How Illinois Volunteers Brought Back The Kankakee Mallow

FLORA LICHTMAN: This is Science Friday. I’m Flora Lichtman. We are turning our attention to a brutal, cutthroat competition, complete with infighting on social media, favorites and underdogs, and above all, participants obsessed with their craft.

I would compare it to American Idol. Right? It launches you on a career path that you maybe never thought possible.

It’s always been kind of like a secret society.

I’m really nervous. This has been a part of my life since I was 11. Most kids are into football or baseball. This was my sport. It’s an addiction, but it’s like the best kind of addiction.

FLORA LICHTMAN: The addiction is painting ducks. You may have missed it, but around a week ago, artists convened for the splashiest event in the wildlife art world, the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. Here to explain why artists take this competition so seriously, why this program is one of the most successful conservation efforts in the US, and the question on everybody’s minds, will the person who’s won six times take the crown again? Here to explain is our digital producer, Emma Gomez, who was at the contest this year. Hi, Emma.

EMMA GOMETZ: Hi, Flora.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Let’s start with the basics. What is the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest?

EMMA GOMETZ: Yes. So the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest is the only juried art competition that is run by the federal government. And the idea is artists from across the country have a limited number of huntable waterfowl that they paint as they naturally would appear in the wild. They paint it on a canvas. And that image must be strictly 7 by 10 inches. They mail it to this office of the duck stamp.

They collect all the paintings. And then they get together a group of judges who are experts in wildlife painting, stamp collecting, wildlife conservation, hunting. And those judges vote on the very best painting, or at least their idea of the best painting. And yeah, that painting goes on the Federal Duck Stamp, which is not a postage stamp. I should get that out of the way now. But it is actually a stamp that accompanies a state hunting license. So you get your state license and then you put the federal hunting stamp on top of it. And that has a wonderful picture of a painting that usually hundreds of artists have fought to put on that stamp.

FLORA LICHTMAN: So it’s a very pretty sticker that denotes that you have the federal right to hunt these birds.

EMMA GOMETZ: Yes. Usually, it’s an absolutely gorgeous scene with morning lighting, or dew, or something like that. So really it is a very beautiful sticker.

FLORA LICHTMAN: And then is the goal to raise money? Why does it exist, this contest?

EMMA GOMETZ: Yes. So it came about right after the Dust Bowl when waterfowl populations just completely fell off a cliff because there was just less water, wetlands, places where they can reproduce, find food. And so there was this cartoonist named Jay “Ding” Darling, who was appointed to be part of what is now the Fish and Wildlife Service.

And he came up with this idea to have this duck stamp that you buy to make basically a fiscal contribution to the success of wetlands and migratory birds. So if you’re going to hunt them, then you’re going to pay a small fee to support the lands that they live on, the lands that you hunt on. And then it’s just kind of a win-win for everyone.

So really, it’s just a way for hunters to give back to the wildlife refuges. $0.98 for every dollar you spend on a federal duck stamp goes straight to buying or leasing lands that are important for migratory birds. And that’s where the Fish and Wildlife Service takes care of those lands and helps make sure that those birds stay kicking.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Has the duck stamp raised a meaningful amount of money over the years?

EMMA GOMETZ: Yeah. Absolutely. So they like to say that it’s one of the most successful conservation programs in the United States. And they are definitely not wrong. They’ve raised $1.3 billion for these wildlife refuges. And over 6 million acres of land have been preserved through the program. So that money, it’s independent of Congress or voted upon federal funding. So it really is like people giving back.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Crowdsourced.

EMMA GOMETZ: Yeah. Exactly.

FLORA LICHTMAN: OK. So this contest just happened. You went to Maryland to witness it. Set the scene.

EMMA GOMETZ: It is such a niche community. A lot of them have been doing this for 30 years or something like that. So there were a lot of people who were there that were just old friends chatting to each other, scrutinizing the paintings, but there was definitely this air of like, gulp, like the big judging is coming. My painting, it’s going to be struck down looking at the other competition and being like, who’s my main opponent here?

So there’s an audience of like 100ish people staring at the judges, who are staring at the paintings, and you just watch as, one by one, each painting is decided in or out, in or out of the competition. So we spent four hours in a silent auditorium watching the judges just make those choices.

FLORA LICHTMAN: This feels like a Christopher Guest movie to me. Like this is the one that Christopher Guest needs to make after Best in Show.

