By Tim Binnall
A Washington State county recently passed a resolution to protect Sasquatch thanks to a fifth-grade class project that has proven to be remarkably successful over the past three years. The annual endeavor from the Lincoln Elementary School in the city of Holquiam began back in 2022 by way of teacher Andrea Andrews, who conceived of the clever civics lesson. The project sees the youngsters tasked with researching Bigfoot, debating its existence, and, if it passes a vote within the class, lobbying a local county government to pass a resolution that would protect the famed cryptid.
Interestingly, although backing Bigfoot was widely popular among the kids in 2023, this year's installment reportedly saw more of a debate surrounding the creature with around two-thirds of the class voting in favor of the resolution while the remaining youngsters offering a more skeptical take on the issue. Those on the pro-Bigfoot side pointed to recordings of curious sounds that some believe to have been created by the cryptid as well as insights from anthropologist and Sasquatch researcher Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, who spoke to the class about his work. Supporters of the resolution specifically cited the scarcity of sightings as an indication that its population was likely to be quite small and, therefore, the creature needs to be protected.
Meanwhile, the students against the resolution largely argued that the endeavor was a waste of time because, in their opinion, Sasquatch simply does not exist and that suspected sightings of the creature are most likely just bears being confused for Bigfoot. Perhaps the most nuanced position put forward by one of the students against the resolution, Harrison Dejka, is that by preventing the capture or killing of Sasquatch, its existence could never actually be proven. With the pro-Bigfoot camp ultimately prevailing in the vote, the class subsequently presented their proposal to the Mason County Board of Commissioners, which approved the decree and declared the location to be a "Sasquatch protection and refuge area."
The successful lobbying effort has resulted in nearly all of the state's Olympic Peninsula adopting the fifth graders' resolution as both Grays Harbor County and Clallam County were swayed by the students' efforts in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Remarkably, the annual project may soon expand even further in scope as, Andrews says, officials in Mason County passed along the resolution to members of the Washington legislature, which could wind up adopting the proposal state-wide. Should such a fantastic development occur, the teacher marveled, "we're going to be out of the county business" and may need to "go state to state" with the 'Save Sasquatch' project in the future.