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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In 1877, Charles Goodnight became the manager of the |
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JA Ranch in the Caprock Canyonlands of the Texas Panhandle; the |
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once-great bison herds of the area had been slaughtered almost to |
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the point of extinction; at the urging of his wife, Mary Ann, |
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Goodnight rounded up enough of the creatures to form a small herd, |
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which allowed the Southern Plains Bison population to survive; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1880, Goodnight acquired the Lazy F Ranch and |
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renamed it "Quitaque," which he believed was an Indian word for "end |
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of the trail"; Quitaque is located on State Highway 86 in |
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southeastern Briscoe County; when the county was organized in 1892, |
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the townsite of Quitaque was surveyed and platted; and |
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WHEREAS, Caprock Canyons State Park, located approximately |
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three miles north of Quitaque, was acquired from the estate of |
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Theodore Geisler in May 1975; the park opened in 1982 and is the |
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third-largest state park in Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, The park is home to the "Official State Bison Herd of |
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Texas"; these bison are direct descendants of the last free-range |
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Southern Plains Bison that the Goodnights saved from extinction; |
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the herd was donated to the park in 1996 by the JA Ranch, which is |
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the oldest privately owned ranch in the Texas Panhandle; and |
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WHEREAS, For many years, the citizens of Quitaque encouraged |
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the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to establish a state park in |
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the Quitaque area and encouraged the donation of the JA Ranch Bison |
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Herd to the state park; and |
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WHEREAS, O. R. Stark Jr., born in Quitaque, understood the |
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need for a friends group for Caprock Canyons State Park and |
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Trailway; he was instrumental in forming Caprock Partners |
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Foundation in 1996 and served as foundation president until his |
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death; the foundation has supported the park and its historic bison |
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habitat as environmental and recreational treasures; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate the City of Quitaque to be the official Bison |
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Capital of Texas; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That in accordance with the provisions of Section |
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391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
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until the 10th anniversary of its designation. |