Contest for Veterans: Celebrate Public Lands by Dec. 6

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (B.L.M.) and Sierra Club are co-sponsoring a writing and visual arts contest that calls for military service members, veterans, and immediate family members to express their appreciation for public land. Original photography, videography, creative writing and essays should be submitted on the theme of "What my public lands mean to me."

This land is your land, these words are your words. Unfortunately, the deadline on this opportunity is also danger-close: 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Dec. 6, 2012.

According to a contest website, photos and videos should depict "depict land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, or other Federal agency."

Blog-editor's note: I'm pretty sure that Fort Irwin, Calif., is land managed by a Federal agency. Someone out there might appreciate that.

Other random details follow:

• Photos must be 300 dpi and between 3 and 5 MB, and in TIFF or JPEG format.

• Videos should be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes in length.

• Essays may include photography.

For complete rules, click here.

Entries will be judged by a panel of BLM and Sierra Club employees, on criteria including creativity, passion, technical ability, and public vote.

Winners will be announced Dec. 21, 2012. Winning entries will be featured on BLM and Sierra Club websites and social media. Winners will receive "outdoor support kits."

One caveat or quibble: Why specify "active-duty service member," given that so much of today's U.S. military capability comes from the Reserve Component? Of course, if you're a reservist who has previously deployed for a period of longer than 6 months, you're arguably a veteran. And, if you're a reservist currently downrange serving on active-duty, well ... there you go. This contest was made for you and me.

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Disclaimer: This content regarding military writing is underwritten by Victor Ian LLC, a military media and gaming business. The business publishes Lanterloon, an eclectic lifestyle, technology, and military blog; has a physical retail storefront called "Dragons and Dragoons" located in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and hosts military-writing workshops and other events under the "Sangria Summit" brand name.