Bruce Kershner and the legendary “World’s Largest Grapevine” at Zoar Valley - sometime in the 1990’s
May the forest be with you.
“Old Growth Forest” Photo courtesy of Bruce Kershner Collection.
In 1994, Eternal Flames Falls was virtually unknown, a handful of ‘naturist’ would skinnydip at Zoar Valley, and only local kids knew the hidden routes to get to hear the ‘Great Waves’ in the Niagara Gorge. Then Secret Places: Scenic Treasures of Western New York and Southern Ontario crashed on the scenes and started telling the world about our secret and scenic hidden wonders in Bruce Kershner’s award-winning book.
Co-author of Secret Places of Western New York: 25 Scenic Hikes, Bill McKeever served from 1999 to 2004 as Buffalo Audubon's first Executive Director. During his tenure, he worked with Bruce on environmental advocacy projects protecting the old-growth forests of DeVeaux Woods, Zoar Valley, and Allegany State Park.
Bill and his wife, Jennifer Hillman, teamed up with the Kershner literary estate to reimagine, update and bring back to the community this much loved, award-winning book.
The content found on this page is courtesy of the Kershner family and is from Bruce’s collection of photos, maps, and notes.
All content is copyright protected.
Bruce Kershner (April 17, 1950 – February 16, 2007) was a well-known and frequently honored naturalist, ecologist, educator, and author.
He was an authority on old-growth forests, edible wild plants, and waterfalls. Bruce authored dozens of books on these subjects including, The Sierra Club Guide to the Ancient Forests of the Northeast, National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America, Buffalo's Backyard Wilderness: An Ecological Study of the Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods State Nature Preserve, Guide to Ancient Forests of Zoar Valley, Secret Places Scenic Treasures of Western New York and Southern Ontario, and Secret Places of Staten Island: A Visitor's Guide to Scenic and Historic Treasures of Staten Island.
Bruce was named 'Environmentalist of the Year' in 1987 and 1988 by the Sierra Club and by the Adirondack Mountain Club. In 1996 he was named 'Environmentalist of the Year’ by New York State and the Environmental Advocates of New York. He was active in the Buffalo Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Adirondack Mountain Club, Friends of the Reinstein Woods, and many others.
He was widely regarded as the impetus behind the movement to save Zoar Valley. He led numerous ecological studies. These have included studies of the Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, Zoar Valley, Staten Island, Allegany State Park, the Niagara Gorge and DeVeaux Woods, and the College Lodge at Fredonia (SUNY).
In 2008, New York State Governor David Patterson signed into law the Bruce S. Kershner Old-Growth Forest Preservation and Protection Act that establishes a legal definition of an Old Growth Forest and compels protection of these invaluable forests on state land.
Since at least 2009, the Niagara Group of the Sierra Club has presented the annual Bruce Kershner Award to an individual or individuals for their environmental activism. The award was "designed to honor a person who has continued to fight tirelessly on behalf of an environmental issue in the way that Kershner fought for old growth forests."
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Original photo from the cover of Bruce Kershner’s 1994 award-winning book, ”Secret Places Scenic Treasures of Western New York and Southern Ontario”. Photo courtesy of Bruce Kershner Collection.