Gov. Eliot Spitzer [1] has signed a bill that designated the Zoar Valley as a unique area, granting it protection from logging, gas exploration and other development.

"It's a legal step that was necessary to make sure it's protected," State Sen. Catharine Young [2] told the Buffalo News [3]. "There are a lot of endangered species in the area and also a lot of old growth forest that needs to be protected."

Young sponsored the bill, along with Assemblyman William Parment [4].

The "unique area" covers some of the most critical tracts in the state's Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area, including gorge cliffs and notable stands of tulip poplar, slippery elm, American sycamore, black walnut, cottonwood red oak, bitternut hickory, yellow birch and white ash trees that are recognized as the tallest in the state. A 128-foot basswood in the area is considered the tallest of its kind in the world.

The designated area covers about half of the 2,923-acre Multiple Use Area.