When the first European settlers pushed their way into the Schoharie Valley 300 years ago, red cedars dotted the cliffs above them. Those trees are still there, nearly unchanged in three centuries. And that makes them the oldest in the region—and possibly the state.

“We’re looking at living fossils,” Fred Breglia told a half-dozen hikers last week. “This tree is 500 to 600 years old, conservatively, and it’s probably closer to 800. We’re thinking, maybe 1000.”

Mr. Breglia is the arborist at the Landis Aroretum in Esperance. He’s also one of the founders of the Eastern New York Old Growth Survey Team. Formed last year, the Old Growth team seeks out stands of old trees—not the tallest, and certainly not the prettiest, but the oldest of the old.

Fred Breglia points to a branch stub with 114 annual growth rings PHOTO DYarrow 6/23/02

Mr. Breglia stumbled across the old cedars while hiking near Middleburgh this spring. He returned with the Old Growth Survey team two weeks ago and showed his find to his tree enthusiasts last week. The Old Growth team won’t reveal the site for fear of it being disturbed. Mr. Breglia wants to contact the property owner to see whether the site could be designated a preserve, thereby protecting the trees.

The single cedar is on its side and is barely 20 feet long. Branches perpendicular to the trunk, reaching to the sky, aren’t more than 20 feet, either. But the tree is very much alive, showing the green, web-like cedar needles on the trunk and branches. The Old Growth team estimated its age by taking cuttings from similar-sized dead cedars nearby.

Schoharie Escarpment sandstone cliffs and knarled trees PHOTO DYarrow 6/23/02

So, if the cedar is 800 years old, how did it survive centuries of clearing for farmland, logging, fires, and the weather?

The answer is simple: the cedars have little commercial value, and the site, being nearly inaccessible, isn’t suited for farmland.

“Down below, the trees were cut and grew back, cut and grew back,” Mr. Breglia said, while the ones up above watched it all happen.”

Cedars that appear similar grow on top of Vroman’s Nose. But those are probably no older than 200 years, Mr. Breglia said. Frequent human contact eliminated the chance for old growth on the Nose.

“The really ancient ones are in remote areas, where nobody’s messed with them,” he said.

The weather accounts for the small size of the old-growth cedars. Blasted by the wind, they grew at an almost imperceptible rate for decades. The oldest trees commonly seen by the public are in cemeteries and parks, but they don’t have to endure the brutal weather on the upper heights of the Schoharie Valley.

“These trees had harsh conditions all their lives,” Mr. Breglia said. “They never had the potential to get large.”

Old Growth Survey Team studies chestnut oaks on the steep slope PHOTO DYarrow 6/23/02

The trees grow so slowly, he said, that researchers must use a dissecting microscope to count the growth rings to determine age. The Old Growth team will survey more trees nearby late this summer to find other ancients.

“There’s definitely the potential for 1,000-year-old trees on this hillside,” Mr. Breglia said.

Such a discovery would make the Middleburgh cedars among the oldest in the state—if not the oldest.

Black tupelo trees in Saratgoa Springs were found to be 400 to 500 years old, and therefore the oldest in the Capitol District. Mr. Breglia believes the cedars are much older. They may be as old as trees discovered about ten years ago at the Niagara Escarpment. Those were estimated to be 500 to 1,000 years old. Even preliminary research indicates that the Middleburgh cedars rival the oldest in western New York.

“This tree was probably this size with smaller branches, when the first European settlers came to Schoharie County,” Mr. Breglia said. “These may be the oldest in the state.”

The Earth Restoration and Reforestation Alliance — www.championtrees.org — updated 4/14/2003