California, USA, has returned 17,000 acres of ancestral foothill habitat to the Tule River Indian Tribe, where Tule elk have now been reintroduced for the first time in decades.
“This land return expands access to essential food and medicinal resources, restores wildlife, and deepens environmental stewardship,” said Lester R. Nieto Jr., Tule River Tribal Council Chairman.
The land, known as the Yowlumne Hills, spans 17,030 acres and reconnects tribal territory with the Giant Sequoia landscape, creating a protected wildlife corridor in the Sierra foothills. Tule elk, endemic to California, were released in partnership with the state’s wildlife agency, following last year’s tribal reintroduction of beavers to the South Fork Tule River. The transfer, funded through California’s Tribal Nature-Based Solutions programme, is the most significant such return in the Central Valley and supports future fire-resilient land management, watershed protection, and cultural revitalisation.