EMMA GOMETZ: Yes, definitely. There should be more duck stamp related drama out there, I think.

FLORA LICHTMAN: OK. What about the artists themselves? What’s in it for them?

EMMA GOMETZ: Yeah. So a common misconception is that there’s some big cash prize for this. The only reward is exposure. However, for wildlife artists, this is a really big deal. Somebody described this competition to me as the Grammys of Wildlife Art. Yes, you don’t get money if you win. But it definitely means something about you. And if it’s on a duck stamp, of course, you have stamp collectors. You have enthusiasts who are really into the art. So if you win, you sell merch. You license the image to get it printed. You can spin this win into an entire career. And that is what a lot of artists who are kind of professional duck stamp winners have done. So it definitely turns into money for the artist, if that’s what they are inclined to do.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Let’s talk about the reigning dukes of duck stamp art, the Hautman Brothers. Tell us about them.

EMMA GOMETZ: Yeah, so they’re three brothers, Jim, Joe and Bob. And they’re big into wildlife. They’re all professional painters. And they have been doing this competition for a super long time, 40 years I think.

Each one of them has won the competition multiple times. Jim Hautman has won the most out of the three. And they’re also avid hunters. They totally camouflage themselves to take perfect pictures of these ducks in their wild natural habitat. And then they’re kind of also like an artist colony in the sense that, when they’re painting, they’re like giving each other feedback, and making each other’s paintings better. They’re competing with each other. And they’re just like at the top of this game.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Well, what makes their paintings good?

EMMA GOMETZ: That’s an interesting question. So they’re really, really good at capturing the animals in a way that doesn’t really push it beyond this natural way you would really see them.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Neutral and natural.

EMMA GOMETZ: Yeah. I think so. Neutral, natural.

FLORA LICHTMAN: OK. I feel like online people may be aware of this, but there is also this younger artist who basically went viral for posting about their paintings for the competition. Let’s hear from them.

KIRA SABIN: Hello, duck people. It’s Kira Sabin who paints those ducks. And last year, I did not do well. But we’re going to do better this year and you’re welcome to watch along. This duck stamp season is going to be a big one. And I’m determined to make my name one to fear.

FLORA LICHTMAN: What does the duck stamp art community or the organizers think about social media?

EMMA GOMETZ: Yeah, so there’s definitely some grumblings from the old guard, the more traditional, very offline wildlife artists that this could potentially make the competition unfair, because if Kier’s art becomes so well known before the competition, and a judge recognizes the artwork and votes them in because they love their video content so much, that could make the competition unfair. But I think, overall, artists and the organizers are really happy that their videos are drawing attention to the competition because, ultimately, it’s a conservation project and we want people to be buying those stamps and getting excited.

FLORA LICHTMAN: So I know everyone listening is desperate to who won the competition. Was it the up and comer? Was it the person with the social media following? Was it the reigning champ Hautman brother? So let’s deliver the big reveal.

Ladies and gentlemen, our first place winner is Jim Hautman from Chaska, Minnesota. This is a note. This is the first person who has won this contest seven times. Are you here?

FLORA LICHTMAN: OK, Emma. What was it like in the room because I feel like it was a little grumbly? It was a little muted that response.

EMMA GOMETZ: It’s a lot of anticipation for something that is so expected I think. So the first place being Jim Hautman was very funny, I think, for people who are in the know because it’s like, there he goes again, winning as always. But it was beautiful because he’s great at what he does.

And I think that everybody afterwards was just like, wow, he keeps doing it. He can’t keep getting away with this. But he does because he’s amazing at what he does. And when I ask people afterwards what is the secret sauce, and they all were like, well, he’s an amazing painter. And I don’t know. Maybe we’ll get a new Picasso of duck art to come on and topple him and then that will be the person to beat. But right now, Hautman’s stock is up.

FLORA LICHTMAN: In a Christopher Guest movie, the terrier wins. The underdog prevails. That’s not what happened in Maryland this year. In your opinion, what is the moral of the story?

EMMA GOMETZ: Well, win or lose, it is about conservation. And it’s not just about the artist’s paycheck. Yes, there are quarrels. Is it fair? Why does this guy keep winning? My art is good. No, that art is better. But overall, everybody I met was just so passionate, so kind, so supportive of the community. And it’s not really about the artist’s paycheck. It’s about the duck’s paycheck. And they’re cashing it out.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Thank you, Emma.

