The Huron-Manistee National Forests (HMNFs) received 970 entries for the 2025 Kirtland's Warbler Young Artists' Contest from kindergarteners through eighth graders. Three Grand Rapids, Michigan students swept the 2025 contest with their entries. The winners will receive a prize pack and a free copy of the 2025-2026 Kirtland's Warbler Young Artists' Calendar.

• In First Place, to be featured on the cover, a watercolor of a warbler on a limb by seventh grader Lilah;
• In Second Place, to be featured on the back cover of the calendar, is Evan, a sixth grader, with his pointillism impression of a singing Kirtland's Warbler on a limb; and
• In Third Place, to be featured on the inside of the front cover of the calendar, is Tru, with a colored-pencil image of a Kirtland's Warbler flying over a jack pine stand being consumed by a fire, demonstrating the bird's dependency on fire-regenerated ecosystems.

Entries to the Kirtland's Warbler Young Artists' Contest must be original and demonstrate an understanding of the Kirtland's Warbler or any other creatures that live in northern Michigan's unique jack pine forests or its winter habitat site in The Bahamas. The Kirtland's Warbler spent more than 50 years on the endangered species list before being delisted in 2019, thanks to conservation efforts that include the ongoing stewardship of the jack pine forests of Michigan, where the species breeds.

The calendar showcases the top 18 entries on its October 2025 – December 2025 pages (15 months), a profile of the Kirtland's Warbler's history, and thumbnails of artwork from the top artists who received honorable mentions. Additional top winners will be featured on the monthly pages, including:

• Clementine, third grade, Grayling, Michigan
• Esdon, kindergarten, Herron, Michigan
• Eva, eighth grade, Deep Creek, Eleuthera, The Bahamas
• Hannah, eighth grade, Alpena, Michigan
• Ireland, fifth grade, Grayling, Michigan
• Jackson, second grade, Orillia, Ontario, Canada
• Jasper, second grade, Orillia, Ontario, Canada
• Lareyne, fourth grade, Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, The Bahamas
• Lily, first grade, Orillia, Ontario, Canada
• Lucy, fourth grade, Lincoln, Michigan
• Morgan, third grade, Grayling, Michigan
• Noel, fifth grade, Hillman, Michigan
• Noelle, kindergarten, Orillia, Ontario, Canada
• Vandermeer, third grade, Grayling, Michigan
• Willow, first grade, Grayling, Michigan

Initiated in 2003, the annual contest is a collaboration of American Bird Conservancy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Huron-Manistee National Forests, The Bahamas National Trust, Student Conservation Association, and Birks Natural Heritage Consultants, Inc. in Canada. Previous years have seen involvement from Marguerite Gahagan Nature Preserve, Huron Pines AmeriCorps, Kirtland's Warbler Audubon Society, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, AuSable Valley Audubon Society, and Kirtland's Warbler Alliance. Open for submissions in January and closing in early March, the contest's intent is to teach children about the rare Kirtland's Warbler and its habitat. Proceeds of the calendar support the USDA Forest Service Kirtland's Warbler educational efforts. Calendars should be available in early June at the Mio Ranger's Stations and Lumberman's Monument in Michigan.

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