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

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 how cross-sector collaboration can conserve valuable natural resources. Today, two decades after the original Accord, development pressures are rising and there is a new cohort of professionals who are involving in planning and managing the Big Darby Creek watershed. Therefore, it's a critical time for a retrospective. At this program, we will revisit the original inspiration for the Big Darby Accord and the hard-earned lessons for management and planning that have been accumulated along the way.

This Environmental Professionals Network program is not about shaping policy. It is about reconnecting with the stories, values, and vision that shaped the original 2006 Accord. Thepanel will share firsthand experiences from those who helped craft the original agreement, revealing how scientists, planners, homebuilders, and conservationists worked together to balance myriad interests and values. 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.