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VMN Volunteers Invited to Submit Mammal Artwork for 2023 Recertification Pin

The 2023 recertification pin, earned by VMN volunteers who complete at least 40 hours of approved volunteer service and 8 hours of approved continuing education during 2022, will be an image of a Virginia mammal. Which mammal it will be and the artwork for the pin will be determined through an artwork contest. VMN volunteers are invited to submit their own artwork according to the guidelines below. The winning artwork will be selected by a team of judges that will include the VMN program staff and wildlife experts from our sponsoring agencies.

Contest Guidelines

  • The artwork must be original artwork created and submitted by a currently enrolled VMN volunteer.
  • Please limit submissions to one submission per volunteer.
  • The artwork may be a drawing, painting, or photograph, but it must be submitted as a digital file, such as a PDF, JPG, PNG, or GIF file.
  • The artwork must be of a non-marine mammal species that is considered native to Virginia. Below, we have provided the names of the non-marine mammals on the most current, official List of Native & Naturalized Fauna of Virginia, provided by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.  Naturalized species are marked with an asterisk and do not meet the qualification of “native” for the purposes of our artwork contest.
  • The artwork should not be of a bat species, for the simple reason that we had a bat pin in 2011 featuring the Virginia Big-eared Bat, which is Virginia’s State Bat.
  • We greatly prefer artwork that allows us to create a pin in the shape of the mammal, rather than having to be an oval or rectangular pin. Keep this preference in mind when creating your artwork, and imagine a pin cut in the shape of the animal. Pins cannot easily have very finely detailed edges, so it is helpful if the animal’s shape is a smoother line.  See the frog, turtle, and oyster pins on our recertification pin artwork history page as examples of artwork that were easily converted to pins. 

To Submit Your Artwork for the Contest
If you want to submit your artwork for the contest, please complete the online contest survey no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, August 19. You will be asked to provide your name, email, VMN chapter, 1-2 sentences about why you think that mammal species should be featured, and your permission to use the artwork. Have your digital artwork file ready; you will be need to upload it within the survey.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources List of Native and Naturalized Fauna of Virginia – Mammals (Non-Marine)
April 2022

*denotes naturalized species that would not qualify for this recertification pin contest

Allegheny Woodrat, Neotoma magister 
American Beaver, Castor canadensis
American Beaver, Castor canadensis carolinensis
American Black Bear, Ursus americanus 
American Mink, Neovison vison mink
American Mink, Neovision vison vison
American Pygmy Shrew, Sorex hoyi 
American Water Shrew, Sorex palustris 
Appalachian Cottontail,  Sylvilagus obscurus 
Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus fuscus fuscus 
Black Rat *, Rattus rattus 
Black-tailed Jack Rabbit *, Lepus californicus 
Bobcat, Lynx rufus floridanus
Bobcat, Lynx rufus rufus
Brazilian Free-tailed Bat, Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala 
Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus 
Carolina Red-backed Vole, Myodes gapperi carolinensis 
Cloudland Deermouse, Peromyscus maniculatus nubiterrae 
Common Gray Fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus 
Common Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus macrodon 
Cotton Deermouse, Peromyscus gossypinus 
Coyote, Canis latrans 
Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger cinereus 
Dismal Swamp Bog Lemming, Synaptomys cooperi helaletes 
Dismal Swamp Meadow Vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus nigrans 
Dismal Swamp Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina brevicauda telmalestes 
Dismal Swamp Southeastern Shrew, Sorex longirostris fisheri 
Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus fisheri 
Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus striatus 
Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus mallurus 
Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsii 
Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger niger 
Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger rufiventer 
Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger vulpinus 
Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis carolinensis 
Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis pennsylvanicus 
Eastern Harvest Mouse, Reithrodontomys humulis humulis 
Eastern Harvest Mouse, Reithrodontomys humulis virginianus 
Eastern Mole, Scalopus aquaticus aquaticus 
Eastern Mole, Scalopus aquaticus howelli 
Eastern Red Bat, Lasiurus borealis 
Eastern Shrew, Sorex cinereus fontinalis 
Eastern Small-footed Myotis, Myotis leibii 
Eastern Spotted Skunk, Spilogale putorius 
Elk, Cervus elaphus 
Evening Bat, Nycticeius humeralis humeralis 
Fisher, Martes pennanti 
Golden Mouse, Ochrotomys nuttalli aureolus 
Golden Mouse, Ochrotomys nuttalli nuttalli 
Gray Bat, Myotis grisescens 
Hairy-tailed Mole, Parascalops breweri 
Hispid Cotton Rat, Sigmodon hispidus 
Hoary Bat, Lasiurus cinereus 
House Mouse *, Mus musculus 
Indiana Bat, Myotis sodalis 
Kentucky Red-backed Vole, Myodes gapperi maurus 
Least Shrew, Cryptotis parva 
Least Weasel, Mustela nivalis 
Little Brown Bat, Myotis lucifugus 
Long-tailed (=Rock) Shrew, Sorex dispar 
Long-tailed Weasel, Mustela frenata 

