HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The historic JA Ranch bison herd at Caprock Canyons 1-2 State Park, a remnant of the great southern herd that was 1-3 extinguished between 1874 and 1878, represents the heritage of the 1-4 American West as few other emblems can; and 1-5 WHEREAS, By 1884, buffalo hunters in the north had finished 1-6 clearing the plains of the bison, the magnificent animal that had 1-7 sustained the Plains Indians and that, by virtue of its immense 1-8 numbers, had posed a serious impediment to the advance of farming 1-9 and ranching; and 1-10 WHEREAS, With the buffalo in Texas eliminated, cattlemen 1-11 quickly moved onto the grasslands; among them was the legendary 1-12 Charles Goodnight, who established the JA Ranch in the Panhandle's 1-13 Palo Duro and Mulberry canyons; at the urging of his wife, Mary 1-14 Ann, Mr. Goodnight captured a few of the remaining wild bison in 1-15 order to save the animal from total extinction; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Though Mr. Goodnight experimented with breeding 1-17 buffalo to cattle, a pure strain of the animal survived, and for 1-18 some 120 years these bison continued to find sanctuary at the JA 1-19 Ranch; one of five herds in the United States from which most 1-20 present-day buffalo herds have descended, the JA Ranch herd has 1-21 furnished stock for Yellowstone National Park, as well as for large 1-22 zoos and ranches; and 1-23 WHEREAS, In 1996, JA Ranch owners Monte Ritchie and Ninia 1-24 Bivins, descendants of one of Mr. Goodnight's partners, Cornelia 2-1 Wadsworth Ritchie Adair, donated their bison herd to the Texas 2-2 Parks and Wildlife Department, and in the fall of 1997 the 2-3 department began DNA testing to separate the pure bison from the 2-4 hybrids; animals identified as pure buffalo were given to Caprock 2-5 Canyons State Park, whose nearly 15,200 acres in Briscoe, Floyd, 2-6 and Hall counties are situated on land that was formerly part of 2-7 the JA Ranch; altogether, some 30 bison from the ranch were added 2-8 to the park's existing herd of 14 buffalo, which at the time was 2-9 the largest state-owned herd in Texas; and 2-10 WHEREAS, While the park protects the buffalo, the animals 2-11 promise in turn to benefit the park's ecosystem by fostering the 2-12 health of the grasslands; as bison graze, their hooves thatch the 2-13 grass and simultaneously press new grass seed into the earth, 2-14 planting it in a most effective manner; and 2-15 WHEREAS, The bison herd begun by Charles and Mary Ann 2-16 Goodnight has played a major role in preserving the buffalo, and it 2-17 is altogether fitting that a herd so closely associated with the 2-18 heritage of the Lone Star State be recognized by this body; now, 2-19 therefore, be it 2-20 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-21 hereby commemorate the exceptional importance of the JA Ranch bison 2-22 herd and express its pleasure that this surviving group of the 2-23 southern herd should find a public home on its ancient range. Turner of Coleman _______________________________ _______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 250 was adopted by the House on May 11, 2001, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 250 was adopted by the Senate on May 22, 2001, by a viva-voce vote. _______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________________ Date __________________________ Governor