By: Chisum, Landtroop, Gallego H.C.R. No. 86
(Senate Sponsor - Duncan)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2011;
May 9, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Government Organization; May 21, 2011, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 21, 2011, sent to printer.)
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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.
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