It began life around the end of the last Ice Age, wedged between two stones on the rise in Riverside County’s Jurupa Hills – a shrubby oak tree thought to be 13,000 years old, making it one of the Earth’s oldest living things.
It is sterile and develops clonally, with new branches and root systems that drain rainwater gathered in fissures in the rocks under the surface, because it lacks pollination from other members of its species, Quercus palmeri or Palmer’s oak.
“If it had eyes, it would have gazed out at saber-toothed tigers and mastodons,” said Norman Ellsrand, distinguished professor of botany at UC Riverside.
However, if the city of Jurupa Valley adopts a developer’s request, this renowned survivor may soon be staring out at tract homes and warehouses.
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Researchers, native plant lovers, and tribe officials are concerned that the oak will not survive the clamor of urban growth surging up the slopes of its solitary rocky perch, according to a recently released environmental impact analysis on a proposed master planned town named Rio Vista.
The design includes 1,697 residences, commercial sites, two primary schools, three parks, an equestrian facility, and a light industry zone, as well as oak tree protection measures.
However, supporters of the oak argue that these steps are insufficient.
It also proposes delegating administration of the 23 acres surrounding its rocky perch to a future homeowners association, Riverside County officials, or a “local conservation entity” comprised of Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians-Kizh Nation members.
The oak is extremely precious to the tribe, and the Native American Heritage Commission has recognized 44 acres of land surrounding it as a holy place.
“From the beginning, we’ve been opposed to this development,” said tribe scientist Matthew Teutimez. “It’s not just the oak — we’re concerned about that whole landscape of hill complexes that have been used for ceremonial purposes for thousands of years.”
Palmer’s oak is not considered endangered or threatened, and it may be found in canyons and dry washes from the Bay Area to Baja California, Mexico. But no other example is as uncommon or as one-of-a-kind as the 4-foot-tall Jurupa oak on a hill overlooking the Pomona Freeway, a rock quarry, and a tangle of trails where offroaders ride motorcycles and other vehicles.
A combination of environmental groups, including the California Native Plant Society, the Sierra Club, and the Global Conservation Consortium for Oak/The Morton Arboretum, is advocating for 1,500-foot buffer zones and, possibly, a much reduced construction footprint.
Richland Communities, the real estate investment and development firm behind the Rio Vista project, did not respond to requests for comment.
However, Jurupa Valley planner Jim Pechous stated, “The city believes that it is critical that this tree be protected.”
“It is a significant resource for us, environmentalists, Native Americans and even the nation,” he told the audience.
Researchers calculated the tree’s minimum age of 13,000 years by monitoring growth rings and the pace at which new branches sprang in response to fire.
According to a research by UC Davis and UC Riverside scientists, that’s 1,000 years older than a 12,000-year-old Palm Springs creosote bush that was previously regarded to be California’s oldest plant, 8,000 years older than bristlecone pines, and 10,000 years older than redwoods.
Aaron Echols, 35, conservation chair of the California Native Plant Society’s Riverside/San Bernardino chapter, recently tramped up a steep no-nonsense route, scaled boulders, and barged through sticker fields to check on the oldest plant ever documented in California.
Finally, he arrived at the 90-foot-wide area of ground-hugging branches with stiff, leathery green leaves that were wavy and bordered with sharp spines.
“Hang in there,” he added, smiling.
