Salamander Could be New Animal to Represent Idaho

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Move over monarchs and mountain bluebirds: there could be a new state symbol coming to Idaho. The Idaho Giant Salamander could soon join the state's other icons under a measure introduced in the House State Affairs Committee Wednesday. Ilah Hickman, a 6th grader at White Pine Elementary in Boise, presented the proposal declaring the Idaho Giant Salamander as the state amphibian of Idaho.

She's been working on this since she was a 4th grader and said 26 of her classmates support the bill. Nampa Republican Rep. Brent Crane invited Hickman's fellow students to testify on the measure. Twelve-year-old Hickman said the salamander is a perfect fit because it bears the state's name — and its skin pattern resembles the state's Bitterroot Mountain Range, crossed by the explorers Lewis and Clark.