Tule Elk State Natural Reserve | |
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Location | 8653 Station Road, Buttonwillow, CA 93206 |
Nearest city | Tupman, California |
Coordinates | 35°19′17″N 119°21′51″W / 35.3214°N 119.3642°W |
Created | 1932 |
Operator | California State Parks |
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The Tule Elk State Natural Reserve, formerly the Tupman Reserve, is a protected area operated by California State Parks for the benefit of the general public and the at-risk tule elk subspecies of indigenous Cervus canadensis. There are usually about 30 to 35 tule elk in the conservation herd on the 953-acre (386 ha) reserve in Kern County, California, United States.
Once upon a time, tule elk were to California's Central Valley what 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."[1] Under hunting and habitat pressure, the population of indigenous tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) in California collapsed to double digits by the late 1800s.[2] 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.[3][2] By 1914, the Kern County herd protected by Miller had grown to about 400 head.[2] The Tupman Reserve was established in 1932 with about 175 tule elk from the Miller and Lux Ranch herd.[4][5] The state of California took over the site in 1953.[5][4] Tule Elk State Reserve has constructed ponds, and supplemental food is provided for the animals,[6] without which the population could not survive.[7] The ponds are necessary since local rivers no longer flood the land each winter, which historically created the tule bog habitats preferred by the elk.[8] Native plant species found at the reserve include tule and goldfields.[9]
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 Reserve.[2] The Owens Valley herd was established in 1972 with two males and three females from Tule Elk.[10] Five bulls and 23 cows from the reserve founded the SLO herd in 1989.[11] As of 2023, there were approximately 5,700 tule elk in the state.[4]
Access to the site is off Stockdale Road.[5] Admission is $8 per car.[12] Amenities include a visitor center,[13] a walk-up platform,[12] and a "small viewing and picnicking section".[13] The site has some limitations on accessibility for the disabled.[5]
Most of the reserve's 953 acres are considered ecologically sensitive and are closed to the public.[13] Ranger-led tours are typically offered the fourth Sunday of the month, except in December; call ahead to confirm.[12][14]
Circa 1993 about 30,000 people visited the park annually.[13] The reserve abuts the Elk Hills Oil Field, formerly the Naval Petroleum Reserve.[15] Nearby protected areas include Kern National Wildlife Refuge and Fort Tejon State Historic Park.[16]