Bison in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Beatlesnature via Wikimedia Commons
A bill to designate the bison as the official mammal of the United States will be sent to President Barack Obama after clearing a final hurdle in Congress on Thursday. Passage of H.R.2908, the National Bison Legacy Act, in the Senate came after the bill cleared the House on Wednesday. The measure recognizes the efforts of the Intertribal Buffalo Council in restoring bison to tribal homelands. "It's important that tribes be able to tell the story of their historic buffalo culture because it's necessary to know in order to create a modern day buffalo culture," the organization said on Facebook on Thursday. "The buffalo allowed us to survive as a healthy people with a strong social structure and the return of buffalo into our daily lives can lead us on a path back to those times." Passage of the bill, however, does not affect federal or state policies that make it difficult for tribes to restore bison on their own lands. It also does not end the slaughter of bison that leave the Yellowstone National Park. Get the Story:
Congress votes to designate bison as national mammal (AP 4/28)
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