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I came across a magnificent juniper tree while hiking near Ashland. I estimated its diameter at about 3 feet, and its height around 35 feet. I have never seen a juniper as large in this area, and I hope someone will make sure it stays protected. How old might it be? What is the oldest juniper in Jackson County, or Oregon? — JDM, via e-mail Count yourself among the lucky, JDM. The western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) is extremely rare west of the Cascades. In fact, junipers growing near Mount Ashland are the only documented native stand found west of the Cascade Range in Oregon. Their enclave on Mount Ashland makes sense, when you think about it. Mount Ashland is part of the Siskiyou range, which runs east/west and butts into the Cascades east of Interstate 5. Just to the east is high desert country that's prime juniper habitat. There's so much biological diversity in this little corner of Southern Oregon that part of it was set aside as the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Junipers thrive mostly in semi-arid high elevation areas east of the Cascades and the Sierras. They prefer places where annual rainfall averages 9 to 14 inches, and the soil is too meager to support other species. The junipers from Eastern Oregon probably crept into the Siskiyous, and they grow where soil and weather favor them over other species. It's not their most favorable habitat, but they've figured out how to grow there. It's hard to know how old your juniper might be, without someone actually boring it to count the annual growth rings. Old-growth juniper stands in eastern Oregon range from 200 to 400 years old, and researchers estimate some individuals can live to the venerable age of 1,000. The juniper you saw is a piker, as big junipers go. The biggest juniper in Oregon measures almost 6 feet in diameter, and stands 78 feet tall, according to a "champion tree" registry maintained by the Oregon Department of Forestry. This monster grows on the Lakeview District of the Bureau of Land Management, in the Lost Forest Research and Natural Area northeast of Christmas Valley. It was nominated to the list in 1995. Another giant juniper grows on the Stanislaus National Forest in California. This one measures an astonishing 13 feet in diameter and stands 87 feet tall. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected]. We're sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.