Passion for orcas turned the tide

OAK HARBOR — A little-noticed state law that went into effect July 24 didn't get the kind of attention garnered by more high-profile legislation such as liquor sales on Sundays or election reform.

Last month, a new law made the orca, aka killer whale, the official state marine mammal.

Each of the 516 laws passed by the Legislature this year needed someone to lobby for it. For the orca bill, that someone was Peggy Mihalik, 70, a library assistant at Crescent Harbor Elementary School in this Navy town on Whidbey Island.

"An orca is popular," she said. "It's recognizable. And nobody else had it as a state symbol."

For two years, House Bill 1759 consumed much of her life, much of the time on the Internet.

"My friends will tell you. Every day it was orcas," said Mihalik, sitting at a computer set up in her home's living room, the heart of her crusade.

It was Mihalik's unrelenting enthusiasm that got lawmakers hopping on the orca bandwagon.

State symbols


Washington has 17 official state symbols.

Marine mammal: Orca

Arboretum: Washington Park, Seattle

Bird: Willow goldfinch

Dance: Square dance

Fish: Steelhead trout

Flag: Dark green silk or bunting with Washington state seal in the center

Flower: Rhododendron

Folk song: Roll on Columbia, Roll on

Fossil: Columbian mammoth

Fruit: Apple

Gem: Petrified wood

Grass: Bluebunch wheatgrass

Insect: Green darner dragonfly

Seal: Vignette of George Washington at center

Song: "Washington My Home"

Tartan: Cloth pattern of green background and blue, white, yellow, red and black stripes.

Tree: Western hemlock

Source: Revised Code of Washington

It was Mihalik who solicited the help of Bonnie Alanis and her second-grade class at Crescent Harbor Elementary to take up the orca cause. And they did by writing letters, making drawings, putting on a play and taking petitions home to their parents.

Mihalik's energy and enthusiasm belied her age.

"I had no idea she was 70," said Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, who volunteered to be the prime sponsor of the bill the second time around. "It's a testament that we continue learning no matter how old we are. She just acts so young and full of passion."

Surprisingly, Mihalik has never seen an orca in the wild.

"I guess now I'll have to," she said.

It was through the Internet that Mihalik learned about orcas and about getting laws passed.

In 1984, after raising four children, she took a job at the elementary school's library. She also became fascinated with computers and took every lesson offered by the district.

The Internet was something she thought she'd tackle in retirement, but she didn't wait until then. She even taught herself how to create Web pages, including her own: www.geocities.com/pegmih

While creating pages for each of the 50 states, Mihalik noticed that every coastal state except Oregon and Washington had an official marine mammal.

Why not have the orca become our 17th official state symbol, along with such symbols as the state gem (petrified wood) and the state fossil (Columbian mammoth), she asked?

She learned much about orcas from the Internet: They're dolphins, they are social and live in groups called pods, there are three resident pods in Puget Sound, and they bring in thousands of tourist dollars from sightseeing-boat tours.

"I said that I thought it was a great idea," said Bonnie Alanis, recalling that she was asked by Mihalik in January 2003 if her class would make the orca bill its project.

Mihalik also went online to find the e-mail addresses for all the state legislators, all the state chambers of commerce, all the tribes, contacting those in Western Washington. The postage would have been costly, she said, but e-mail was just a click away.

Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, sponsored the bill in the 2004 session. But because of the short session, the bill didn't come up for a vote.

Mihalik was learning about the treacherous fate of most bills: They die.

In the past legislative session, only a fifth of the bills introduced became law.

But by then, her cause had gained some momentum and began spreading through the Internet. She put a petition on her Web site.

The second-graders eventually presented the Legislature with 1,500 signatures.

In the House, the bill passed by a vote of 90-7, in the Senate with only one opposing vote. Appleton said the representatives voting against it were "just grumpy."

A computer even came into play on the floor of the House.

Appleton said that while the bill was being discussed, Dunshee used his laptop to play orca sounds. Those allegedly grumpy legislators "didn't think it was very funny," she said.

Many parents of the second-graders kept scrapbooks of what their children had accomplished. Mihalik understood why.

"They're young. They don't realize what they did," she said. "But one day they can say, 'We did this. We're responsible for this law.' "

Of course, she could have been talking about herself, too.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com