Join Zoar Valley BioBlitz 2025 for some citizen science fun!
The Discovery That Sparked a Movement
The Zoar Valley Coalition was born from a shocking discovery in early 2024 of over 150 acres of the much-loved public forest land in Zoar Valley, New York, marked with spray paint for logging. We asked questions, and what we found was alarming.
What we learned is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Connecticut/New York Chapter of the National Audubon Society have a plan to clear-cut and thin mature forests in the Zoar Multiple Use Area, with hundreds of acres slated for logging over the next ten years in the DEC’s Draft Plan for Zoar Valley. The Audubon Society involved in logging? The Audubon Society has changed greatly — it isn’t your grandparents’ Audubon anymore. Nowadays, Audubon staffs its chapters with foresters who write logging plans for both public and private land under the guise of having to cut down mature forests to make room for young growth for songbird habitat. Audubon makes millions in federal grants from the USFS and USDA to have forests cut down.
Why We Must Act Now
The old growth forested ecosystem of Zoar Valley is a legacy for our children and grandchildren. The Zoar Valley gorges were also donated to The People of the State of New York by Herbert Darling, Sr. and the Darling Family with the express wish that they remain forever wild for the enjoyment of everyone. Check out our Threats to Zoar Valley page for more information on how destructive the DEC’s and Audubon’s plans for Zoar Valley would be if they are allowed to drastically alter and diminish what is supposed to be public recreational land. Also, in the reality of a climate crisis and accelerating species extinction, mature and old-growth forests are vital for storing carbon and supporting biodiversity. The DEC and The Audubon Society can’t guarantee new growth will make it to become a forest again in 100+ years, given all the threats, unknowns, and ecological turmoil we are facing from global warming.
The forests in Zoar Valley are home to species protected by law, which means their habitats are protected by law. The forests on the Town of Otto side of Zoar Valley, the area currently marked with paint for logging, support rare fens and dozens of hillside seeps which are home to endangered species protected by law. DEC’s and Audubon’s plans would devastate these habitats.
The Zoar Valley Coalition: Fighting to Preserve the Forests
The Zoar Valley Coalition is made up of conservationists from state-wide and regional environmental groups, scientists, naturalists, and many citizens committed to protecting the Zoar Valley Unique Area and Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area. We fought alongside the thousands of people who worked successfully 20 years ago to achieve Unique Area designation for the Old-Growth Forested ecosystem in Zoar Valley and a commitment then from the DEC that there would be no commercial timber sales in the recreational Multiple Use Area. Let’s all work together again to make sure the mature Eastern Hardwood Forests under threat again in Zoar Valley are protected and remain forever wild.
“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.” ~Ansel Adams
Join the Fight
Please join us now in protecting one of the last wilderness areas in Western New York and one of the last old growth forests in New York. Together we can Save Zoar Valley!