The Palmer oak trees in Jurupa Valley are estimated to be 13,000 to 18,000 years old. The plant, which looks like a spreading dark green shrub, is now at the center of a development war.
(played by Aaron Echols)
Jurupa Valley, California—
After five hours of contentious public meeting, environmentalists convince Inland Empire officials to postpone Develop a project within 400 feet One of the oldest known plants in the state and the third oldest in the world.
“Tonight was a real learning process,” Jurupa Valley City Planning Commission Chair Penny Newman said at Thursday’s meeting. “I think we all need time to process the information we got here tonight.”
The committee voted unanimously to pass. Commissioners said developers must conduct more research into the potential impacts of this plant, the Palmer oak, and further explore conservation measures. Commissioners also asked for more details about plans to transfer ownership of the tree and surrounding land to a local tribe, which will oversee its conservation.
“We found a treasure in this humble city on the world stage,” lifelong Jurupa Valley resident Jennifer Ayer told the meeting. “In a city known for its toxic waste dumps and some of the worst air quality in the country … let’s create a plan that protects and celebrates the unique things that make us proud.”
The development covers approximately 370 acres and includes residential homes, a primary school, a business park and industrial buildings. It would leave the tree on a 27-acre rocky outcrop but within 400 feet of the plant. Scientists and tribal members say oak trees have been around for at least 13,000 years – surviving the last Ice Age and, more recently, the founding of the United States.
Members of the Shiishongna Tongva, Corona Band of Gabrieleño Indians, and Kizh Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians have also lived in the Santa Ana River Basin for thousands of years. Both groups consider the tree sacred.
“We’ve known this tree forever,” said Michael Negrete, chief and president of the Shiishongna Tongva Nation. “It provides medicine. It provides oxygen. It gives life to animals.
The company has been working hard to develop the land since early 1990s, Richland Communities presented current plans for 2019. Responsibilities of Silk Oak Lands to Aboriginal Tribes or Conservation Organizations.
Richland Communities announced at the meeting that a conceptual agreement has been reached to transfer the land to the Kri and provide them with $250,000 in initial conservation funding. Company officials also proposed requiring agreements to be finalized before construction begins on the industrial and commercial portions closest to the trees.
Commissioners want more information on the details of the plan and how land protections will be legally enforced. Richland Communities did not respond to a request for comment.
Compared to the craggy California live oak, the Palmer oak looks more like a shrub, consisting of individual stems sprouting in the woods. Only recently have researchers determined its impressive age.
When Mitchell Provance, a botanist and research associate at the University of California, Riverside, first noticed the oak tree more than two decades ago, he found that strangely, it lived in a place much lower than where the tree normally grows. , areas with much higher temperatures, isolated from other members of the species. He started discussing the tree with his colleagues. They speculate that this was the last stand against a cooler, wetter period in the area—a kinder environment for oak trees.
To test whether this was the case, the researchers collected samples from multiple dead stems, and sure enough, they all had the same DNA. Whenever the tree is destroyed by fire, it sprouts again from the roots of the trunk. By using tree rings to estimate how much a tree trunk can grow in a year, the team was able to calculate a tree’s age by measuring its diameter.
Today, the grove is 80 feet wide, and researchers estimate the tree is between 13,000 and 18,000 years old. Experts say it’s possible that the tree is capable of reproducing itself and not just producing clones by re-sprouting from the trunk, but that’s unlikely.
While the company has worked with environmental consultants FirstCarbon Solutions to study the impact of construction vibrations on the trees and identify potential water sources, it has not yet mapped the trees’ root systems or confirmed their direct water sources – a process that requires chemical testing of the trees. water.
Some are also concerned that the proposed development will expose aging oak trees to the urban heat island effect – a phenomenon that can operate in developed areas 1 to 7 degrees higher A shady natural area during the day.
Aaron Echols, conservation president of the California Native Plant Society in Riverside/San Bernardino, said conservation groups have a responsibility to point out potential impacts to the tree that have not been studied. “The burden of mitigating the impact … lies with the applicant and the consultant.”
Environmentalist Aaron Echols walks along a dirt road that passes through a massive hill where the Palmer Oak stands. The development will extend to the foot of the mountain.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The portion of the environmental impact review discussing Palmer Oak, including its exact location, has been removed from public documents. The city is required by law to do so because of the tree’s sensitive cultural significance to Native tribes. As a result, independent scientists were unable to scrutinize the report.
The city said it would explore “creative ways” to legally allow a few selected third-party experts to view and discuss the report.
