Passport to Texas

Bison at Caprock Canyons

Wildlife: The Texas State Bison Herd Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Located on the edge of the Caprock Escarpment, near the bottom of the Texas Panhandle, Caprock Canyons State Park delights visitors with breathtaking views.

02—About a thousand foot in elevation drop.

More people may be familiar, though, with its big brother.

08—I’m sure everyone’s heard of Palo Duro Canyon. That’s one of the canyons in the Caprock. We’re further down the escarpment from there, and we’re a series of smaller canyons.

Smaller, yes, but Park Superintendent Donald Beard says the nearly 15-thousand acre park has something Palo Duro doesn’t have: the state bison herd.

15—We are home to the official bison herd of the state of Texas. The Charles Goodnight herd – the Texas state bison herd is what it’s called now – was started in 1878 by Charles Goodnight and Mary Ann Goodnight, right here in these canyons.

These animals are direct descendents of the Southern Plains bison, and successful restoration of the herd is ongoing at the park…and that is worth celebrating.

16—These animals were started here in the canyons – kept here in the canyons. Never had any outside influence. So they are original Texans. And we do celebrate that. We have the Bison Celebration Days every September. This is our second year. It’s going to be a fun event that we have for a weekend.

Bison Celebration Days is September 14-16th At Caprock Canyons SP…with a Sunday Concert by Asleep at the Wheel; details at texasstateparks.org/bison, and on tomorrow’s show.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.