John Wilson

     John Wilson was born in Sisseton, South Dakota in 1939. In 1980 he won the competition for the 1981 Federal Duck Stamp with his acrylic painting of a pair of Ruddy Ducks. He also won the South Dakota Pheasant Restoration Stamp competition in 1979 and 1981 and the South Dakota Habitate Stamp competition in 1986. I have the honor of knowing John personally, a fine artist and a true gentleman.

Flora and Fauna of South Dakota

     The American Bison, the Ring-Neck Pheasant, and the Pasque Flower have already been mentioned in these pages as representing South Dakota. In 2000 the variety of plants and animals living on the prairie of South Dakota were pictured on the Great Plains Prairie sheet. Plants: Purple Prairie Clover, Prairie Cornflower, Prairie Wild Rose, Little Bluestem, Wild Alfalfa, Buffalo Grass; Insects: Painted Lady Butterfly, Two-striped Grasshopper, Dung Beetle, Harvester Ant, and Camel Cricket; Small animals: Plains Pocket Gopher, Badger, Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Prairie Rattlesnake, Birds: Canada Goose, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Swainson's Hawk, Owls, and Western Meadowlarks; and Large Animals: Pronghorn, and Bison, pictured on the sheet, together with foxes, coyotes, mule deer, whitetail deer,  bighorn sheep, and many others live in South Dakota.