The Federal First Day of Sale Event for the 1999 duck stamp will be held on July 1, 1999, in Washington, D.C. The first day of sale ceremonies begin at 9 AM in at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Bob Lesino, Chief of the Duck Stamp Program has put together an interesting program, so pencil the date on your calendar. The Artist's Hometown Event will be quite a spectacle this year. Scheduled for Friday, July 9, 1999, at the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club, Prior Lake, Minn., the club is a short drive from Minneapolis. The Minnesota Waterfowl Association and Jim and Dorothy Hautman are sponsoring the charity event to raise money for Minnesota wetland restoration and a waterfowl production project. The venue is a highly publicized shooting and sporting benefit, where participants will shoot sporting clays in competition. Other shooting activities will be available such as skeet, trap, and a duck tower. The sharpest shooters will win various trips and prizes. They have also planned a volunteer breakfast, a pig roast lunch, a silent auction, and an artwork display featuring Jim, Joe and Robert Hautman's work. The Federal Duck Stamp Office will be on hand selling stamps, programs, and specialty-cancelled items. An as yet unnamed celebrity will shoot the first clay. The event promises to be very different and novel, while also supporting the reason for stamps in the first place, waterfowl conservation. The tentative price range for tickets is from $10 for children, to $25, $50, $250, and $500 for the Presidential Pass. Each level of ticket has a different assortment of privileges. For example, the $250 pass includes a duck stamp, a 1999 Collector Edition Print, lunch, reserved seating, 10 raffle tickets, entry into the shooting event, and membership in the Minnesota Waterfowl Association. If you need more information, write to the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, 5701 Normandale Road, Minneapolis, MN 55424; phone 612-922-2832. The species and dates for the 1999 Federal Duck Stamp Contest have been set. Contest dates are November 3 & 4, 1999, at the Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. Eligible species for this year’s contest will be the mottled duck and black scoter. Contest regulations are available from the Federal Duck Stamp Office, 202-208-4354; or locate them on the Internet at: http://www.fws.gov/r9dso. For those attending the July 1 event, the Federal Duck Stamp Office has blocked rooms at the Phoenix Park Hotel (1-800-824-5419) for $115 single and $135 double a night. The Phoenix Park is within walking distance of the National Postal Museum. The Duck Stamp Office also blocked rooms for the Artists Hometown Event at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Hilton (1-800-637-7453) at $95 a night. A block of rooms have been arranged for the November contest at the State Plaza Hotel (1-800-424-2859), conveniently located within walking distance of the Department of the Interior. Refer to room block #4770 for the duck stamp contest, reservation deadline is September 29. Mention the block number to receive the government per diem rate.