From Lesson to Legacy: Cutthroat Plate

By Sue Nass In 1990, a class of fourth grade kids from a small Idaho town had an idea and took it to the legislature. As a result, the cutthroat trout was designated Idaho's state fish. Fast forward to 2003. A colorful new wildlife plate has just been released featuring, that's right, the cutthroat trout. And what about those fourth graders? Well, they're 23 now, and going wild buying cutthroat plates. "I think it's the right fish and I think it's time we did something about it," said Jeremy Bullock, a young car salesman. More than a decade ago, Bullock was one of those eager fourth graders in Jim Killet's class. The kids from Kuna made headlines with their cutthroat campaign in 1990 and now, 13 years later, they are still supporting wildlife. "Having all that funding for game animals and then no funding for nongame animals. It's just really nice to have. It's nice to know that we can take care of our fish and habitat and keep that going, and keep Idaho the way it is, and what it's known for," Bullock said as he stood outside the Vehicle License Bureau in Boise. Former legislator John Sandy sponsored the bill that created the new cutthroat license plate and was the first to buy one for his vehicle. All the wildlife plates, bluebird, elk, and the now the new cutthroat plate, generate funds to improve habitat and manage the 80 percent of Idaho's species that are nongame wildlife. The others, game animals and game fish, are funded through hunting and fishing tags, licenses and fees. "So, there's a real problem out there with trying to manage and keep off the endangered species list or the protected list numerous other species of wildlife in the state. And this is an opportunity to help do that," John Sandy said. Jeremy Bullock is taking full advantage of the opportunity to support Idaho's wildlife. Immediately upon emerging from the county assessor's office with his new cutthroat plate in hand he attached it to his vehicle. But for Jeremy it goes even further, to a lesson learned long ago from a dedicated and insightful teacher about civic responsibility, the democratic process and honoring our wildlife heritage. It is a message that will be remembered each time he sees his cutthroat license plate. "Every time I'm going to remember Mr. Killet, my fourth grade teacher and the whole experience. You have no idea what it takes to make laws. And to go into the capitol building and to see everything in action and actually propose something to the House of Representatives, well, it's an amazing experience. It was a lot of fun. We learned a lot about it at a young age," Bullock said. And what happened to Mr. Killet, the Kuna teacher? He is still quietly shaping tomorrow's citizens one class at a time. "We had a unit. We cut the fish up and we examined the internal parts of fish and we studied all the anatomy of a fish and the diagrams of fish. It was a wonderful unit," Jim Killet said. "Then the culminating aspect, of course, at that time was to present the bill to the Idaho state legislature." Killet's lesson became a gift to all of Idaho, but he bestows the credit on his class from years ago. "Yes, it is quite a legacy, for those kids especially," he said. More than 37,000 Idahoans have chosen wildlife plates. The cutthroat, elk and bluebird plates are available at your local county assessor's office. Personalized wildlife plates may also be ordered by filling out a form at the license office. $25 of the fee goes to the Idaho Department of Fish & Game to improve habitat and support Idaho's nongame and watchable wildlife programs. Editor's note: photos of Bullock with cutthroat as a fourth grader and with a new cutthroat license plate are available on request. Format is jpg.