,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bdfd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #aa1     
#bjad ,mr4 ,johnson of ,south ,dakota   
7for himself1 ,mr4 ,hoeven1 ,mr4        
,bennet1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4        
,heinrich1 ,ms4 ,heitkamp1 ,mr4 ,inhofe1
 ,mr4 ,johanns1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4       
,portman1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mr4 ,thune1   
,mr4 ,udall of ,new ,mexico1 and ,mr4   
,whitehouse7 introduced the following   
bill2 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 ,states4 
#a4 ,short title  ,this ,act may be     
cited as the ,national ,bison ,legacy   
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds    
that-- 7#a7 bison are considered a      
historical symbol of the ,united        
,states2  7#b7 bison were integrally    
linked with the economic and spiritual  
lives of many ,indian tribes through    
trade and sacred ceremonies2  7#c7 there
 are more than #fj ,indian tribes       

participating in the ,intertribal       
,buffalo ,council2  7#d7 numerous       
members of ,indian tribes are involved  
in bison restoration on tribal land2    
7#e7 members of ,indian tribes have a   
combined herd on more than #a1jjj1jjj   
acres of tribal land2  7#f7 the         
,intertribal ,buffalo ,council is a     
tribal organization incorporated        
pursuant to section #ag of the ,act of  
,june #ah1 #aicd 7commonly known as the 
,indian ,reorganization ,act7 7#be      
,u4,s4,c4 #dgg72  7#g7 bison can play an
 important role in improving the types  
of grasses found in landscapes to the   
benefit of grasslands2  7#h7 a small    
group of ranchers helped save bison from
 extinction in the late #ahjjs by       
gathering the remnants of the decimated 
herds2  7#i7 bison hold significant     
economic value for private producers and
 rural communities2  7#aj7 according to 
the #bjab ,census of ,agriculture of the
 ,department of ,agriculture1 as of     
#bjab1 #afb1aaj head of bison were under

 the stewardship of private producers1  
creating jobs and providing a           
sustainable and healthy meat source     
contributing to the food security of the
 ,united ,states2  7#aa7 a bison is     
portrayed on #b ,state flags2  7#ab7 the
 bison has been adopted by #c ,states as
 the official mammal or animal of those 
,states2  7#ac7 a bison has been        
depicted on the official seal of the    
,department of the ,interior since      
#aiab2  7#ad7 the buffalo nickel played 
an important role in modernizing the    
currency of the ,united ,states2  7#ae7 
several sports teams have the bison as a
 mascot1 which highlights the iconic    
significance of bison in the ,united    
,states2  7#af7 on ,december #h1 #aije1 
,william ,hornaday1 ,theodore           
,roosevelt1 and others formed the       
,american ,bison ,society in response to
 the near extinction of bison in the    
,united ,states2  7#ag7 on ,october #aa1
 #aijg1 the ,american ,bison ,society   
sent #ae captive-bred bison from the    

,new ,york ,zoological ,park1 now known 
as the ,bronx ,zoo1 to the first        
wildlife refuge in the ,united ,states1 
which was known as the ,wichita         
,mountains ,wildlife ,refuge1 resulting 
in the first successful reintroduction  
of a mammal species on the brink of     
extinction back into the natural habitat
 of the species2  7#ah7 in #bjje1 the   
,american ,bison ,society was           
reestablished1 bringing together bison  
ranchers1 managers from ,indian tribes1 
,federal and ,state agencies1           
conservation organizations1 and natural 
and social scientists from the ,united  
,states1 ,canada1 and ,mexico to create 
a vision for the ,north ,american bison 
in the #bast century2  7#ai7 there are  
bison herds in ,national ,wildlife      
,refuges and ,national ,parks2  7#bj7   
there are bison in ,state-managed herds 
across #aa ,states2  7#ba7 there is a   
growing effort to celebrate and         
officially recognize the historical1    
cultural1 and economic significance of  

the ,north ,american bison to the       
heritage of the ,united ,states2  7#bb7 
in the #ast session of the #aacth       
,congress1 #be ,senators led a          
successful effort to enact a resolution 
to designate ,november #b1 #bjac1 as the
 second annual ,national ,bison ,day2   
and  7#bc7 members of ,indian tribes1   
bison producers1 conservationists1      
sportsmen1 educators1 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 ,november4  #c4  
,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 ,states4