An Idaho state amphibian?

| February 28, 2013 8:00 PM

BOISE (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.