One of the world's oldest trees is set to face its toughest test yet. A development is set to go up just 550 feet away from the 13,000-18,000 year old "Jurupa Oak" after a contentious battle.
What's happening?
As the Washington Post reported, the path is clear for a 1.4-square-mile development to proceed 550 feet away from the tree, following a three to two vote by the Jurupa Valley, California, city council.
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Construction will take place an even closer 450 feet away from the ancient plant that scientists say dates back to the Ice Age, per the Post.
The tree's resiliency in an inhospitably hot and dry climate is remarkable. Part of the secret is its ability to reproduce itself through cloning, which allows it to persist through wildfires. Scientists theorize that the tree's location on a ridge and access to groundwater have enabled it to survive, according to the Post.
When weighing the fate of the project, council members considered arguments from both developers and environmentalists.
Developers argued the buffer zones would be sufficient to protect the tree, the tree could withstand the increase in heat, and the project would create jobs. Environmentalists countered that the separation was insufficient, the tree's groundwater sources would be under renewed threat, and building so close to the tree was unnecessary.
Why is the Jurupa Oak important?
The Jurupa Oak battle is part of a larger trend of humans encroaching on nature in potentially irreversible ways.
Conserving ancient plants is important to the conservation movement. Efforts to support biodiversity, protect local ecosystems against development, and sustainably develop are critical in preserving the planet.
The tree itself dates back to a prehistoric age of giant ground sloths and saber-toothed cats. Who knows what more secrets we could learn from the tree from its unique cloning to its unusual resilience?
It's worth noting the Jurupa Oak is considered a sacred plant by local tribes in the region, according to the LA Times. The Center for Biological Diversity adds the area around the tree is "home to endangered and threatened species including the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly, California gnatcatcher and Crotch's bumblebee."
What's being done about the decision?
The organized effort to preserve the tree isn't giving up after the vote, and they are weighing legal action, per the Post.
Ahead of the vote, a group of tribal and environmental advocates, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, put together a rejected counter-proposal that would've created a 100-acre preserve to protect Jurupa Oak.
In the wake of the decision, members of that coalition were disheartened.
Meredith Stevenson, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said, "it's shocking and sad," per a statement released by the group.
"Buildings come and go but the Jurupa Oak is a one-of-a-kind gem that can offer lessons about our natural heritage for generations to come," she added.
Meanwhile, Laura Jaime of the Shiishongna Tongva Nation Corona Band of Gabrielino Indians called the oak "a living symbol of our ancestral connection to this land."
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