#Tule Elk

[inatungulates]

Tule elk Cervus canadensis nannodes

Observed by roylesafaris, CC BY-NC

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Tule Elk

Wikimedia Commons

[rjzimmerman]

Historic: At Long Last, Ranchers Agree to Hang up Hats, Vacate Point Reyes National Seashore in Landmark Multi-Party Deal (Tule Elk Wars Pt. 2)

Excerpt from this story from EnviroNews:

Finally, it is coming to an end. “It” being the most hotly contested wildlife and public lands battle the country has seen since the spotted owl pitted the logging industry against environmentalists in the late 1980s. In a landmark agreement made official on Jan. 8, 2025, the Department of the Interior (DOI/Interior), its underlying agency the National Park Service (NPS), the Point Reyes Seashore Ranching Association, other ranching families, Native American tribes, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), the Nature Conservancy (NC), and three prominent environmental orgs that had sued the federal government, all agreed to end the standoff in the Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS/the Seashore/the park). The result: 12 cattle ranches that had been occupying around one-third of the park will be shuttered for good, fences and infrastructure will be removed and the pastoral zone remediated and restored to its natural state.

As part of a separate move by NPS that happened in December, the 2.2 mile-long, dreaded “elk fence” that had cordoned a herd of rare tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) into a small peninsula since 1978 is also expected to be fully removed, allowing the creatures to roam free and giving cause for celebration to animal rights fighters and ordinary citizens alike.

“This settlement is a major win for tule elk and Point Reyes’ environment, wildlife and native plants,” said Jeff Miller, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity in a press release. “I’m proud of what this collective agreement has accomplished and I’m looking forward to the improved management approach it can usher in. This is a historic opportunity to expand elk herds, restore coastal prairie habitats, and protect endangered species.”

[plethoraworldatlas]

Tule elk are majestic, highly social animals native to California — and once hunted to the brink of extinction. Now Point Reyes National Seashore is the only national park where they live. But instead of letting them move naturally, the National Park Service has maintained a fence that artificially confines a herd to Tomales Point at the park’s northern end, causing large elk die-offs during drought.  

Finally, thanks to public outrage and a flood of comments from Center for Biological Diversity supporters, the Park Service is proposing to tear down this lethal fence, letting elk roam freely in the park once again.  

The agency is also proposing collaboration with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in a new management plan for Tomales Point — a welcome embrace of Tribal historical and ecological knowledge. It will enhance habitat for tule elk and endangered butterflies, better control invasive plants, and protect both natural and cultural resources. 

Tell the Park Service you support a free-roaming elk herd and collaborative management plan.   

We’re providing sample comments below, but please submit a message in your own words through the National Park Service website.

[829cw]

I made some OCs inspired by U.S. states!

From top to bottom: Arkansas the Cat, California the Tule Elk, Maryland the Fox, and Alaska the Anchovy.

[kremro]

Tule Elk Bulls Fighting_5169 by Steve Platt Via Flickr: It is fascinating to watch elk bulls fighting during the rut. I'm still not sure how we don't see more one eyed elk. The truth is, I think I've only seen one bull with a damaged eye. Thanks for stopping by. Elk Bulls_5169-NR crop

[makingcontact]

The Coast Miwok Peoples, Colonization, and the Preservation of Indigenous History (Encore)

Caption: A tule elk in Point Reyes in 2015. Credit: Austlee via Wikimedia Commons, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 Deed license. Image is unaltered. Dive into the history of Point Reyes National Seashore, one of the most iconic national parks in northern California, with us. Known for rugged sweeping beaches and the famous tule elk, we’ll recount the waves of colonization that violently upended the lives of…

[saludos-desde-california]

The native Tule Elk herds...

California deer.

[aestheticshit420]

Oh, to be an elk scratching your head against a pole.

✨ tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore ✨

[vintagenuka]

ARCADE GANNON!!!

As a TULE ELK !

