{"id":200838,"date":"2026-04-17T16:10:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/200838\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T16:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:10:07","slug":"new-york-buys-700-acres-near-one-of-upstates-most-scenic-valleys-this-is-cny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/200838\/","title":{"rendered":"New York buys 700 acres near one of Upstate\u2019s most scenic valleys \u2013 This is CNY"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"NY adds 700 acres to East Otto State Park NY recently purchased more than 689 acres in the towns of Otto and East Otto, Cattaraugus County, to expand East Otto State Park. (Antepenultimate\/Antepenultimate) <\/p>\n

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently purchased more than 689 acres in the towns of Otto and East Otto, Cattaraugus County, <\/p>\n

DEC acquired the property for $2.39 million from The Nature Conservancy through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cImproving forest health is essential for safeguarding water quality, habitat, and opportunities for recreation,\u201d DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. \u201cHealthy, well-managed forests are also an important tool in New York\u2019s ongoing efforts to mitigate for and adapt to climate change.\u201d <\/p>\n

The land expands East Otto State Forest<\/a> on its northern boundary to a total of 2,072 acres. It will preserve critical open space and establish the forest for watershed protection and public recreation, DEC said. The new property includes forest land, portions of Utley Brook, and access to Cattaraugus Creek, which runs through the adjacent Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area. <\/p>\n

The 2,978-acre Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area & Unique Area is one of the most scenic and ecologically diverse environments in Western New York, known for spectacular scenery created by its deep gorge, sheer cliffs, flowing waterfalls, and dense forests.<\/p>\n

East Otto State Forest is most commonly used for hunting and camping, containing a mix of sizes and species of trees, manmade ponds, and wetlands. It has no formal trails, but old skid trails and farm roads provide some hiking opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy expanding East Otto State Forest, this project will enhance local recreation opportunities and safeguard clean drinking water,\u201d said The Nature Conservancy\u2019s New York Director of Lands, Dirk Bryant.<\/p>\n

Immediate plans for the property include posting boundaries and conducting a full property assessment with emphasis on important species that are part of the Zoar Valley ecosystem. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NY adds 700 acres to East Otto State Park NY recently purchased more than 689 acres in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,56,9446,8169,2577,8168],"class_list":["post-200838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-nyup-outdoors","tag-nyup-topstory","tag-outdoors","tag-topstory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}