I 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Bison Legacy 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) bison are considered to be a historical sym9 bol of the United States; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3400 IH

1 (2) bison were integrally linked with the eco2 nomic and spiritual lives of many Indian tribes 

3 through trade and sacred ceremonies; 

4 (3) there are more than 60 Indian tribes par5 ticipating in the Intertribal Buffalo Council; 

6 (4) numerous members of Indian tribes— 

7 (A) are involved in bison restoration on 

8 tribal land; and 

9 (B) have a combined herd on more than 

10 1,000,000 acres of tribal land; 

11 (5) the Intertribal Buffalo Council is a tribal 

12 organization incorporated pursuant to section 17 of 

13 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as ‘‘In14 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 477); 

15 (6) bison play an ecologically important role in 

16 modifying and improving the types of grasses found 

17 in landscapes to the benefit of grassland ecosystems; 

18 (7) a small group of ranchers helped save bison 

19 from extinction in the late 1800s by gathering the 

20 remnants of the decimated herds; 

21 (8) bison hold significant economic value for 

22 private producers and rural communities; 

23 (9) as of 2007, 200,000 head of bison were 

24 under the stewardship of private producers, creating 

25 jobs and providing a sustainable and healthy meat 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3400 IH

1 source contributing to the food security of the 

2 United States; 

3 (10) on December 8, 1905, William Hornaday, 

4 Theodore Roosevelt and others formed the American 

5 Bison Society in response to the near extinction of 

6 bison in the United States; 

7 (11) on October 11, 1907, the American Bison 

8 Society sent 15 captive-bred bison from the New 

9 York Zoological Park, now the Bronx Zoo, to the 

10 first wildlife refuge in the United States, which was 

11 known as the ‘‘Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge’’, 

12 resulting in the first successful reintroduction of a 

13 mammal species on the brink of extinction back into 

14 its natural habitat; 

15 (12) in 2005, the American Bison Society was 

16 reestablished, bringing together bison ranchers, 

17 managers from Indian tribes, Federal and State 

18 agencies conservation organizations, and natural and 

19 social scientists from the United States, Canada, 

20 and Mexico to create a vision for the North Amer21 ican bison in the 21st century; 

22 (13) the buffalo nickel played an important role 

23 in modernizing the currency of the United States; 

24 (14) a bison has been depicted on the official 

25 seal of the Department of the Interior almost conVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:15 Nov 05, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3400.IH H3400

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3400 IH

1 tinuously since 1912, is portrayed on 2 State flags, 

2 has been adopted by 3 States as the official mammal 

3 or animal of those States, and has been adopted as 

4 a mascot by several sports teams, which highlights 

5 the iconic significance of bison in the United States; 

6 (15) there are bison herds in National Wildlife 

7 Refuges and National Parks; 

8 (16) there are bison in State-managed herds 

9 across 11 States; 

10 (17) there is a growing effort to celebrate and 

11 officially recognize the historical, cultural, and eco12 nomic significance of the North American bison to 

13 the heritage of the United States; 

14 (18) in the 1st session of the 113th Congress, 

15 22 United States Senators led a successful effort to 

16 enact a resolution to designate November 2, 2013, 

17 as the second annual National Bison Day; and 

18 (19) members of Indian tribes, bison producers, 

19 conservationists, sportsmen, educators, and other 

20 public and private partners have participated in the 

21 annual National Bison Day celebration at several 

22 events across the United States and are committed 

23 to continuing this tradition annually on the first 

24 Saturday of November. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3400 IH

1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADOPTION OF THE NORTH 

2 AMERICAN BISON AS THE NATIONAL MAM3 MAL. 

4 The mammal commonly known as the ‘‘North Amer5 ican bison’’ is adopted as the national mammal of the 

6 United States. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS