Tule Elk State Natural Reserve

Once upon a time, tule elk were to California's Central Valley what the American bison was to the Great Plains. As a Modesto Bee staff writer explained in 1976, "In less populated times grizzly bears roamed the Central Valley and tule elk and pronghorn antelope grazed on the perennial bunch grasses."{{Cite news |last=Neher |first=Nancy |date=1976-10-10 |title=Valley farms, industry take heavy toll on nature |pages=8 |work=The Modesto Bee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee-valley-farms-industry-t/132258373/ |access-date=2023-09-23}} Under hunting and habitat pressure, the population of indigenous tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) in California collapsed to double digits by the late 1800s.{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Pete |date=1994-02-23 |title=No Horns of a Dilemma |pages=44 |work=The Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-no-horns-of-a-dile/132256755/ |access-date=2023-09-23}} Rancher Henry Miller of the Miller and Lux Ranch, however, made a project out of sheltering the surviving individuals that lingered in the wetlands surrounding Kern County's Buena Vista Lake.{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/historicspotsinc0000unse_y1c2 |title=Historic spots in California |date=1990 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-1734-2 |pages=131}} By 1914, the Kern County herd protected by Miller had grown to about 400 head. The Tupman Zoological Reserve was established in 1932 with about 175 tule elk from the Miller and Lux Ranch herd. The state of California took over the site in 1953.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PwTi34hdNJoC&pg=PA44 |title=Off the Beaten Path: A Travel Guide to More Than 1,000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting |date=2003 |publisher=Reader's Digest |isbn=978-0-7621-0424-6 |pages=44}}{{Cite web |title=Tule Elk SNR |url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=CA State Parks}} The Tule Elk State Natural Reserve has constructed ponds, and supplemental food is provided for the animals,{{Cite book |last=National Audubon Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jExIEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA416 |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to California: Regional Guide: Birds, Animals, Trees, Wildflowers, Insects, Weather, Nature Pre serves, and More |date=1998 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-679-44678-1 |pages=416}} without which the population could not survive.{{Cite book |last=Environment |first=United States Congress House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVDSAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Tule+elk%22+state+reserve&pg=PA233 |title=Tule Elk Refuge: Hearings, Ninety-third Congress, First Session |date=1974 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=233}} The ponds are necessary since local waterways do not flow through the reserve unless water from canals is diverted to the historic Buena Vista Slough, a slow moving waterway which historically created the tule bog habitats preferred by the elk.{{Cite news |title=Back to the Gold Rush In Which the Author Retraces the Steps of His Great-Grandfather in 1849, When Things Looked Mighty Different in California |first=Charles |last=Perry |department=Los Angeles Times Magazine | newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1988-07-03 |page=14 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/405057519/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |via=Newspapers.com}} Native plant species found at the reserve include tule, milkweed, mule fat, willow, mesquite, rabbitbrush, and a variety of wildflowers including goldfields.{{Cite news |last=Castleman |first=Terry |date=2023-04-10 |title=SoCal's Superbloom |pages=B2 |work=The Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-socals-superbloom/132261053/ |access-date=2023-09-23}}

Other herds in the state, such as those in the Owens Valley and near San Luis Obispo, were established using individuals from the Tule Elk State Natural Reserve. The Owens Valley herd was established in 1972 with two males and three females from the Tule Elk Reserve.{{Cite news |date=1972-04-20 |title=Near Lone Pine and Independence |pages=34 |work=Times-Press-Recorder |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-press-recorder-near-lone-pine-and/132258202/ |access-date=2023-09-23}} Five bulls and 23 cows from the reserve founded the SLO herd in 1989.{{Cite news |date=1989-10-04 |title=Herd of tule elk is transplanted here |pages=5 |work=The Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-herd-of-tule-elk-is-transpla/132259734/ |access-date=2023-09-23}} As of 2023, there were approximately 6,000 tule elk in the state.

Access to the park is off Stockdale Highway and Morris Road. Admission is $8 per car.{{Cite book |last1=Stienstra |first1=Tom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LsOoDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Tule+elk%22+state+reserve&pg=PT686 |title=Moon California Hiking: The Complete Guide to 1,000 of the Best Hikes in the Golden State |last2=Brown |first2=Ann Marie |date=2020-04-21 |publisher=Avalon Publishing |isbn=978-1-64049-896-9}} Amenities include restrooms, drinking fountains, a visitor center,{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VAcxAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Tule+elk%22+state+reserve&pg=RA2-SA326-PA6-IA7 |title=Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve No.1: Environmental Impact Statement |date=1993 |pages=3.7–7}} a viewing platform, and a picnicking area.

Most of the reserve's 960 acres are considered ecologically sensitive and are closed to the public. Ranger-led tours are typically offered the fourth Saturday of the month at 10:00 AM, except in December. Pets are prohibited on the ecologically sensitive portion of the reserve.{{Cite news |date=2020-02-19 |title=Tule Elk State Natural Reserve Auto Safari |pages=A4 |work=The Sentinel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sentinel-tule-elk-state-natural-rese/132261289/ |access-date=2023-09-23}}

Circa 1993 about 30,000 people visited the park annually. The reserve abuts the Elk Hills Oil Field, formerly the Naval Petroleum Reserve.{{Cite news |date=1970-03-06 |title=Trip of the Week |pages=51 |work=Anaheim Bulletin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/anaheim-bulletin-trip-of-the-week/132257863/ |access-date=2023-09-23}} Nearby protected areas include Kern National Wildlife Refuge and Fort Tejon State Historic Park.{{Cite news |date=2008-12-14 |title=State parks beckon along I-5 |pages=76 |work=The News and Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-state-parks-beckon/132260080/ |access-date=2023-09-23}}

• List of California state parks
• Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
• Fauna of California
• {{section link|List of mammals of California|Even-toed ungulates}}
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Category:1932 establishments in California

Category:California State Reserves

Category:Protected areas established in 1932

Category:Protected areas of Kern County, California