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How Old is this Walnut Tree? (CA)

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From: Ronald W. City: Oroville, CA
I found a living black walnut tree growing in the wild in fertile valley soil in Northern California. I measured the circumfrence two feet above the ground at 17 ft-2 inches. Tht puts the diameter at about 6 ft- 5 inches. The tree, is wild; not irrigated, and depends on natural rainfall (20 inches per year average) to grow. A dead branch stub measures 44 inches and I counted 87 rings; no bark on this branch. About how old would is this tree be?
	Extension Message From: Jay Hayek Extension Specialist, Forestry Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences jhayek@illinois.edu
Sorry Ronald, but I absolutely have no idea about this tree's age. The only way to get a fairly accurate ring-count for standing trees is to utilize an increment borer: http://web.utk.edu/~grissino/downloads/borer2003.pdf Best of luck!
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