Posted on Feb 6, 2023
Students make a prickly proposition that sticks: Designate an official Washington state cactus
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A school class proposed a native cactus for the honor and they now have a sponsor in the Legislature.
State Senator Judy Warnick, who represents an arid district that straddles the mid-Columbia River, is leading the way to add the basalt cactus to the Evergreen State’s array of official state symbols. The Moses Lake Republican introduced legislation on Thursday to establish the state cactus.
“I don’t think it’s frivolous at all,” Warnick said pointedly. “It does give us a chance to do something a little more fun and work with the students to learn what civics is all about, how we pass bills, how they become law. So, it’s an educational experience.”
Second to fifth graders from Discovery Lab of Ellensburg, a small, private co-op type school, wrote letters to Warnick proposing the basalt cactus be Washington’s official state cactus. The plant, pediocactus nigrispinus, is also known as the Columbia Plateau cactus, hedgehog cactus or snowball cactus. It grows in scattered dry locations in central Washington, eastern Oregon and north central Idaho.
State Senator Judy Warnick, who represents an arid district that straddles the mid-Columbia River, is leading the way to add the basalt cactus to the Evergreen State’s array of official state symbols. The Moses Lake Republican introduced legislation on Thursday to establish the state cactus.
“I don’t think it’s frivolous at all,” Warnick said pointedly. “It does give us a chance to do something a little more fun and work with the students to learn what civics is all about, how we pass bills, how they become law. So, it’s an educational experience.”
Second to fifth graders from Discovery Lab of Ellensburg, a small, private co-op type school, wrote letters to Warnick proposing the basalt cactus be Washington’s official state cactus. The plant, pediocactus nigrispinus, is also known as the Columbia Plateau cactus, hedgehog cactus or snowball cactus. It grows in scattered dry locations in central Washington, eastern Oregon and north central Idaho.
Students make a prickly proposition that sticks: Designate an official Washington state cactus
Posted from opb.org
State of Washington
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“People don’t know very much about this cactus,” Sen. Warnick said in a separate interview Friday. “They’re going to help us all learn more about it.”
The author of a primer on Washington’s native cacti, Ian Barclay, said the plants are increasingly imperiled in the wild because of invasive species and the expansion of agriculture.
“Cacti are now absent from large areas of eastern Washington where they used to grow,” Barclay wrote online. “Non-native grasses have out-competed the cacti for light and nutrients in many places. Lesser threats to their preservation include the expansion of suburban development, over-collection by irresponsible individuals, and sheer carelessness by property owners where cacti are found.”
If Warnick’s bill passes, Washington would become the fourth state with a cactus among its official symbols. Arizona put the saguaro on its license plate and anointed the saguaro cactus flower as its official flower. In 1995, Texas lawmakers designated the prickly pear cactus as the official state plant. In 2014, Colorado chose the claret cup cactus as the state cactus at the suggestion of a Girl Scout troop.
In Olympia, the state cactus proposal was referred to the Senate State Government Committee where it awaits scheduling for a public hearing. In January, a state House committee gave a favorable vote and moved along a separate measure to designate an official state dinosaur. As was the case with the cactus legislation, the state dinosaur proposal was brought forward by an elementary school class."
..."“People don’t know very much about this cactus,” Sen. Warnick said in a separate interview Friday. “They’re going to help us all learn more about it.”
The author of a primer on Washington’s native cacti, Ian Barclay, said the plants are increasingly imperiled in the wild because of invasive species and the expansion of agriculture.
“Cacti are now absent from large areas of eastern Washington where they used to grow,” Barclay wrote online. “Non-native grasses have out-competed the cacti for light and nutrients in many places. Lesser threats to their preservation include the expansion of suburban development, over-collection by irresponsible individuals, and sheer carelessness by property owners where cacti are found.”
If Warnick’s bill passes, Washington would become the fourth state with a cactus among its official symbols. Arizona put the saguaro on its license plate and anointed the saguaro cactus flower as its official flower. In 1995, Texas lawmakers designated the prickly pear cactus as the official state plant. In 2014, Colorado chose the claret cup cactus as the state cactus at the suggestion of a Girl Scout troop.
In Olympia, the state cactus proposal was referred to the Senate State Government Committee where it awaits scheduling for a public hearing. In January, a state House committee gave a favorable vote and moved along a separate measure to designate an official state dinosaur. As was the case with the cactus legislation, the state dinosaur proposal was brought forward by an elementary school class."
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