EMMA GOMETZ: Thank you, Flora.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Emma Gometz, digital producer for Science Friday. And if you, like me, cannot get enough, you can read Emma’s article for the full story and take a gander at the photos of the winning painting at sciencefriday.com/duckstamp.

FLORA LICHTMAN: One of the rarest plants on the continent is found on this small spit in the middle of the Kankakee River in Illinois, about an hour south of Chicago. The plant is called the Kankakee mallow flower, and for years, plant enthusiasts made trips to the island to document this rare flower. Then, one day, a group pulled up, and what they saw shocked them. Here to tell us the rest of this tale is Claire Keenan-Kurgan of Interlochen Public Radio. She reported the story for the podcast Points North. Claire, welcome to Science Friday.

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: Hi. Thanks for having me.

FLORA LICHTMAN: OK, so finish the story for us. What did that group encounter on this little island?

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: So it’s a group of botanists. They were from the Illinois Native Plant Society, so they were really excited to see this flower, one of Illinois’ most famous native plants. And they get there and they can’t find it. They pull up to this island and it’s totally overgrown with invasive honeysuckle, which just totally crowds out other plants. And some people who were on this trip told me they could barely even get out of their canoes.

FLORA LICHTMAN: That must have been a devastating moment for these botanists.

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: Yeah. And I think they knew that the island might be a bit overgrown. It had been many years since anyone had documented the flower on the island, but the scale of how overgrown it was was really shocking and disappointing to them.

FLORA LICHTMAN: And what were they looking for exactly? What does this flower look like?

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: Yeah, it grows on these 6-foot tall stalks, and it has these little pink– kind of pinkish, purplish flowers, about six on a stalk. It’s very pretty.

FLORA LICHTMAN: OK, so this island is overgrown by this invasive honeysuckle. There’s no sign of this mallow flower. What do they do?

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: So they had to start weeding, first of all. They organized a group of volunteers to go and basically just start chopping down honeysuckle wherever they could. And then they also had to do controlled burns on the island.

Because the Kankakee mallow seed has this special quality where it needs heat to germinate, which used to maybe come from wildfires in the prairies. They’re not 100% sure. But they had to do these rolling bonfires across the island, which were basically like trying to simulate a fast-moving wildfire, where they burned either honeysuckle cuttings or other kindling in a clump and pushed it along to create these long burn scars across the island, trying to unlock the seeds that they were hoping were underneath.

FLORA LICHTMAN: OK, so did it work?

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: It did. It did work.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Yay!

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: Yes. It took them a few years, people realized that it was working because these flowers had been gone for about a decade, they estimated. And so some little plants started popping up along those burn scars, but they debated at the beginning, is this the Kankakee mallow or is this something else? And then, finally, about two years in, they saw the first bloom, which was obviously a very exciting moment, because that’s when they knew this is definitely the mallow.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Yeah, we have a clip of one of the volunteers you talked to, and you can really hear the excitement in his voice.

STEVE BOHAN: I don’t how big this is, 40 feet in, maybe, diameter. And I’ve never seen it so full of mallows. So that’s really good. It’s just gorgeous. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: Yeah, that’s Steve Bohan. He is the lead volunteer these days. So he gets people out there to weed, to cut back honeysuckle. And so these mini fields of Kankakee mallow just keep getting more and more beautiful.

FLORA LICHTMAN: The thing that struck me, listening to your story, is that conservation stories usually are so bleak and they feel too big for any individuals, or even group of individuals to have control over. And here is an example of this local group taking matters into their own garden-gloved hands and finding success.

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: It’s such a great story of what people can do if they choose to try to save something like the Kankakee mallow. Not every town has one of the rarest plants in North America, but lots of places have these unexpected and special pieces of nature. And a lot of the volunteers on Langham Island didn’t actually care too much about the Kankakee mallow being super rare, but they, to me, seem to care more about just being good stewards of nature and trying to preserve native habitats. And that’s something that can happen anywhere.

And they accomplished a lot. It has been over 10 years now since the project started, but they’ve cleared 3/4 of this big island. And sometimes, it’s only a handful of people volunteering there every week, but they’ve made a big impact in this one place.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Claire, thank you so much for taking the time to tell us this story.

CLAIRE KEENAN-KURGAN: Thank you.

FLORA LICHTMAN: Claire Keenan-Kurgan, news reporter at Interlochen Public Radio, and she reported the story for the podcast Points North.

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