California Elk · Independence Owens Valley Tule Elk Hunt
California Independence covers 73,656 acres and lies 19 miles south-east of Big Pine. 99% of it is public land, mostly county or city land (48%) and national forest (40%). In 2022, 5 people hunted tule here and took 3 (sum of published hunt rows). Its most applied-for hunt, 369, put up 1 tag (all residencies) in the 2025 draw for 533 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
4 licenses · NR capped at 1 tag statewide
first choice, NR
not published
49% Other public
73,656 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in Independence
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 367 | Independence Period 1 - Muzzleloader - Bull | <1% (small sample) | — | |
| 368 | Independence Period 2 - General Methods - Antlerless | 1% (small sample) | — | |
| 369 | Independence Period 2 - General Methods - Bull | <1% (small sample) | — | |
| 370 | Independence Period 3 - General Methods - Antlerless | <1% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2025 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2025 result: 371, 372.
Draw results: CDFW 2025 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics; CDFW 2025 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2025 nonresident fees): $2,053.79 ($227.94 to apply). Open Apr 15 – Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
Tule
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (summed) | 5 | 3 | 60% |
All elk
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 (summed) | 3 | 2 | 67% |
| 2022 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tule (hunt 1 of 5) | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Tule (hunt 2 of 5) | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Tule (hunt 3 of 5) | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Tule (hunt 4 of 5) | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Tule (hunt 5 of 5) | 1 | 1 | 100% |
What California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes no whole-zone line for 2022; a year's total is the sum of published hunt rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Source: CDFW 2022 Elk Harvest Statistics; CDFW 2021 Elk Harvest Success Rates.
The Ground
| County or city land | 35,668 ac | 48% |
| National Forest | 29,561 ac | 40% |
| BLM | 7,551 ac | 10% |
| Private or other non-public land | 874 ac | 1% |
Next Door
- Goodale Goodale - Owens Valley Tule Elk Hunt 98% public
- West Tinemaha West Tinemaha - Owens Valley Tule Elk Hunt 97% public
- Whitney Whitney - Owens Valley Tule Elk Hunt 99% public
- Lone Pine Lone Pine - Owens Valley Tule Elk Hunt 98% public
- Tehachapi Tehachapi Rocky Mountain Elk Hunt 34% public
- La Panza La Panza Tule Elk Hunt 33% public
▸ Sources 7
- CDFW 2025 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2025 Elk Tag Drawing Statistics draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Digest fees, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2022 Elk Harvest Statistics harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2021 Elk Harvest Success Rates harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- CDFW 2023 Elk Hunt Zones boundary, area description, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- GreenInfo Network 2026 Protected Areas Database a land ownership, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2025 draw, the latest on file, computed from California Department of Fish and Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check California Department of Fish and Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from California Department of Fish and Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All California elk hunts