Press Release

State-Fish Art Contest Winners Announced

June 01, 2005

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Wildlife Forever are pleased to announce the winners for the 2005 Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest. The winning artwork may be viewed or downloaded from www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/bassblack/largemouth/fishart/2005.cfm.  A distinguished panel of judges selected the Alabama winners:

                  Grades 4-6             Alexis Sylvester                       Mobile, AL

                  Grades 7-9             David Duggan                          Pinson, AL

                  Grades 10-12         Connery Carson                       Birmingham, AL

To enter the Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest, young artists create an illustration of their state fish and a written composition on its behavior, habitat, and efforts to conserve it. Alabama’s state freshwater fish is the largemouth bass, and the saltwater fish is the fighting tarpon. The contest uses art to introduce students to aquatic conservation.

“We would like to commend the winning artists and all the students, parents and educators from Alabama who participated in the 2005 State-Fish Art Contest. Together, we are using art to educate the next generation of aquatic stewards,” said Douglas H. Grann, President  & CEO of Wildlife Forever. “The quality of artwork submitted this year was consistently outstanding. The judges had a very difficult time choosing the top entries.”

Educators nationwide have utilized the full-color State-Fish Art Contest Lesson Plan, an interdisciplinary educational supplement specific to aquatic natural resources that includes extensive background information, a species identification section profiling each state fish, a glossary, and student worksheets. The lesson plan can be downloaded at no cost from the State-Fish Art web site, www.statefishart.com.

All state winners will be invited to the 7^th Annual State-Fish Art Expo at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in June. Winning artwork will be displayed for Mall visitors to admire, and an Award Ceremony will recognize the talented young artists.  Additionally, artists and their families attending the Expo will attend the Minnesota Twins vs. the Tampa Bay Devil Rays game on July 3^rd.

Judges for this year’s contest included Larry Horn of The Art Institutes International Minnesota, Mark LaBarbera of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resoures, Kelly Gohman of the North American Fishing Club, Eric Gislason of Kent Hrbek Outdoors and Kevin Robb of Mall of America.

For information on the Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest, visit www.statefishart.com or call toll-free at 1-877-Fish-Art.

Located in Brooklyn Center, MN, Wildlife Forever is a non-profit multi-species conservation organization dedicated to preserving America’s wildlife heritage. Working at the grassroots level, Wildlife Forever has funded conservation projects in all 50 states, committing millions of dollars to “on the ground” efforts. Wildlife Forever values habitat restoration and enhancement, land acquisition, research, and management of fish and wildlife populations.

Sponsors for the Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest include the Rapala, The Art Institutes International Minnesota, Mall of America, the Minnesota Twins, the North American Fishing Club, and Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Parks, State Lands, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries.

###