Zoar Valley Coalition protests DEC’s plans to cut down 92 acres of forest

GOWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Saturday marked the first of two protests planned by Zoar Valley Coalition, a group who calls the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s logging plan at Zoar Valley a breach of public trust and an environmental hazard. The DEC says it’s being done to protect the environment.

Earlier this year, the DEC, along with Audubon Connecticut and New York, are slated to cut 92 acres of forest for timber and wildlife management in the DEC-owned Zoar Valley area along Wickham Road in Cattaraugus County.

Katie Patronis, the DEC’s deputy commissioner for national resources, says this is being done to create a mixed forest habitat for endangered birds and tree variety to prevent disease.

“The goal of our types of forest management is really to help establish a forest that has a variety of different age stands, of different species,” Patronis said.

The project focuses on the multiple use area of Zoar Valley, which is separate from the unique area surrounding the creek and cliffs that’s designated as forever wild.

Sustainable forest management involves the removal of invasive species, clear cutting and thinning some areas, along with placing a slash wall of cut trees to keep deer out.

“Forest management can be done sustainably,” Patronis said. “It can be done in such a way as to benefit the forest health and forest ecology, to really increase the biodiversity in our region and that is what we are hoping to achieve through this project.”

Zoar Valley Coalition says the DEC’s good intentions aren’t good for the planet’s future, adding that a slash wall would create an eye sore, a barrier for all wildlife and a fire hazard, among other problems.

“A mature forest environment takes carbon and methane out of the air and puts oxygen back into the air,” said Lynn Kenney of the Zoar Valley Coalition.

The group argues that old growth forests like Zoar Valley are needed because of their ability to capture more carbon from the atmosphere than younger trees.

“We can’t just continue to turn a blind eye or not have enough time to protect what’s going to sustain us,” said Nate Buckley, a coalition member.

“This is one of the few spots where you can really experience the oaks, the poppers, the beach,” said Patrick Lombart, another coalition member. “To breathe that air, to have the physical, mental capacity to access forests like this, keeps you healthy.”

The DEC told WIVB News 4 that the Habitat Improvement Project, or what the Zoar Valley Coalition are calling logging, could begin as soon as this winter.