The National Rifle Association is now accepting entries for its 2008 Youth Wildlife Art Contest. The contest, the 21st in the annual series, is open to students in grades 1 through 12, including home-schooled children. NRA membership is not required. The deadline to enter is October 3, 2008. Winners in each grade category will receive $500. Second-place finishers will receive $250, and the third-place award will be $100.

Entries may be submitted in one of four categories, based on school grade. Category I includes grades 1 through 3. Category II is for grades 4 through 6. Category III covers grades 7 through 9, and Category IV includes grades 10 through 12. Entries may portray any North American game bird or animal that may be legally hunted or trapped. Endangered species and non-game animals, such as eagles and snakes, are not eligible subjects. Contestants may call (703) 267-1595 to confirm whether a certain animal or bird is eligible.

Contestants are limited to one entry each. Entries may be in a medium of the artist's choice (oil, water color, pastels, pencil, pen and ink, charcoal, etc.). Submissions should be on good quality bond or drawing paper, or illustration board. Preferred sizes for the image are 8½"x11" or 11"x14"; matting is optional. Entries need not be framed. Composition must be original. Photographs may be used for reference, but artwork determined to have been traced or copied from an existing photograph or work of art will be disqualified.

Entries must arrive at NRA by October 3, 2008, and must be accompanied by a brief statement signed by the student's parent, guardian, or teacher attesting to the originality of the work and verifying the artist's grade level as of October 3, 2008. In addition, the artist's name, age, home address, phone number, and grade must be printed on the back of the entry or on a note attached to the back of the entry. An optional submission form is available here. Entries will be judged on effort, creativity, anatomical accuracy, and composition.

Entries should be sent to: NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030. Entries will be returned only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. NRA assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged artwork, and reserves all rights to reproduce entries. The immediate families of NRA staff members are not eligible to enter. Questions regarding the contest may be directed to (703) 267-1595 or artcontest@nrahq.org.

The contest is supported through a generous gift from Jim Broering, President of AcuSport Corporation, for the creation of the James and Kathleen Broering Endowment.

In 2007, 837 students entered the NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest. We are pleased to announce that the following students have won:

CATEGORY I (Grades 1-3)
	First Place: Will Mims Asheville, North Carolina
	Second Place: Linfei Li Palatine, Illinois
	Third Place: Elliott Sipple Burlington, Kentucky
CATEGORY II (Grades 4-6)
	First Place: Ethan Robinson Black Mountain, North Carolina
	Second Place: Dawson Mims Asheville, North Carolina
	Third Place: Sarah Cross Buckingham, Virginia
CATEGORY III (Grades 7-9)
	First Place: Eric Kang Livingston, New Jersey
	Second Place: Rujia Zha Ann Arbor, Michigan
	Third Place: Leanna Cross Buckingham, Virginia
CATEGORY IV (Grades 10-12)
	First Place: Monica Burtley Grants Pass, Oregon
	Second Place: John Powell Tulsa, Oklahoma
	Third Place: Rachel J. Hamel Oconto Falls, Wisconsin
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Mikala Greenlee, Hope, IN Corey Gunter, Natchitoches, LA Soo Yeon Kim, Potomac, MD Molly Knutz, McMinnville, OR Marshal Landrum, St. Paul, MN Liesl Lawrence, Georgetown, TX Crystal Liu, West Linn, OR William Liu, Davis, CA Megan Mahon, Shrewsbury, NJ Gabrielle Marshall, Candler, NC Sandra Mathis, Union KY Hosanna Myers, Whitewater, KS Karen Spitzer, Roanoke, VA Seth Spradlin, Westfield, IN Marian Ting, Roseville, CA Austin White, Germantown, TN Xiaochen Yuan, Highland Park, NJ Hye Jeong Yun, Oakton, VA Yu Zhang, Palo Alto, CA

Our best wishes go to all of this year's entrants, and we hope you'll enter the contest again next year! The deadline for the next Youth Wildlife Art Contest will be October 3.