freshare.net

Mingo Swamp Photo Contest Enters Second Year

By Guest Contributor

First posted on 02-24-2007

Youth and Adult Divisions Invite Amateur and Professional Nature Photographers to Share Their Visions of One of Missouri's Rarest Ecosystems

PUXICO, Mo. - If you missed the opportunity to enter the Mingo Swamp Flora and Fauna Photography Contest last year, now is your second chance.

The 21,676-acre Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Wayne and Stoddard counties is the only substantial remnant of the cypress-tupelo swamp that once covered hundreds of thousands of acres in southeastern Missouri. Drainage and logging converted most of the low-lying Bootheel region into rich agricultural land in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mingo NWR and the Mingo Swamp Friends started the photo contest to promote public awareness of the NWR, its plants and animals. Drury Southwest , Inc., is the contest’s sole financial sponsor.

The contest has two divisions, one for photographers 18 and younger and one for those 19 and older. Amateur photographers compete in five categories - Mingo landscapes, native wildlife, native plants, artistically enhanced and people in nature. All entries from professional photographers are judged as one category, regardless of subject.

Entries in the landscape, people in nature and artistically enhanced categories must have been taken on Mingo NWR. Those in the people in nature category should show activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking, photography or wildlife observation. Entries in the native wildlife and plant categories are accepted if they represent natural habitats on Mingo NWR, even if they were not taken there.

Only black-and-white and color prints are accepted, no slides or electronic media. Entry fees are $5 for up to three entries and $5 for each additional entry. First place winners in each category receive $25, second place $15 and third place $5. The prize for the photo selected as best of show is $100. The runner-up receives a $50 prize.

The entry deadline is 4 p.m. July 20.  For entry forms and additional contest information, call (573) 222-3589. For information about Mingo NWR, visit http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Mingo/.