The bullfrog is making a strong leap to become Ohio's first official amphibian.
Representative Jim Hughes, R-Columbus, recently introduced a bill to the Ohio House of Representatives that would officially proclaim the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana, the official amphibian of Ohio.
The bullfrog is quite common in Ohio, said Gary Isbell, administrator of fisheries management for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of bullfrogs in Ohio. Because of their large population, Isbell said, the bullfrog doesn't have much competition to become Ohio's official amphibian.
When you think of amphibians
the bullfrog comes to mind first Isbell said.
The idea to promote the bullfrog, Hughes said, came from a group of students from Henry Karrer and Willard Grizzell middle schools in Dublin. The students chose the bullfrog because it isn't aggressive or violent and can be found in all 88 Ohio counties.
The declaration itself is not as important as teaching children how the legislative process works. During the process, Hughes said, children will testify in front of the legislation's government committee in favor of the bullfrog.
A lot of people don't understand how their government works said Hughes, so getting kids involved in government early is important.
Shawn Kaeser, a seventh-grade teacher at Willard Grizzell, has helped lead the push for six years.
Kaeser was discussing various state symbols with his class in 2002 when the discussion turned to the fact that Ohio had no state amphibian. The class decided it would undertake the mission of finding an appropriate amphibian for Ohio. The process would let the students see just how the legislative process worked and how slow it was, Kaeser said.
They realize government is slow
and even though we think the bullfrog is great
others may not feel the same way
Kaeser said.
After careful deliberation, the bullfrog emerged from the pack of other amphibians, including the American toad and salamander.
The proposal made it through committee once in 2004, but never came to a vote. This time, Kaeser said, he feels confident that the bill will be approved.
There's really no better amphibian symbol for the state than the bullfrog
Kaeser said.
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