Bill Text: TX HCR86 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Designating the Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park as the official State Bison Herd of Texas.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2011-06-17 - Signed by the Governor [HCR86 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HCR86-Enrolled.html
H.C.R. No. 86 |
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas has customarily recognized a | ||
variety of official symbols as tangible representations of the | ||
state's historical and cultural heritage; figuring prominently in | ||
that distinctive list are animals that played a central role in the | ||
rich Western heritage of Texas, including the longhorn and the | ||
American quarter horse; and | ||
WHEREAS, Another deserving candidate for recognition is the | ||
bison, popularly known as the buffalo; after arriving in North | ||
America some 25,000 years ago, the bison adapted particularly well | ||
to the environment of the Great Plains; by the 1700s, as many as 60 | ||
million buffalo were living on the continent, and the lands that | ||
were to become Texas were among the areas roamed by the vast herds; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, The animals were central to the livelihood of the | ||
Native Americans of the Great Plains, providing not only their main | ||
diet but also materials for shelter, clothing, and many other | ||
staples; the ample supply of bison and the hunting culture of the | ||
Plains tribes were not to last, however; with the completion of the | ||
transcontinental railroad in 1869, it became possible to profitably | ||
ship bison hides and meat to eastern markets by rail, and in the | ||
next 15 years, buffalo hunters almost completely exterminated the | ||
herds; by 1885, fewer than 1,000 animals remained; and | ||
WHEREAS, Fortunately, some Texans had the foresight to try | ||
and save this noble creature; Mary Ann "Molly" Goodnight, the wife | ||
of legendary Texas rancher Charles Goodnight, was so distressed by | ||
the rapid disappearance of the bison that she convinced her husband | ||
to begin capturing and protecting bison calves from the small | ||
number of wild animals that remained on the Southern Plains; he | ||
began to round up young bison in the 1870s in the northern Texas | ||
Panhandle, and the herd at Goodnight's JA Ranch eventually grew to | ||
about 250 head by the time Mr. Goodnight passed away in 1929; and | ||
WHEREAS, The Goodnight bison herd became one of the five | ||
foundation herds in the United States from which the majority of | ||
surviving buffalo have developed; a number of animals directly | ||
descended from the Goodnight stock were donated to the Texas Parks | ||
and Wildlife Department in 1996, and a subset of that group was | ||
determined to be a pure strain that had not been crossbred with | ||
bison from other areas; given a home at Caprock Canyons State Park, | ||
those buffalo and their offspring are today known as the Texas State | ||
Bison Herd and are notable for their strong genetic link to the | ||
original Southern Plains buffalo and because they continue to live | ||
in the area where their ancestors were first caught; and | ||
WHEREAS, In both its historical significance and its enduring | ||
connections to Texas imagery and culture, the Texas State Bison | ||
Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park is indeed a fitting symbol for | ||
the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby designate the Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons | ||
State Park as the official State Bison Herd of Texas. | ||
Chisum | ||
Landtroop | ||
Gallego | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.C.R. No. 86 was adopted by the House on May | ||
5, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 1 present, not | ||
voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.C.R. No. 86 was adopted by the Senate on May | ||
25, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |