State reptile nomination stirs up a nest of controversy

SALT LAKE CITY — A project by fourth-grade students at Diamond Valley Elementary School to promote the diamondback rattler as an official state symbol has run into a host of scientific criticism.

The problem with the students' nomination, based on their St. George school mascot, is that no such snake exists in Utah.

"We were told the snakes around here are called Great Basin rattlesnakes. That's totally new to me and most of the people in the valley. All the old-timers call them diamondbacks," said social studies teacher Laura Graf. "There's not a whole lot of difference between it and the diamondback rattler."

Snake enthusiasts apparently do not agree, and they told Graf so. In fact, whether "Great Basin rattler" is the correct term can open a whole different rift among snake people.

"I got a lot of nasty letters. They said I should have done my homework. People said we shouldn't promote a snake that isn't in Utah just to cater to the kids," says Graf. "They threatened that they would oppose it (in the Legislature)."

Graf's class had already enlisted state Sen. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, to sponsor their bill. The students had pitched the rattler to Gov. Jon Huntsman during his visit to the area.

But after the opposition from scientists, the class decided to change its nomination to the Western rattlesnake, a designation that covers the diamondback, Great Basin rattlers and the other subspecies crawling around Utah.

Still, John Legler, University of Utah professor emeritus of biology, warns against bandying about reptile common names.

"Old-timers have all kinds of names for things — that's why we have scientific names," Legler says.

Even Western rattler is iffy, he says. "You can call the snake 'Timmy' if you want to, but it's Crotalus viridis to scientists."

State symbols such as plants, minerals, birds, flowers are seldom controversial. The stuff of trivia questions, they're meant to promote the state's scenic splendor and natural resources. They often do double duty as a metaphor for the character of the state's people. Utah's insect, for instance, is the honeybee, promoting the state's work ethic.

Other suggestions for a state reptile that Graf has received are even more controversial. One person nominated a former member of the state's congressional delegation, "If you're looking for a snake."

"At one point, I thought I should bag this — I can't have it become a negative experience," Graf says. But colleagues persuaded her to persevere.

"The students understand this may go and it may not go. But we will have done our very best. Whatever happens — we will use it as a positive learning experience."