Tree-sitter not leaving his perch in giant oak

LOS ANGELES -- A county leader said he would try to save a 400-year-old giant oak by moving it out of the proposed path of a four-lane road, but a man who has been living in the tree said he was afraid it would die in the move.

John Quigley, 42, has been sitting in the tree for most of November in an attempt to protect it. He's drawn sympathy, home-cooked meals and a steady stream of visitors who don't want it cut down.

Late Monday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said he had arranged for the tree to be relocated to an undetermined location as a compromise in the standoff that began Nov. 1, when Quigley first climbed into the oak.

"This is an opportunity to help the environment and protect public safety," Antonovich said. He said he did not know when the tree would be moved, but said it would probably be soon.

The supervisor's proposed solution received a lukewarm reception from Quigley and his supporters in Santa Clarita. Speaking from the branches of the towering tree minutes after Antonovich's announcement, Quigley said it was a "positive development that he wants to keep the tree alive, but we don't feel this would accomplish that."

Quigley said the tree -- known as Old Glory -- is already "stressed" from drought and an earlier trimming. He said county planners did not adequately investigate every option, including rerouting the road around the tree.

"It will be a sure death sentence for the oak. It's too big and it's too old," he said.

Antonovich said he has contacted a company that has successfully relocated similar trees. He said the developer of the 279-home subdivision that would widen the road, John Laing Homes of Newport Beach, would pay about $250,000 to have the tree relocated.

Lynne Plamback, president of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment, said it would encourage Antonovich to come up with another alternative. The group arranged for Quigley to start his vigil.

As he neared the end of his 15th day above the ground, Quigley said he has no plans to come down.

"I'm still up here until I know this tree is going to survive," he said.