Gov. Gregoire signs bill designating orca as official state marine mammal

For Immediate Release: April 14, 2005

OLYMPIA � April 14, 2005 � Gov. Christine Gregoire today signed a bill making the orca the official marine mammal of Washington. It was a happy ending to a civics lesson that began two years ago in a second-grade classroom in Oak Harbor, Wash.

In January 2003, library assistant Peggy Mihalik at Crescent Harbor Elementary School noticed that Washington did not have a marine mammal listed as a recognized state symbol. She approached second-grade teacher Bonnie Alanis to ask if her class would like to propose legislation that would recognize the orca as the state�s newest symbol.

The project became a good blend of students� studies of whales, people, communities and government � especially how laws are made. Students collected more than 1,000 signatures from adults throughout Western Washington applauding the children�s efforts in promoting the first �Orca Bill.�

A bill was introduced in January 2004, but time ran out in that legislative session before it was passed. The bill (HB 1759) was reintroduced in this year�s Legislature by prime sponsor Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, and co-sponsors Chris Strow, R-Clinton, and Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, and subsequently was passed by both houses. Several second- and third-graders from Crescent Harbor, as well as some parents and educators, joined the governor for today�s signing ceremony in Olympia.

�I am proud of the efforts of my former students, current students and of all the community members who chose to support this second-grade project,� said Alanis. �And the legislators have helped Crescent Harbor second-graders participate in a lesson that will touch their memories for a lifetime."

The orca joins these other official state symbols: apple as the fruit, steelhead trout as the fish, American Goldfinch as the bird, "Alki" as the motto, coast rhododendron as the flower, "The Evergreen State" as the nickname, western hemlock as the tree, "Washington, My Home" as the song, petrified wood as the gem, square dance as the dance, "President Washington" as the ship, "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" as the folk song, bluebunch wheatgrass as the grass, green darner dragonfly as the insect, and Columbian Mammoth as the fossil.