Big Darby Creek

The Big Darby Creek is a shallow, gravel bed stream which runs 80 miles through forest and agricultural areas near Columbus, Ohio, USA. Praised for its biological diversity and pristine condition, it has been named one of the "Last Great Places" by the Nature Conservancy and was selected as one of five ecosystems to be studied by the Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Ecological Risk Assessment Program.

    In the 560-square-mile watershed over 80 fish species, 40 mussel species, 170 bird species and 34 mammal species have been identified. Over 100 species of diatoms were identified here at BGSU from epilithic periphyton samples collected by the U.S.G.S. at three sites in Big Darby Creek at various time intervals between September 1993 and September 1994.

    Conservation efforts for the Big Darby Creek are strong. Over thirty organizations are working together to keep Big Darby Creek truly one of the "Last Great Places". These groups, including The Nature Conservancy and the Ohio State University Extension, promote conservation by encouraging intelligent farming practices, promoting riparian reforestation, encouraging environmental education programs and funding biological research.

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