II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2032 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 

Mr. HOEVEN (for himself and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To adopt the 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 a historical symbol of 

9 the United States; 


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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 are in7 volved in bison restoration on tribal land; 

8 (5) members of Indian tribes have a combined 

9 herd on more than 1,000,000 acres of tribal land; 

10 (6) the Intertribal Buffalo Council is a tribal 

11 organization incorporated pursuant to section 17 of 

12 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the 

13 ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 477); 

14 (7) bison can play an important role in improv15 ing the types of grasses found in landscapes to the 

16 benefit of grasslands; 

17 (8) a small group of ranchers helped save bison 

18 from extinction in the late 1800s by gathering the 

19 remnants of the decimated herds; 

20 (9) bison hold significant economic value for 

21 private producers and rural communities; 

22 (10) according to the 2012 Census of Agri23 culture of the Department of Agriculture, as of 

24 2012, 162,110 head of bison were under the stew25 ardship of private producers, creating jobs and proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:49 Sep 16, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2032.IS S2032

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1 viding a sustainable and healthy meat source con2 tributing to the food security of the United States; 

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

4 Theodore Roosevelt, and others formed the Amer5 ican Bison Society in response to the near extinction 

6 of bison in the United States; 

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

8 Society sent 15 captive-bred bison from the New 

9 York Zoological Park, now known as the ‘‘Bronx 

10 Zoo’’, to the first wildlife refuge in the United 

11 States, which was known as the ‘‘Wichita Mountains 

12 Wildlife Refuge’’, resulting in the first successful re13 introduction of a mammal species on the brink of ex14 tinction back into the natural habitat of the species; 

15 (13) 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 

19 and social scientists from the United States, Can20 ada, and Mexico to create a vision for the North 

21 American bison in the 21st century; 

22 (14) there are bison herds in National Wildlife 

23 Refuges and National Parks; 

24 (15) there are bison in State-managed herds 

25 across 11 States; 


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1 (16) there is a growing effort to celebrate and 

2 officially recognize the historical, cultural, and eco3 nomic significance of the North American bison to 

4 the heritage of the United States; 

5 (17) a bison is portrayed on 2 State flags; 

6 (18) the bison has been adopted by 3 States as 

7 the official mammal or animal of those States; 

8 (19) a bison has been depicted on the official 

9 seal of the Department of the Interior since 1912; 

10 (20) the buffalo nickel played an important role 

11 in modernizing the currency of the United States; 

12 (21) several sports teams have the bison as a 

13 mascot, which highlights the iconic significance of 

14 bison in the United States; 

15 (22) in the 2nd session of the 113th Congress, 

16 22 Senators led a successful effort to enact a resolu17 tion to designate November 1, 2014, as the second 

18 annual National Bison Day; and 

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

20 conservationists, sportsmen, educators, and other 

21 public and private partners have participated in the 

22 annual National Bison Day celebration at several 

23 events across the United States and are committed 

24 to continuing this tradition annually on the first 

25 Saturday of November. 


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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 


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