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Our Accomplishments

WHAT THE ZOAR VALLEY COALITION HAS ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR…..
2024
  • We made the discovery in early 2024 of Zoar Valley’s forests marked with paint for logging and we sprang into action.
  • We alerted the media and the public and formed this Coalition of conservationists, scientists, naturalists, citizens, and conservation groups to wage the campaign to Save Zoar Valley.
  • We started a Save Zoar Valley Petition campaign that now has over 4,200 signatures. Thank you all!
  • We submitted Freedom of Information requests and obtained documents needed to uncover the full extent of what DEC and CT/NY Audubon planned to do to Zoar Valley with no public input.
  • We researched the many ecological, carbon sequestration, and climate issues at play, and the publicly subsidized logging for bird habitat the Audubon Society and Young Forest Project carry out.
  • We undertook an immediate ecological assessment of the first forest in Zoar the DEC planned for the chopping block, work that is ongoing.
  • We set up a website and social media presence to get the word out and gather public support.
  • We held two successful Save Zoar Valley protests – one at Wickham Woods in Zoar and one in front of the DEC’s Buffalo office.
  • We started a Save Zoar Valley lawn sign campaign to raise awareness. This effort also helped raise funds for the cause.
  • We put together a public education program and presented it across Western New York.
  • We led hikes in Zoar to educate the public about the logging threat and the ecology of Zoar Valley.
  • We tabled at many events across Western New York to get the word out, engage with the public, and garner support, ideas, and volunteers from the public. We raffled out donated art, too!
  • We started a merch shop on Bonfire to spread the word with Save Zoar Valley apparel and more and raise funds.
  • We were interviewed by and continue to reach out to local print, TV and radio media to increase public awareness.
  • The public awareness has resulted in Editorials and Letters to the Editor running 25-to-1 in favor of NOT logging Zoar.
  • We inspired and gathered a wave of letters to Governor Hochul and DEC to Save Zoar Valley from logging.
  • We wrote to Governor Hochul and DEC leadership to advocate for Zoar’s protection, including a moratorium on logging in Zoar Valley, and requested an in-person meeting to go over the public’s concerns.
  • We met with Legislators across Western New York to urge them to advocate in Albany on behalf of what the People want for the future of Zoar Valley.
2025
  • Zoar Valley Coalition leadership met with the DEC in January 2025 and we made a strong case covering the scientific and social reasons Zoar Valley should not be logged. The day after this meeting, the Audubon Society withdrew their logging for bird habitat and slash wall enclosure plans for Zoar! The DEC signaled they would likely proceed anyway, so the fight continues.
  • We advocated for the DEC to re-write the 2021 Draft Unit Management Plan for Zoar to bring it in line with what the public overwhelmingly wants for the future of Zoar Valley, and the DEC did go back to the drawing board to revise the Plan – currently still in progress as of December 2025.
  • We put the DEC on notice that we demand a full Public Hearing process and Public Comment period under SEQRA on the future of Zoar Valley and the Draft Unit Management Plan.
  • We continue to advocate for NYS to move its forest management policies and practices away from clearing forests for specific bird habitat while ignoring the biodiversity of all the other species, sensitive and endangered species, carbon sequestration, and climate change, to name just a few reasons.
  • We continued to present our public education program in various communities in Western New York. Look for us to continue those presentations in 2026!
  • We continued to table at events across WNY to raise awareness and engage with the public.
  • We conducted a citizen scientist BioBlitz in Zoar to update the available biodiversity data, and we put on an iNaturalist webinar to train citizen scientists how to use the iNaturalist app for the BioBlitz.
  • We continued our Save Zoar Valley lawn sign campaign. People who love Zoar Valley have displayed signs all across WNY – from the Southern Tier all the way up to the shores of Lake Ontario, with a very strong presence around the borders of Zoar.
  • We partnered with the Springville Center for the Arts for The Art of Zoar Valley III exhibit and Summer-long series of hikes and events celebrating Zoar Valley.
  • We hosted Dr. Joan Maloof – renowned forest ecologist and Founder of the Old Growth Forest Network – and renowned forest ecologist Erik Danielson for an Ancient Forest hike in Zoar Valley.
  • We hosted Nancy Weekly, noted Burchfield Scholar at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, for Burchfield Day in Zoar Valley, celebrating American watercolorist Charles Burchfield who created dozens of paintings in Zoar Valley, a place he affectionately called “The Big Woods.”
  • We held a tree planting ceremony and celebration in Zoar to formally honor the Darling family for their decades of land gifts and conservation efforts in Zoar Valley. Thank you to the NYS DEC for approving and permitting the tree planting and public gathering.
  • We launched an e-Newsletter to provide the public with the latest information.
  • We had a second in-person meeting with the DEC in October 2025 to continue the dialogue on Zoar and bring new concerns to the DEC’s attention
  • We requested a third sit-down meeting with DEC leadership in the very near future to continue the dialogue on conservation efforts in Zoar Valley.
  • We proposed quarterly roundtable meetings with the NYS DEC and the environmental community in WNY, to be organized through the WNY Environmental Alliance, so all groups have a seat at the table and regional priorities and special areas of concern can be addressed in the areas of pollution, land use, air and water quality, forestry, invasive species, and more.
  • Staying out in front of environmental concerns and injustices can help us avoid disasters like the Ischua Creek fish and wildlife kill caused by the poorly sited Great Lake Cheese Factory and their months long record of environmental violations.

Our advocacy – along with all of you – put enough public pressure and scientific push-back on the DEC and Audubon Society that the proposed logging in Zoar Valley has been held off for two years – 2024 and 2025.

…and we plan to keep up the fight to Save Zoar Valley with your help!

Want to get involved?

Volunteer

We are always in need of volunteers in the fight to protect Zoar Valley from logging. There are many ways you can support the effort to save this treasured wilderness area in Western New York. Interested in volunteering? Click below and thank you for getting involved!

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