Stop the Sunol Tule Elk Hunt

Should Sunol's tule elk herd be hunted? The Department of Fish and Game thinks so, but has no scientific basis for the hunt. In spring of 2010 the California Fish and Game Commission approved several new hunt zones for tule elk, which have rebounded from near-extinction in California, but are still at low numbers in Alameda County. The Commission created a new Alameda County hunt zone which puts one Sunol bull tule elk in hunters' gun sights each year.

Just to be clear: the Alameda Creek Alliance is not an anti-hunting organization, nor do we have an anti-hunting agenda. We are opposed to trophy hunting in the watershed, misguided predator control programs, and hunting of native species that have low population numbers. Our concern is with maintaining a healthy population of tule elk in the watershed.

The Sunol tule elk herd numbers less than 60 elk

Tule elk are endemic to California. Over half a million tule elk are thought to have once roamed throughout the Central Valley and the coast range before European contact. Tule elk were hunted extensively, and by the end of the gold rush were thought to be completely extinct. A small remnant herd of just a handful of elk was discovered in 1874 on a ranch in San Joaquin County. This herd was protected by the rancher and by 1905 had grown to 140 elk. Subsequent relocation and reintroduction efforts allowed the population to grow to three herds totaling 500 elk by 1970. Hunting of tule elk was prohibited by legislation in 1971, in effect until the state population grew to 2,000 elk. Tule elk reached that mark in 1989, at which point legal hunting began on many of the reintroduced herds. As of 2010 there were about 3,800 tule elk in 21 herds in California, with one of the largest herds of 450 elk at Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin.

The overall elk population in California is recovering, but what about elk in the East Bay? In 1978 tule elk were reintroduced to Grant Ranch County Park in Santa Clara County. By 1980 this herd had split and dispersed, with some elk moving to Mt. Hamilton and others establishing themselves in the Alameda Creek watershed in an area around San Antonio Reservoir. The Sunol herd had 21 elk in 1984; 28 elk in 1986 (Harvey & Stanley report); and the population peaked at an estimated 70 elk in 1995 (Alameda County Planning Dept. report). Poaching of elk from the Sunol herd was noted to be a problem. The number of elk in the Sunol herd has apparently declined since the 1990s. A population estimate from 2005 based on extensive aerial surveys was 58 elk (SFPUC report). Although the Sunol herd is one of the healthiest in the Mt. Hamilton Range, less than 60 elk now remain.

The state's new Alameda hunt zone provides one elk tag for hunting on private lands south of I-580, west of I-5, east of I-680, and extends south to the Santa Clara, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus County lines. This hunt zone targets the Sunol herd and elk in Corral Hollow. There is an additional new hunt zone in Santa Clara County that allows shooting of one elk from the Mt. Hamilton herd. The Alameda elk hunt season runs for 16 days beginning the second Saturday in October.

The Alameda hunt allows for one bull tag, which means an elk with one or more antlers at least four inches long can be shot. In practice, hunters will go for the largest bull elk they can shoot, probably a "primary bull." Primary bulls are the largest males, who are responsible for more than 80% of the breeding. Bull elk typically have harems of up to 30 females, so there may be only one or two primary bulls in the Sunol herd. The hunt could be disruptive to breeding because it is timed to occur during the elk mating season, which runs through mid-October. The Sunol elk population has never been legally hunted, and will likely be easy targets for hunters. Department of Fish and Game statistics indicate that collectively, all of California's tule elk hunts have a 62% "success" rate, so there are better than even odds that a large bull or the largest bull elk will be shot from the Sunol herd each year.

November 2011 update - it has not been publicized how many hunters signed up for Alameda hunt tags, but we do know from the DFG web page that no elk was legally shot in the Alameda hunt zone in 2010. Also, DFG has listed "0" as the elk quota for Alameda for the 2011 hunt season. DFG has not contacted us or responded to our letter, but this may mean there was no Alameda elk hunt in 2011. We have heard from reliable sources that local landowners with access to the herd are offering elk hunting on their land for $5,000.

Here is a photo from the DFG web site showing what they think Sunol tule elk are for

What will the impact be of shooting the largest elk and a primary breeder on the Sunol herd population dynamics? This question was not asked or answered in the state's shoddy environmental review for the new hunting regulations, which simply stated: "These areas currently support adequate numbers of elk to support a limited harvest. Establishing (new) tule elk hunts in these areas is desired to improve hunter opportunity and is consistent with the statewide management objectives for tule elk." Neither the Fish and Game Department nor the Commission has made public any elk population numbers for Alameda County, despite our requests.

Local conservation groups and the non-hunting public in Alameda County were not notified or engaged about the new hunt. The state hunting regulations will be revisited in 2012.

The Commission has offered no evidence that the Sunol herd has adequate numbers to support regular "harvest" of primary bulls. Should the Sunol elk herd be compromised so a few hunters can get the "thrill" of shooting a large bull elk and a few landowners can enrich themselves? The declining Sunol elk herd is a public resource for everyone to enjoy. Based on the information we have, the Alameda Creek Alliance will be working to shut down this hunt.

Read the Alameda Creek Alliance comment letter to the Commission.