Bison the National Mammal? One Step Closer

The U.S. Senate late last week passed a bill known as the National Bison Legacy Act that would establish the animal as America’s national mammal. It’s the third time backers of the proposal have tried to move the bill through Congress, but the first time it’s passed either chamber.

It’s not an attempt to elbow aside the bald eagle as America’s symbol, says Dave Carter, but rather one to recognize the role bison have played in the making of America.

“Through all of our history, the hoof print of the bison is deeply embedded in our landscape,” he says.

Carter is executive director of the National Bison Association, which, perhaps a bit ironically, represents bison-raising ranchers who would prefer more of you throw bison burgers on the barbecue the next Fourth of July, add ketchup and relish, and eat their choice for the national mammal on the national birthday.

Given the federal protections extended to bald eagles, are they not concerned that a designation as the national mammal could lead to similar laws protecting bison?

Carter laughs. It’s not the first time he has fielded the question.

“If Benjamin Franklin had had his way, the national symbol would have been the turkey,” Carter says. “I don’t think we’d have stopped eating them. The national tree is the oak, but last time I looked, there’s a lot of oak furniture out there.”

The National Bison Association and its rancher-members are not alone in their backing of the National Bison Legacy Act. They have partnered for several years with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the InterTribal Buffalo Council, which represents 56 Indian tribes in 19 states, to lobby Congress for the designation.

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