EPN Event: The Big Darby Accord, 20 Years Later: Incorporating Conservation in Regional Growth

Program Overview

Twenty years ago, the Big Darby Accord marked a groundbreaking commitment to protect one of Ohio’s most ecologically significant waterways while guiding responsible regional growth. The Big Darby Creek, a Scenic River that is home to extraordinary fish and mussel diversity despite covering just one percent of the state’s land area, has long been a symbol of what collaboration can achieve. Today, as development pressures rise and new faces enter the planning process, much of the original inspiration and hard-earned lessons risk being forgotten.

This Environmental Professionals Network program is about more than policy. It is about reconnecting with the stories, values, and vision that shaped the Accord. Our panel will share firsthand experiences from those who helped craft the original agreement, revealing how scientists, planners, homebuilders, and conservationists worked together to balance competing interests. We will revisit pivotal moments—from early biodiversity discoveries to the tensions surrounding a failed proposal to make the Big Darby a National Wildlife Refuge—and explore why collaboration remains essential today.

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