest birds-of-prey in Wyoming. Their backs and long, narrow wings are dark brown and their bellies and chests are white. They have a white head and crown with a dark horizontal eye patch. Osprey are typically found near lakes and rivers as their diet is comprised mostly of fish. Their habitat is closely associated to lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, Englemann spruce-subalpine fir and cottonwood-riparian trees. Osprey nest atop trees, poles or cliffs near their water source. In Wyoming, they can be found nesting over much of the state, primarily near lakes and rivers. In the winter they migrate to Central and South America.

For the contest, judges will evaluate entries for accuracy based on body coloration (including eye and leg), color pattern, plumage and body shape (including beak) as well as suitable habitat and correct prey type, if depicted.  

Entries determined to be biologically inaccurate will be ineligible to win a monetary award and may only be eligible to win an Honorable Mention. All artwork must be the artist's original creation. Any artwork recognized as a copy will be ineligible for a prize.

An open house and awards ceremony to announce the winners will take place April 10 at the Cheyenne Headquarters.