ESD Art Contest Semifinalists Announced!

The 2010 Endangered Species Day Art Contest semifinalists have been chosen! This nationwide contest is organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Coalition, Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Ogden Museum of Southern Art/University of New Orleans. It gives students, grades K-12, an opportunity to learn about and promote the conservation of endangered species through art.

From the thousands of students who created and submitted artwork of an endangered species, ten students were selected in four age categories for their artistic merit portraying an endangered species.


The artwork can be viewed here. The semifinalists are:

Grades K-2
Piping Plover, Madeline Green, Kenmore, NY

California Spotted Owl, Hailey Alvord, Upland, CA

Bald Eagle, Sophia Rojas Tucson, AZ

Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Matt Sherman, Jonesboro, AR

Sandhill Crane, Reid Pierce, Bay St Louis, MS

Wolf, Joshua Mildon El Paso, TX

Clemmys Guttata Spotted Turtle, Tracey Du, Fremont, CA

Florida Key Deer, Kendra Dwyer, San Francisco, CA

Gray Wolf, Ella Radnothy Tucson, AZ

Polar Bear & Beluga Whale, Carter Schroeder Anchorage, AK

Grades 3-6
LA Brown Pelican, Audrey Arrasmith, Port Allen, LA

Green Sea Turtle, Sarah Flotlin, Olympia, WA

San Joaquin Kit Fox, Bethany Fullerton, San Diego, CA

Sonoran Tiger Salamander, Tino Watson, Tucson, AZ
San Francisco Garter Snake, Rowena Bush, Murrieta, GA
Giant Kangaroo Rat, Briana Marler, Columbia, SC
Catalina Fox, Christina Woo, Hacienda Heights, CA
Giant Kangaroo Rat, Mia Baum, Los Angleles, CA
Black-footed Ferret, Hannah Murphy, Tucson, AZ
Borderland Jaguar, Josie Maxwell, Tucson, AZ

Grades 7-9
Mexican Wolf, Elexus Hargis, Austin, TX
Gray Wolf, Caitlin Miller, Port Allen, LA
West Indian Manatee, Maggi Mosco, Cleveland, MS
Moose, Olive Dwan, Petoskey, MI
Swallow-tailed Kite, Sunnia Ye, Portland, OR
Mountain Yellow Legged Frog, Lorena Carrera, Los Angeles, CA
Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Sidney Rich, Quitman, LA
Brown Pelican, Samson Batiste, Jennings, LA
San Joaquin Kit Fox, Laura Allen, El Cajon, CA
Peninsular Bighorn Sheep & California Condor, Jiwon Lee, Glendora, CA

Grades 10-12
Polar Bear, Alessandra Acierno, Charleston, SC
Mexican Gray Wolf, Taylor Ayotte, Narragansett, RI
Florida Panther, Allison Backus, Lakeview, AR
Northern Spotted Owl, Samantha Arnold, San Diego, CA
Riparian Brush Rabbit, Kaori Joel, San Diego, CA
Fairy Shrimp, Katherine Shimei, San Diego, CA
Gray Wolf & Kirtland’s Warbler, Nicole Holder, Elkhorn, WI
Humpback Whale, Ethan W. Richtsmeier, Laguna Niguel, CA
Island Fox, Courtney Hedgecock, San Diego, CA
Northern Spotted Owl & Island Fox, Sarah Favreau, Carlsbad, CA

The semifinalists were chosen by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art at the University of New Orleans from May 13 to June 4, 2010. The artwork will be displayed in an exhibit at the museum. Semifinalists will also receive a certificate and a wildlife book from Sylvan Dell Publishing.

The winners in each age category will be chosen by a prestigious panel of artists, photographers, actors, scientists and conservationists including Jeff Corwin, host of Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin Experience; and Jack Hanna, host of Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild. Age category winners will receive an award and a screening of the movie Furry Vengeance at their school. One national winner will be honored at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Congressional Reception in Washington, DC on May, 4, 2010 and have their name engraved on a special trophy designed and created by a gifted young artist, Meredith Graf of New Orleans, LA.

Started in 2006 by the United States Congress, Endangered Species Day is a celebration of our nation’s imperiled plants and wildlife and wild places. The art contest is an integral part of the fifth annual national Endangered Species Day, May 21, 2010.

For more information about the art contest, winners or judges, please visit www.EndangeredSpeciesDay.org