(a) Selection. Five voting judges and one alternate judge will be selected annually by the Secretary of the Interior. Current employees of the Fish and Wildlife Service and their relatives are ineligible to serve as judges for the contest. The judges will be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses.

(b) Qualifications. The panel of five judges will comprise individuals who have one or more of the following prerequisites: Recognized art credentials, knowledge of the anatomical makeup and the natural habitat of the eligible waterfowl species, an understanding of the wildlife sporting world in which the Duck Stamp is used, an awareness of philately and the role the Duck Stamp plays in stamp collecting, demonstrated support for the conservation of waterfowl and wetlands through active involvement in the conservation community, and an understanding and appreciation of waterfowl hunting heritage and the ability to recognize waterfowl hunting accessories.

(c) Disqualification. Any contestant who contacts a judge prior to or during the contest will automatically be disqualified from the current year's contest and barred from entering the three contests that come after the current year's contest.

[56 FR 22816, May 16, 1991, as amended at 71 FR 39015, July 11, 2006; 83 FR 12279, Mar. 21, 2018; 85 FR 27317, May 8, 2020]