News Release

COLUMBUS -- Guy L. Denny, chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Natural Areas & Preserves since 1995, has announced his retirement from state service effective April 30, ending a 33-year career with ODNR.

ODNR Director Sam Speck expressed appreciation for Denny's service. "Guy Denny has been associated with Ohio's nationally recognized system of nature preserves and scenic rivers from its very beginning," Speck said. "We appreciate his role in building that system and his commitment to the protection of Ohio's natural resources."

Denny joined ODNR in 1966 as a seasonal naturalist with the Division of Parks & Recreation, where he rose to become chief naturalist for Ohio State Parks. When the ODNR Division of Natural Areas & Preserves was created in 1976, Denny was appointed as the new division's assistant chief. He served as acting chief of the division in 1994 and was named chief in 1995.

A native of Toledo, Denny is a resident of Fredericktown in Knox County.

The ODNR Division of Natural Areas & Preserves manages 118 state natural areas and nature preserves in Ohio as well as a system of 20 state scenic rivers.