Previous Winners Take the Blue Ribbon in Both Competitions
A renowned Delaware wildlife artist and now 11-time Delaware stamp contest winner who added another blue ribbon to his resume and a second-time winner of a state stamp competition have claimed top honors in Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp and Trout Stamp art contests, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. Richard Clifton’s painting of a Canada goose will be featured on the 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp. A painting of a brook trout by Dennis Arp of Edison, Neb., was awarded first place and will grace the 2025 Delaware Trout Stamp.
The annual stamp art competition drew 16 entries for the 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and the same number of entries for the 2025 Trout Stamp. The Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that submitted artwork must include the motif of a Canada goose in an agricultural landscape. Trout Stamp artwork entries could depict a rainbow, brown or brook trout.
As the 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp winner, Clifton receives a $2,500 cash prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of his first-place entry. Residing on an historic family farm in the Milford area near Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Clifton is an avid hunter and self-taught wildlife artist who works in acrylics, with waterfowl among his favorite subjects. He has twice won the federal duck stamp competition, in 2007/08 and 2021/22, that is considered the epitome for wildlife artists. He has painted more than 50 winning duck/waterfowl stamps, including his 11th blue ribbon for Delaware Waterfowl stamp art, and his work has appeared on magazine covers, a commemorative beer stein, and has been engraved on shotguns for Ducks Unlimited, which named him 2018 International Artist of the Year.
As the 2025 Delaware Trout Stamp winner, Arp receives a $250 cash prize and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp artwork. Arp previously won the state’s trout stamp contest in 2021 and came in second place last year. A self-taught artist with a lifelong love of the outdoors and wildlife, Arp painted part time while raising a family but now devotes himself fully to producing wildlife art.
Other winners were:
- 2025/26 Waterfowl Stamp – Second place: Caleb Metrich, Lake Tomahawk, Wis.; Third place: Jonathan Milo, Monroe, Conn. Honorable mentions: Matt Doyle, Everett, Pa.; Ryan Kniss, Johnstown, Pa.; and Marion Orchard, Severn, Md.
- 2025 Trout Stamp – Second place: Eric Jablonowski, Suwanee, Ga., brown trout; Third place: George Bradford, Georgetown, Del., rainbow trout. Honorable mentions: Tory Farris, Foxcroft, Maine, two entries, a brook trout and a brown trout; and Charles Worst, Fort Wayne, Ind., brook trout.
Artwork in each contest was judged by a different set of five judges, with each judge separately evaluating and scoring the respective contest artwork in person.
The 2025/26 Waterfowl Stamp judges were: Conway Bristow, Delaware Ducks Unlimited representative; Drew Clendaniel, stamp collector; Lori Crawford, Delaware State University Professor of Art; Elio Battista, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish member, and Gary “Adam” Macy, wildlife biologist.
The 2025 Trout Stamp judges were: Heather Swyka, local artist; Ed O’Donnell, Trout Unlimited member; Sam Palermo, avid angler; Garry Grier, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish member; and Mark Zimmermann, DNREC Fisheries Section environmental scientist and Delaware trout program leader.
The winning 2025/26 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will be available for purchase July 1, 2025, and the winning 2025 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available for purchase Jan. 1, 2025.
The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, started the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving wetland habitats vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $3.6 million has been raised. A Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and hunting license are required for most waterfowl hunters.
Delaware began requiring trout stamps for anglers in the 1950s, and a Delaware Trout Stamp and a general fishing license are required for most anglers to fish in designated trout waters during certain seasons. Funds from the sale of the stamps are used to purchase trout to stock in select streams in northern New Castle County and in two downstate ponds.
More information about Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp contest can be found at de.gov/waterfowlstamp. More information about the Trout Stamp contest can be found at de.gov/troutstamp.
DNREC