Will the Black Bear be our State Mammal?

[lichen fox]

S.F. No. 1376, as introduced - 87th Legislative Session (2011-2012) Posted on Jan 27, 2012

A bill for an act relating to state government; designating the black bear as the state mammal;

proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 1.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. [1.1465] STATE MAMMAL.

Subdivision 1. Black bear. The black bear, Ursus americanus, is the official

mammal of the state of Minnesota.

Subd. 2. Photograph. A photograph of the black bear shall be preserved in the

Office of the Secretary of State.

[LunkerCity]

Okay, I don't get it... what is the point? Are they going to try and stop bear hunting or is this just something that our tax dollars are wasted on?

[SkunkedAgain]

Does naming it the state mammal come with any hunting restrictions, or is it just a recognition of the bear's importance to our heritage?

[lichen fox]

I'm thinking that it would just mean that the Black Bear is the State mammal...like the Loon is the state bird...like the pink lady slipper is the state flower, etc...Who knows if they'll make additional protective laws like they have for the Loon or the lady slipper?

My question is...is this a "good" representative of our state? Or do other species have more credibility in regards to Minnesota's heritage?

Which Mammal would you choose to represent Minnesota? And Why?

[picksbigwagon]

I guess that is a better way to phrase it Lichen, it's not like they don't let us fish for the state fish do they......I guess when you think of "unique" animal populations in the history of MN, and I am not originally from here, I would think the black bear would be a good choice, maybe the beaver or fisher or a different animal that was hunted and trapped when the the BWCA was a gate way to the west and the fertile trapping grounds....

Of course if we are known as "The Gopher State" I would assume that the gopher was the state mamnmal.......

[InTheNorthwoods]

Gosh, with some of the proposed legislation we are seeing lately, I think the "[PoorWordUsage] Politician" should be the State Mammal. Seems like we're flush with them.

[Musky Buck]

We need to fire most if not all of our politicians and start over. We already made a mockery of this by letting Jessie the body govern. The worst part is like many school boards the best candidates want no part of it. So you can vote for knucklehead 1 or 2. I hope no 1 has the time to care about this life altering dilemma. My vote is for the sewer rat.

[Boar]

How about the woodtick, to represent all the bloodsucking parasites that run the state.

[SkunkedAgain]

What's with all of the anger? I wonder if they had witch hunts for the politicians who made the walleye the state fish? They must have tarred and feathered the guy who suggested making "L’etoile du Nord" the state motto!

This kind of legislation comes all the time. You can still catch walleye and you will still be able to shoot bears.

[Musky Buck]

skunked again lol, my anger is that their per diem is more than I make in a day lol. My friend said how about the feral cat ?

[SkunkedAgain]

Feral cat would be funny too, although maybe we could make it the deer tick

[Nightcrawler]

what are they going to do with the gopher?

[Musky Buck]

cut his front feet off and tail and turn it into the township ? How'd we even get the name gopher, 1/3 of our state don't even have them really unless we're counting the 13 lined ground squirrel as a gopher, but pocket gophers, east of the miss they're in low if any numbers, they don't like digging through clay lol. We're starving for a hunting season guys.

[jkcmj]

The whole deal with the State mammal was being introduced by a 1st grade class in Andover, MN. Dana Coleman is the teacher. I sent the class one of my bear skulls and some polished up bear claws to use in their classroom. I think it is pretty cool all the effort they have put into it. I got a box full of thankyou cards of appreciation for the stuff I sent them. They all made pictures with bears and such with their cards.

They have a webpage with all their artwork and what not on FaceBook.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Black-Bear-Minnesotas-State-Mammal/200904503286445

A little tidbit off their page...

One of my little boys when asked by the reporter, why the black bear should be our state mammal, said "Well, it fits on the poster". I asked him what he meant by that. He said, "Well the black bear goes up the Red Pine, our state tree. It's like a babysitter you know. They eat blueberries and our state muffin is the blueberry muffin, so the black bear fits on the poster next to those pictures. It should be our state mammal."