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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas has customarily recognized a |
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variety of official symbols as tangible representations of the |
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state's historical and cultural heritage; figuring prominently in |
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that distinctive list are animals that played a central role in the |
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rich Western heritage of Texas, including the longhorn and the |
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American quarter horse; and |
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WHEREAS, Another deserving candidate for recognition is the |
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bison, popularly known as the buffalo; after arriving in North |
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America some 25,000 years ago, the bison adapted particularly well |
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to the environment of the Great Plains; by the 1700s, as many as 60 |
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million buffalo were living on the continent, and the lands that |
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were to become Texas were among the areas roamed by the vast herds; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The animals were central to the livelihood of the |
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Native Americans of the Great Plains, providing not only their main |
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diet but also materials for shelter, clothing, and many other |
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staples; the ample supply of bison and the hunting culture of the |
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Plains tribes were not to last, however; with the completion of the |
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transcontinental railroad in 1869, it became possible to profitably |
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ship bison hides and meat to eastern markets by rail, and in the |
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next 15 years, buffalo hunters almost completely exterminated the |
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herds; by 1885, fewer than 1,000 animals remained; and |
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WHEREAS, Fortunately, some Texans had the foresight to try |
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and save this noble creature; Mary Ann "Molly" Goodnight, the wife |
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of legendary Texas rancher Charles Goodnight, was so distressed by |
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the rapid disappearance of the bison that she convinced her husband |
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to begin capturing and protecting bison calves from the small |
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number of wild animals that remained on the Southern Plains; he |
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began to round up young bison in the 1870s in the northern Texas |
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Panhandle, and the herd at Goodnight's JA Ranch eventually grew to |
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about 250 head by the time Mr. Goodnight passed away in 1929; and |
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WHEREAS, The Goodnight bison herd became one of the five |
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foundation herds in the United States from which the majority of |
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surviving buffalo have developed; a number of animals directly |
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descended from the Goodnight stock were donated to the Texas Parks |
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and Wildlife Department in 1996, and a subset of that group was |
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determined to be a pure strain that had not been crossbred with |
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bison from other areas; given a home at Caprock Canyons State Park, |
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those buffalo and their offspring are today known as the Texas State |
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Bison Herd and are notable for their strong genetic link to the |
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original Southern Plains buffalo and because they continue to live |
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in the area where their ancestors were first caught; and |
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WHEREAS, In both its historical significance and its enduring |
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connections to Texas imagery and culture, the Texas State Bison |
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Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park is indeed a fitting symbol for |
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the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate the Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons |
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State Park as the official State Bison Herd of Texas. |