Acting Refuge Manager Susan Rice announced today that artists are encouraged to submit their work to compete in Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge's 13th Annual International Migratory Bird Celebration logo art contest. The winning artwork will be the official trademark of the celebration which will be held at the refuge on May 12, 2007.

This year's celebration will focus on the Bald Eagle which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are proposing for delisting from the Endangered Species Act. "The recovery of the Bald Eagle, our national symbol, is a great success story," Rice said. Rice noted that when they are delisted from the Endangered Species Act, Bald Eagles will continue to be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Both acts protect Bald Eagles by prohibiting killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs.

According to Rice, the winning art work will become the logo that will appear on all of the event-related materials including: the program, flyers, T-shirts and other items.

Interested artists should submit an original, line-art drawing of a Bald Eagle. The medium must be pen and ink, and artists can submit as many pieces as they wish. The logo art should be clean, as it will be reduced to fit a number of event-related items, including buttons approximately three inches in diameter. There is no age requirement for the contest. The contestants' art will not be mailed back; however, contestants may pick up their artwork at the refuge after the contest has ended. The only exception is the winning submission, which will become the property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To submit a drawing, please send artwork to Sally Bowden at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 62, Chincoteague, Virginia, 23336 by close of business on Monday, March 26, 2007. For more information, call (757) 336-6122.