A 10-time Delaware stamp contest winner who added another blue ribbon to his run of artistic success and a first-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.
Well-known in Delaware for his seven winning state trout stamp entries, as well as for three previous waterfowl stamp competition wins, Jeffrey Klinefelter took Best in Show again for his painting of a redhead duck which will grace the 2024/25 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp. A painting of a rainbow trout by Trevor Dumaw of Colorado Springs, Co was awarded first place and will be featured on the 2024 Delaware Trout Stamp.
The annual stamp art competition drew 14 entries for the 2024/25 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and 12 entries for the 2024 Trout Stamp. The Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that submitted artwork must include the motif of a redhead duck on open water. Trout Stamp artwork entries could depict a rainbow, brown or brook trout.
As the 2024 Delaware Trout Stamp winner, Dumaw receives a $250 cash prize and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp artwork. Dumaw credits his passion for wildlife art to countless hunting and fishing trips in upstate New York, where he was born and raised. At age 20, Dumaw put his career on hold to enlist in the U.S. States Army as a military policeman. He was deployed to the Balkans before completing an overseas tour in South Korea, where he was assigned to the United Nations Joint Security Battalion, and a deployment to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dumaw finished his military career as a police investigator before being honorably discharged. As an artist, his preferred subject is the wildlife he’s surrounded by at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains.
Other Delaware trout stamp winners included Dennis Arp of Edison, NE in second place (brook trout), and Tory Farris of Dover-Foxcroft, ME in third (brown trout). Honorable mentions were Tiffany Beczkalo of Dallas, GA (rainbow trout), Walter Wincek of Elyria, OH (brook trout) and Matt Doyle from Everett, PA (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 2024 Trout Stamp judges were Noel Kuhrt, stamp collector; Ed O’Donnell, Trout Unlimited member; Sam Palermo, avid angler; Linda Parkowski, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish member; and Mike Steiger, fisheries biologist. The winning 2024 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available for purchase as of January 1, 2024.
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 Trout Stamp contest can be found at de.gov/troutstamp.
