Joy Valley Nature Preserve: A new Ohio landmark protects ancient forests and rare biodiversity

ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — To walk the rugged trails of what is now the called the Joy Valley Nature Preserve is to journey through Ohio’s ancient past while glimpsing a hopeful blueprint for its ecological future.

Beneath the dense canopy — more diverse than any other forest in the region, and richer in tree species than all of Europe — a vast ecosystem thrives largely undisturbed, offering sanctuary to rare plants and animals found almost nowhere else on Earth.

“This is 2,973 acres,” said Brian Blair of the Athens Conservancy.

The Nature Conservancy holds a perpetual conservation easement on the land.

“It’s in a region that is the most ecologically diverse on earth, second only to the tropical rainforest in terms of biodiversity,” said Blair.

The property, the largest tract of privately