About the Contest

The Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest was inspired by a bright fifth-grader from Minnesota named Kate Di Leo and her father Sal in March of 1996. While doing a research project on Minnesota's State Fish, they discovered that very little information existed on all the different State Fish in the U.S. They decided an event should be created that educated kids, teachers, and parents on aquatics resources, conservation, and each state's State Fish. Thus, the Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest was born.

For more information on the history of the State-Fish Art Contest, read

the Special Report from the Summer, 2004 issue ofWildlife Forever's newsletter, Cry of the Wild.

About Wildlife Forever

Wildlife Forever is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to preserving America's wildlife heritage. Since 1987, Wildlife Forever has contributed millions of dollars to conservation projects in all 50 states. Highlights include: 

> Acquisition of 32,340 acres of land for public recreation 

> Restoration of 67,858 acres of wetlands 

> Research work with a variety of species including elk, grizzly bear, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, moose, goshawks, and coaster brook trout. 

> 132,420 trees planted in America's national forests and wildlife refuges 

> Hatching and stocking of 30,371,109 fish in public waters

Bald eagles, bass, bats, bighorn sheep, billfish, black bears, black-tailed deer, bluebirds, bluegill, bobcats, bobwhite quail, bream, brook trout, brown bears, brown trout, bull trout, Canada geese, catfish, chinook (king) salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, crappie, cutthroat trout, deer, diving ducks, elk, Forster's terns, Great Gray Owls, grizzly bears, grouse, Indiana bats, largemouth bass, mallard ducks, migratory birds, monarch butterflies, moose, mountain lion, mule deer, muskellunge, northern goshawk, northern pike, otters, panther, peregrine falcons, pheasants, prairie chicken, quail, ruffed grouse, salmon, sandhill cranes, sauger, smallmouth bass, songbirds, Sonoran pronghorn, timberwolf, trout, trumpeter swans, tule elk, upland birds, walleye, waterfowl, white seabass, white-tailed deer, wild brown trout, wild turkey, wipers, wood ducks, and woodcocks

Learn more by visiting Wildlife Forever on the web. 

The Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest Basics

Open to children living in the U.S. in grades 4-12 

Deadline for entry is March 31 each year  

Children must draw an official state fish in its natural habitat and write a one-page composition about that fish. 

Every contestant will receive a certificate of participation 

Three winners in each grade group (4-6th, 7-9th, 10-12th ) selected from each state for a total of 150 winners plus three Best of Show awards 

Winning artwork will be showcased at the State-Fish Art Expo and on the web at www.statefishart.com.

States without an official state fish have a "preferred native" fish

Visit the Rules and Regulations, Prizes, and State-Fish Art Expo areas for details

Aquatics Resource Education

As a classroom activity, this contest represents the culmination of the Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Project, an innovative conservation/environmental education initiative aimed at increasing awareness of and respect for aquatic resources. Interdisciplinary in nature, the project will use art as a springboard into the wonderful world of wetlands. A comprehensive lesson plan and a complete species identification guide will be provided to educators in grades four through twelve. Children will use their newly acquired knowledge to create a learning portfolio, which includes a "state-fish" illustration and a composition or theme paper about the animal, its habitat, or efforts specific to conserve it. Learn more by visiting the Educators' Corner.

Babe Winkelman
Honorary Chairman of the State-Fish Art Contest

Babe Winkelman began fishing at the age of six along Stony Brook creek in central Minnesota. He fished in tournaments beginning in 1970. Often called "America's most versatile fisherman," Babe has fished competitively for walleyes, bass, muskies, crappies and other species.

Babe first appeared on television in 1980, and his enthusiasm and knowledge have made him North America's most widely recognized and popular outdoorsman. In 1988, Babe as inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. In 1992 he became the first outdoors figure to be inducted into the Sports Legends Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio. Babe can be currently seen on the national television programs, Good Fishing and Outdoor Secrets.

Visit Babe Winkelman Productions web site at http://www.winkelman.com for fishing tips, recipes, and more information about Babe Winkelman.

Joseph Tomelleri
The Official State-Fish Art Contest Artist

Since 1986, Joseph Tomelleri has created more than 750 illustrations of fish. He portrays the fish faithfully with accurate life colors, scale, and fin-ray counts, and a full spread of the fins in a manner that is impossible to photograph. Joe Tomelleri is an avid angler, spending many hours with a fly rod in pursuit of carp. He lives in Kansas City, Kansas.

Visit The State Fish Art Museum