[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3400 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3400

To adopt the North American bison as the national mammal of the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2013

  Mr. Clay (for himself, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Serrano, and Mrs. Noem) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                    Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To adopt the North American bison as the national mammal of the United 
                                States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Bison Legacy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) bison are considered to be a historical symbol of the 
        United States;
            (2) bison were integrally linked with the economic and 
        spiritual lives of many Indian tribes through trade and sacred 
        ceremonies;
            (3) there are more than 60 Indian tribes participating in 
        the Intertribal Buffalo Council;
            (4) numerous members of Indian tribes--
                    (A) are involved in bison restoration on tribal 
                land; and
                    (B) have a combined herd on more than 1,000,000 
                acres of tribal land;
            (5) the Intertribal Buffalo Council is a tribal 
        organization incorporated pursuant to section 17 of the Act of 
        June 18, 1934 (commonly known as ``Indian Reorganization Act'') 
        (25 U.S.C. 477);
            (6) bison play an ecologically important role in modifying 
        and improving the types of grasses found in landscapes to the 
        benefit of grassland ecosystems;
            (7) a small group of ranchers helped save bison from 
        extinction in the late 1800s by gathering the remnants of the 
        decimated herds;
            (8) bison hold significant economic value for private 
        producers and rural communities;
            (9) as of 2007, 200,000 head of bison were under the 
        stewardship of private producers, creating jobs and providing a 
        sustainable and healthy meat source contributing to the food 
        security of the United States;
            (10) on December 8, 1905, William Hornaday, Theodore 
        Roosevelt and others formed the American Bison Society in 
        response to the near extinction of bison in the United States;
            (11) on October 11, 1907, the American Bison Society sent 
        15 captive-bred bison from the New York Zoological Park, now 
        the Bronx Zoo, to the first wildlife refuge in the United 
        States, which was known as the ``Wichita Mountains Wildlife 
        Refuge'', resulting in the first successful reintroduction of a 
        mammal species on the brink of extinction back into its natural 
        habitat;
            (12) in 2005, the American Bison Society was reestablished, 
        bringing together bison ranchers, managers from Indian tribes, 
        Federal and State agencies conservation organizations, and 
        natural and social scientists from the United States, Canada, 
        and Mexico to create a vision for the North American bison in 
        the 21st century;
            (13) the buffalo nickel played an important role in 
        modernizing the currency of the United States;
            (14) a bison has been depicted on the official seal of the 
        Department of the Interior almost continuously since 1912, is 
        portrayed on 2 State flags, has been adopted by 3 States as the 
        official mammal or animal of those States, and has been adopted 
        as a mascot by several sports teams, which highlights the 
        iconic significance of bison in the United States;
            (15) there are bison herds in National Wildlife Refuges and 
        National Parks;
            (16) there are bison in State-managed herds across 11 
        States;
            (17) there is a growing effort to celebrate and officially 
        recognize the historical, cultural, and economic significance 
        of the North American bison to the heritage of the United 
        States;
            (18) in the 1st session of the 113th Congress, 22 United 
        States Senators led a successful effort to enact a resolution 
        to designate November 2, 2013, as the second annual National 
        Bison Day; and
            (19) members of Indian tribes, bison producers, 
        conservationists, sportsmen, educators, and other public and 
        private partners have participated in the annual National Bison 
        Day celebration at several events across the United States and 
        are committed to continuing this tradition annually on the 
        first Saturday of November.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADOPTION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN BISON AS THE 
              NATIONAL MAMMAL.

    The mammal commonly known as the ``North American bison'' is 
adopted as the national mammal of the United States.
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