If the tree’s were so damn important and precious, why didn’t the state buy the property?
This couple wasn’t sued by the State of California. They were sued by the Sonoma Land Trust, whose authority in the matter was clearly spelled out in the title for the land before the current owners bought it.
Or more accurately “this couple chose to buy a piece of property that already had lines drawn on it by the Land Trust that previous owners had entrusted it to.”
You want the unfettered right to cut down trees on your own property? Don’t buy property that is part of a conservation trust.
27 Likes
Unfortunately, they did not want their new house to be next to the 180-year-old oak. Quite the opposite - they wanted the 180-year-old oak to be next to their new house. That’s where the whole plan fell apart. 
3 Likes
They violated the terms of their deed, not some sneaky California communist plot. Conservation easements are a pretty standard part of property law and often come with some lovely tax benefits.
14 Likes
Jeez, for that kind of money they should at least be able to get their kid into Stanford, perhaps as a forestry major.
10 Likes
My grandmother did something along those lines, though not quite so long. She lived in south Alabama, where it is so hot that humans really shouldn’t live there. When she and my grandfather moved into their house in the 1940s, she planted a row of oak trees on the southeastern edge of the yard. As the decades went by, they provided more and more shade for the yard and the house. Couple that with the 14 foot ceilings (old one story house), and a big chunk of the year is tolerable without AC.
11 Likes
I heard about a couple who bought a house site with a fantastic, old tree. They designed their new house around the tree but on the day the builders arrived on site to start work they cut the tree down to make room for the house.
I suppose the answer is to be on site for things like that. Builders can be simple minded people.
1 Like
The best part is, you don’t have to arrive on-site early!
2 Likes
Funny thing is that it really depends on the city you live in. When I was a scout our summer camp was in the big basin/butano state park.
They HATED oaks. In fact you were allowed to chop down as many as you wanted as long as you cleared the trail.
Oaks are fast growing with a wide canopy that drowns out other plants like redwoods.
They are considered a pest there since they don’t leave space for redwoods which is what they preferred in that area.
Wrong place, wrong time.
3 Likes
yeah, some people get to pay to have a view…
4 Likes
This judge needs to preside over certain federal cases if they ever come to fruition…
5 Likes
Meanwhile, we’re trying to get our trees to HURRY UP AND GROW so we don’t have to see our way-too-close neighbors…
1 Like
that won’t expose the shock news about a luxury yacht company in france that cut down big trees that got in the way of their transporter
that quietly went away
bbc news circa 2017
Pshaw. 180 years old? That’s a young’n, compared to the guy who cut down Prometheus, a 4,862 year old bristlecone pine.
I’d be surprised if most BoingBoingers don’t know the story, but for the record he had no clue it was that old when his corer got stuck in it and he decided to cut it down. He now refuses to discuss the incident, presumably because he feels horrible shame over his actions.
5 Likes
Unfortunately, you don’t get many of those old ones if they keep cutting down the young ones…
1 Like
Very true. Individual oak trees don’t grow as old as the bristlecones, but they can grow in excess of 1000 years. And there’s a clonal oak colony that’s 10,000 years old.
(I was being sarcastic when I said “pshaw,” in case it wasn’t immediately obvious)
3 Likes
Yes, as someone who has been putting in fence posts in my yard in Northern California, I’m amazed at the spread of their roots. 18 inches down is clay but there, 20 or 30 feet from the nearest oak, are oak roots spreading through the clay and tapping whatever moisture is in it.
2 Likes
He also didn’t cut the tree down on his own volition, at least according to some tellings of the story. He supposedly asked a forest service ranger “my special core sampling tool got stuck during the ecological survey, what should I do?” and was told “just cut the tree down.” So selfish disregard for the environment doesn’t seem to be the motivation for his actions.
6 Likes
