Bennett Juniper

[1] It is located in Section 5, Township 5 North, Range 20 east of the Mount Diablo meridian,[2] on an inholding in the Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County, California.

A field guide published by UC Press in 2001 gives the common name Mountain Juniper for the australis population.

[3] DNA studies (2006) by Adams[4] resulted in the southern population being raised to species status and it was given the common name “grand juniper” (Juniperus grandis).

A major issue with the extrapolation method is that the Bennett has some access to water in a drainage which is unusual in this area for junipers.

[8] The Bennett Juniper grows on Sardine Meadow, an open area at 8,400 feet (2,600 m) elevation just off the top of a ridgeline.

The area is dominated by low-growing (18 centimetres (7.1 in)) sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and scattered lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta murrayana) and a few juniper.

Within a half mile (.8 km) of the preserve are five locations with bedrock mortars and several spots where obsidian (often used for tools) was worked.

The earliest known sighting, probably in the 1920s, of the Bennett was by Basque sheepherders who described a huge juniper to their employer, Ed Burgson, a local Tuolumne County sheep rancher.

Martin carved out a 3 acres (1.2 ha) piece of land from his holdings in the area, and donated it to Nature Conservancy in 1978.

John B. Dewitt, the Executive Director of Save the Redwoods League, had been a regular visitor to the Bennett for many years.