I chose an elk because I think it 1. Matches how he's the tallest human companion in game 2. I think the antlers would add to his slightly awkward personality. I chose a tule elk specifically because Arcade was born near San Francisco(ish), and these elk are endemic to that area :>

Also peep lil phainopepla bird Julie Farkas hherhrh

[inatungulates]

Tule elk Cervus canadensis nannodes

Observed by atdahl, CC BY-NC-ND

[identifying-deer-in-posts]

Tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes)

[surlifen]

nobody wants to hear my environmental grief it's such a bummer it's a huge bummer. this reading for class is making me almost cry

we used to have jaguars we used to have massive herds of grizzly bears grazing on clover. did you know they were social? did you know jaguars were endemic to california? jaguars. we used to have coastal prairie with wildflowers so thick you could see it from ships offshore. the tule elk is named for the tule marshes it lives in, but it prefers grassland. we drove it into marshes as its last refuge from colonization and then named it after that

we had jaguars... I didn't even know...

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from the LA Times:

After years of debate, nearly two miles of fencing that prevented Point Reyes National Seashore tule elk from accessing water and competing for food with nearby cattle will be removed, the National Park Service announced Monday.

The 8-foot-high, 2.2-mile enclosure fence, which was decried as inhumane by animal rights activists but supported by cattle ranchers, will be removed along with all temporary water systems.

“We analyzed three alternatives and incorporated feedback from over 35,000 public comment letters gathered during three comment periods,” said Anne Altman, park superintendent, in a media statement. “The benefit of removing this enclosure is to allow elk to access additional habitat, increase the species’ population resilience during drought, and promote a more natural population cycle.”

In 2021, the federal agency released a report that showed more than one third of the 445 elk fenced in at Tomales Point at the time had died the previous winter, reducing the population to 293.

Environmental and animal activists called on the Park Service to remove the fence, saying that it prevented the elk from reaching fresh water outside of the enclosure. Animal rights groups tried to bring water to the elk in 2020 but were rebuffed.

The fence was first installed in 1978 after tule elk were reintroduced to Tomales Point. The minimum population estimate for the herd is 315 elk, according to NPS’ 2024 annual count.

Their fenced-down freedom is expected to, both quickly and over time, improve the health of the herd. Significantly, it will reduce the number of elk deaths from thirst and starvation during California’s hot, dry summer and autumn seasons.

[plethoraworldatlas]

On June 9, 2023, they released a summary of that feedback: more than 20,000 public comments were submitted to the agency, nearly unanimously in favor of taking down the fence and prioritizing nature over commerce in the park. Surprising ranchers and activists alike, the June statement included a preferred action of removing the elk fence and letting the elk roam freely out of the reserve.

TAKE ACTION NOW:Point Reyes National Seashore is asking for comments from the public. Let them know Parks are for Wildlife, Not CowsThe National Park Service is calling for public comments regarding its management plan for tule elk currently held behind a fence at Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore. Confined behind a fence, there have been massive die-offs, especially during drought years, where they are cut off from adequate water sources.It is time to let these magnificent wild animals roam free in our National Seashore.Please take action today. It only takes a couple of minutes.The comment period ends on September 25, 2023. Please join us in asking the Park Service to remove the 8-foot fence that dooms native tule elk to slow and painful deaths during recurring drought periods.It is easy to comment, but you must do so on the NPS web page.

https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=131377

Points to make:

-Please execute Alternative B, Unconfined Elk Herd and Pierce Ranch Core Area.

-Thank you, National Park Service, for finally listening to the overwhelming voice of the public and removing the elk fence from Point Reyes.

-Fences are inappropriate in wilderness, and cattle should not be prioritized over wild animals.

-Confined native elk dying of thirst and malnutrition in a National Park is not acceptable.

-Once the elk fence is removed, the elk to roam freely and steps should be taken to allow avoid any culling, hazing, or harassment of the elk for any reason.

-Cattle operations are no longer appropriate in Point Reyes and should be ceased to honor the true charter of our Seashore, stated in the Point Reyes Enabling Legislation as “the maximum protection, restoration, and preservation of the natural environment within the area,” and in the Organic Act of 1916 as to “provide for the enjoyment of the scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

[shithowdy]

i learned the elk we saw grazing alongside the cows outside point reyes were specifically tule elk, native to california grasslands and the smallest northern american elk! they were on the brink of extinction and now have about 4,000 individuals in the wild thanks to conservation programs, but disease from the region's cattle farms still threatens them.