National Mammal

We all know that the bald eagle is the national emblem of the United States even though Benjamin Franklin lobbied for the turkey. Now there is a big push to make the bison the national mammal. Dave Carter is the Executive Director for the National Bison Association.

CARTER: The Bison Legacy Act is the culmination of some work that has been going on for about a decade among the National Bison Association and the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council and some of the conservation groups. And even though we all approach bison from a different perspective, at the center of the circle is this magnificent animal and all that it represents.

At one point bison roamed the plains in great thundering herds.

CARTER: We think that the Bison Legacy Act, which would establish bison as the national mammal, really celebrates the fact that this animal that was a keystone of this ecosystem for thousands of years - teetered on the brink of extinction 120 years ago but because of the work of private ranchers and conservation community and tribal leaders we are back and approaching half a million animals in North America today.

It may come as a surprise to some people that the bison or buffalo wasn't already the national mammal.

CARTER: And when you are thinking about a national mammal what could be more appropriate than this animal that has been such an important part of this world for thousands of years. There has been some legislation introduced in the House with a bill going into the Senate. We don't know of anybody that opposes the legislation. The only major hurdle that we face is there's some procedural issues in the House.

Visit votebison.org for more details.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.