HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 12

(By Delegates Campbell, Hartman, Sponaugle, Espinosa, Wagner, P. White, Stansbury, Hamilton and Perry)

January 21, 2016

Requesting the Division of Natural Resources to designate the Cheat Mountain Salamander as the State symbol of conservation.

Whereas, The Extended Studies Students of Jennings Randolph Elementary School, 4th grade, completed an extensive study of West Virginia State symbols and seals.  They used the state symbols to learn about many aspects of West Virginia including geography, ecology, culture and history, discovering the special place West Virginia occupies.   This appreciation for West Virginia led the 5th grade Extended Studies group to explore deeper into the study of the state symbols, where they encountered the Cheat Mountain Salamander and the history behind its environment.  They discovered that no state in the United States has a conservation symbol.  This led to many discussions about how they could make an impact on the people and visitors of our state and how they look at West Virginia in the future; and why the 5th grade Extended Studies group felt the state of West Virginia should have a symbol of conservation; and

Whereas, In their research, they found that West Virginia holds an important history when it comes to the environment in our high mountains and the salamander that inhabits the forest floors.  In the highest of elevation, the red spruce covered our mountain tops in portions of Pocahontas, Randolph, Tucker, Greenbrier, and Mineral Counties.  In these same Red Spruce forests, one can find a very unique species, the Cheat Mountain Salamander.  This salamander is so special that it is found only in a specific environment in West Virginia, nowhere else.  Today, efforts to teach about these environments can be seen in places such as Gaudineer, where visitors can witness the Red Spruce Forest and see efforts at restoration of the Red Spruce, all the while recognizing how important practicing conservation is for species such as the Cheat Mountain Salamander; and

Whereas, According to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, out of thirty salamanders in West Virginia, the Cheat Mountain Salamander lives exclusively in a small section of West Virginia.  It is a Federally Threatened Species listed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife.   The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources indicates that the Cheat Mountain Salamander belongs to a group known as the Woodland Salamanders (Plethodontids); and

            Whereas, The 4th grade Extended Studies group believes the story of this salamander speaks volumes about our state's rich history in practicing conservation.  West Virginia can make history by being the first state with a conservation symbol.  And, the Cheat Mountain Salamander holds such value that by making the Cheat Mountain Salamander the state conservation symbol of West Virginia we can teach the story of our state and tell how conservation is important in designated areas and place attention to proper practices in these areas; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Natural Resources is requested to designate the Cheat Mountain Salamander as the State symbol of conservation; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a certified copy of this resolution to Extended Studies Students of Jennings Randolph Elementary:  Jon Bonner, Hannah Cutright, Alyson Evick, Ruby Jackson, Thomas Nixon, Darian Selders and Emily Wanless; Project Supervisor:  Allison Mullenax; Itinerant Extended Studies Teacher Jennings Randolph Elementary and Christine M. Toscano-Nixon; Parent Volunteer.