TOWERING TREES in the LADY BIRD JOHNSON GROVE, Redwood National Park, California

Redwood trees in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove of Redwood National Park, California.

I've been to a lot of our country's national parks, but this was my first time in Redwood National and State Parks in Humboldt County in northern California. Established in 1968, the 130,000 acres of forests, rivers, prairies and coastline that make up the park stretch from the small town of Orick to Crescent City near the Oregon border. Nearly a third of the parkland is old-growth redwood forests. On my recent visit in October to Humboldt County for an author festival, I did an author presentation at the school in Orick. 

Once a community of thriving lumber mills, the town's population shrunk after the establishment of the national park and the closing of the lumber mills. Only a few students now attend the school. On the afternoon of my visit, more elk were on the playground than students!

Elk on the Orick Elementary School playground.

It was a beautiful fall day, and after my visit with the students my companion and I had time for a short detour into the national park before returning to Eureka. Just beyond the town of Orick we found the turnoff from Highway 101 with a sign to Lady Bird Johnson Grove. The narrow road climbed out of the valley into the forest and along a ridge. After a short distance we came to a parking lot surrounded by towering redwoods and Douglas firs. An information board at the trailhead included a map and description of the park’s founding:

Lady Bird Johnson came to this site on November 25, 1968 to help dedicate Redwood National Park. She returned on August 27, 1969 to be honored by President Richard Nixon with this grove of trees named in her honor, recognizing Lady Bird’s devoted service to the cause of preserving and enhancing America’s natural beauty for the enjoyment of all people.

Indigenous people of the North Coast region have made the redwood forests and associated ecosystems their home since time immemorial

We followed the path and crossed the bridge into the grove. Looking up, giant redwoods reached to the sky, dwarfing the people below. It is awe inspiring.

Redwood trees can live up to 2000 years and often reach the age of 600 years.

Redwoods are the tallest trees in North America, reaching heights of up to 367 feet. Underneath, on the forest floor, grow an abundance of shrubs, ferns, wildflowers, mushrooms.

The park is also home to a wide variety of wildlife--birds, fish, marine mammals, land mammals and more. Elk graze in the valleys. Cliffs along the coast are nesting sites for thousands of seabirds. In 2022, California condors were released in the park, expanding the current range of these endangered birds that once lived up and down the Pacific Coast.

Redwoods National Park surrounds and encompasses three previously established California State Parks--Prairie Creek, Del Norte, and Jedidiah Smith--expanding protection for the trees and accompanying ecosystems. The parklands are managed cooperatively. The Redwoods National and State Parks have been designated a World Heritage Site and part of the California Coast Ranges Biosphere Preserve. I wish I had had more time to spend there. I will have to go back someday.
 

Roosevelt Elk. Only male elk have antlers.

TULE ELK RESERVE: Preserving California's Wildlife

I don’t know how many times I’ve driven Interstate 5 through California’s Central Valley and passed the signs to the Tule Elk Reserve (near Taft and Bakersfield) and said to myself, I should stop and see how the elk are doing.  Twenty-five years ago I wrote a book about the tule elk and how they had been saved from extinction by rancher Henry Miller.  Under his protection, the few elk on his property began to reproduce and the herd slowly grew.  Most, if not all, of the tule elk alive today are the descendants of those animals. Tule elk can now be seen in several places in California, including a herd in Cache Creek and in the Owens Valley.

Finally, on a recent drive between Oakland and Los Angeles, I decided to make the Tule Elk Reserve my rest stop.  It is only three miles from the interstate, but when you get there you feel as if you are in the middle of what California used to be, before the land was developed for agriculture.  The Tule Elk Reserve, near the small town of Tupman,  is a 953 acre fenced area where the elk can live safely and are supplied with plenty of food and water.  Several ponds have been built on the land to give the elk drinking water and places to wallow or bathe.  Cattails, or tule reeds, grow around the edges of the ponds and provide hiding places for young elk.

Male tule elk

While the grassland of the reserve is dry and open, the visitor area is a green oasis with picnic tables, bathrooms, and a viewing platform where you can look into the reserve.  With luck you can spot some elk.  On the afternoon that I visited, I could see a few animals resting in the distance.  I didn’t have my binoculars, so I used the telephoto lens on my camera to get a closer look.  Even though the elk were so far away that the image looked more like an Impressionist painting, I could still see the majestic antlers of the male elk.

Viewing platform

The Tule Elk Reserve is operated by the California State Parks. According to the website, you can take a ranger guided auto tour of the reserve on the second and fourth Sundays of every month.  This is what I did when I was researching my book and is the best way to see the elk up close in their natural environment.  My book Tule Elk (Carolrhoda Books, 1989) is illustrated with photographs by Richard Hewett.  It is out of print but is available online as an e-book.

Directions:  The reserve is 20 miles west of Bakersfield off of the Stockdale Highway west of I-5, in the vicinity of Buttonwillow.
The park has a picnic area that offers an excellent  opportunity to observe birds of San Joaquin Valley.  Interpretive exhibits may be viewed to the south and east of the comfort station.
Video:  Follow this link for a short video tour of the Tule Elk Reserve.