Marsh Rabbit, Sylvilagus palustris 
Marsh Rice Rat, Oryzomys palustris 
Masked Shrew, Sorex cinereus cinereus 
Meadow Jumping Mouse, Zapus hudsonius 
Meadow Vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus pennsylvanicus Nine-banded Armadillo *, Dasypus novemcinctus * 
North American Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatus 
Northern Long-eared Bat, Myotis septentrionalis 
Northern Raccoon, Procyon lotor lotor 
Northern Raccoon, Procyon lotor marinus 
Northern River Otter, Lontra canadensis lataxina 
Northern Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina brevicauda churchi 
Northern Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina brevicauda kirtlandi 
Northern Yellow Bat, Lasiurus intermedius 
Norway Rat *, Rattus norvegicus 
Nutria *, Myocastor coypus 
Prairie Deermouse, Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii 
Pungo White-footed Deermouse, Peromyscus leucopus easti 
Rafinesque’s Big-eared Bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquii rafinesquii 
Rafinesque’s Eastern Big-eared Bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquii macrotis 
Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes 
Red Squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus abieticola 
Red Squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus loquax 
Rock Vole, Microtus chrotorrhinus 
Seminole Bat, Lasiurus seminolus 
Sika Deer *, Cervus nippon 
Silver-haired Bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans 
Small Star-nosed Mole, Condylura cristata parva 
Smith’s Island Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus hitchensi 
Smoky Shrew, Sorex fumeus 
Snowshoe Hare, Lepus americanus 
Snowshoe Hare, Lepus americanus virginianus 
Southeastern Myotis, Myotis austroriparius 
Southern Bog Lemming, Synaptomys cooperi stonei 
Southern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys volans saturatus 
Southern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys volans volans 
Southern Red-backed Vole, Myodes gapperi gapperi 
Southern Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina carolinensis 
Southern Shrew, Sorex longirostris longirostris 
Southern Star-nosed Mole, Condylura cristata parva 
Star-nosed Mole, Condylura cristata cristata 
Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis mephitis 
Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis nigra 
Tri-colored Bat, Perimyotis subflavus 
Virginia Big-eared Bat, Corynorhinus (= Plecotus) townsendii virginianus 
Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus 
Virginia Opossum, Didelphis virginiana virginiana 
White-footed Deermouse, Peromyscus leucopus leucopus 
White-footed Deermouse, Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis 
White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus 
Woodchuck, Marmota monax 
Woodland Jumping Mouse, Napaeozapus insignis insignis 
Woodland Jumping Mouse, Napaeozapus insignis roanensis 
Woodland Vole, Microtus pinetorum carbonarius 
Woodland Vole, Microtus pinetorum pinetorum 
Woodland Vole, Microtus pinetorum scalapsoides ​​

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