Pechanga Tribal Nation

Issa moves to protect Great Oak

Oak tree may get reprieve

April 18, 2002
AGNES DIGGS - Staff Writer - NCTimes.com

TEMECULA ---- The battle over the fate of what may be the oldest living oak tree in the United States continues to rage as Congressman Darrell Issa moved this week to protect the tree from possible condemnation by San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

The utility wants to build a high-voltage power line through a ranch containing the oak that is now owned by the Pechanga Indians. The tree sits on ancestral lands the tribe recently bought back, intending to preserve cultural and archaeological sites. The tribe has applied to have the ranch made formally part of their reservation, which would pre-empt any efforts by SDG&E to condemn the land for the line.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs recently announced its intention to grant the request, but SDG&E has said it will appeal the ruling, and condemnation might still be possible while the appeal is pending. Issa, whose district includes Temecula, proposed a resolution to prevent any such condemnation proceedings against the 697-acre Great Oak Ranch until Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton makes a final decision on the Pechanga tribe's application. The House Resource Committee heard testimony on the bill Wednesday.

SDG&E is seeking approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to build a 500,000-volt transmission line linking Romoland to Rainbow, through Southwest County. SDG&E claims that a new California statute, Public Utilities Code section 625, which deals in part with the acquisition of land through condemnation, gives it the right to condemn all or part of the Great Oak Ranch for the project before the PUC makes its decision.

The PUC has scheduled hearings for May to determine whether any such line is needed. If the commission determines there is a need, more studies will be done and hearings held to determine the best route. The commission has tentatively said it will make any final decision in August 2003.

Although the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced its intent to approve the tribe's application, the land is still susceptible to a challenge from SDG&E, which has previously stated its intent to appeal the BIA decision.

"What it means," Issa said after the hearing, "is that SDG&E can continue with exactly what they are doing, and if PUC agrees with them that the project is necessary, Secretary Norton will still have one more review. The BIA has said they fully intend to put this land in trust and, in a polite way, they've already rejected SDG&E."

Representatives from SDG&E also testified before the committee today and were reportedly advised to look at other routes. J.C. Thomas, a spokesman for SDG&E, said if Issa's resolution passes, it would pre-empt the state's authority and not allow the PUC to do its job. It would also remove the ranch from the table for consideration for the power line route, unless the tribe allowed an easement.

Thomas said the ranch was not the utility's preferred choice for a route, but the preferred one was over the Pechanga's sovereign land. If the ranch property were condemned, the tribe would be compensated, he said. As things stand, SDG&E will go forward with its plans, he said.

The tribe bought the land in question in May and in June applied for the federal government to have it made officially part of the reservation. In March of this year, the Bureau of Indian Affairs notified the tribe and the utility that it intended to approve the application.

Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, also testified before the committee Wednesday. He said the purchase of the land, which was once the home of mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner, culminated a 20-year effort to buy the ranch, part of their ancestral lands, and join the reservation's two existing pieces.

"For the people of Pechanga, returning ancestral lands to our reservation is a duty that transcends easy expression by me here today," Macarro told the committee. "The rugged, undeveloped landscape of the Great Oak Ranch is rich with spiritual, cultural and archaeological sites. These lands are where the Pechanga people came into being. These lands are where the Pechanga people will always be."

Macarro told the committee the "cathedralesque" oak, which stands 96 feet tall with about a 20-foot-diameter trunk, was dated by UCLA experts at more than 1,500 years old. Some of the tree's branches are themselves larger than the trunks of most live oaks.

"We want to protect the tree," Macarro said after the hearing. "We want to protect the cultural sites, we want to protect the ranch. We don't put highways through cemeteries, we don't put power lines through cathedrals. That's what the great oak is."

The tribe will be waiting for SDG&E to drop the other shoe, so to speak.

"This is just the beginning of the next level," Macarro said. "The proposed notice of decision raises the bar for SDG&E, but it's not over. There's still some fighting room for them, but the bar is raised."

Issa has been joined by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., and other national, state and local representatives in the fight to have the land placed in trust.

The land historically belonged to the tribe, was taken from them illegally, sold out from under them and they were forced to buy it back, Issa said. If the land is placed in trust, the tribe would not have to worry about its ancestral lands being divided again, he said.

Link