One set of rail tracks currently runs past the tree, but a second track will soon be added, putting the tree in a dangerous place. Earlier this week, a SMART spokesperson said the transit agency had tried to shift the alignment of its new tracks as far east as possible, but that still wouldn't leave enough clearance for the tree to stay.

SMART also looked at pruning the tree back, but that would have meant removing all of the branches on one side of the tree, and it still would have been within falling distance of the tracks, making it a safety hazard.

Because of the albinism, the tree has a mix of green and yellowish-white needles (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED)

SMART officials have suggested taking more than 1,000 cuttings from the tree and giving them to a private nursery to be propagated. Arborist Tom Stapleton, who strongly opposes cutting down the tree or moving it, says SMART's propagation plan is flawed.

"Because you have both genotypes living on the same plant material, if you don't find the right particular branch that has the particular kind of chimerism, it will not be stable," Stapleton said. Over time, he predicts that the normal green genotype would overpower the albinism, and the resulting tree would look like a normal redwood.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit is planning to remove a rare albino redwood to make way for new commuter rail line (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED) — (Mark Andrew Boyer/KQED)

Thursday's announcement from SMART's General Manager Farhad Mansourian sounds like a delay more than a reprieve:

“SMART is a local project. We are building something that will be part of the community. There is no question that we have to comply with safety requirements, and within that we have and will continue to take extreme care with the environmental elements of the project. Therefore, although we have been very proactive in doing due diligence, I have halted the process to take the time to bring in additional independent experts to examine and verify the analysis that was performed in September 2012 , as part of our environmental permitting, for this specific tree.”

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Super-Rare Sonoma Redwood Spared by Rail Agency, for Now