Photographs courtesy Scenic Rivers Land Trust
When Scenic Rivers Land Trust celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, the event commemorated a significant achievement in the organization’s history. In 1989, Scenic Rivers secured its first conservation easement, a voluntary legal agreement that limits future development on a property to protect its environmental features.
Located on a property along the Severn River in Severna Park, the easement represented an environmental win that demonstrated the organization’s commitment to protecting land and serving landowners in Anne Arundel County. More than three decades later, Scenic Rivers holds 80 conservation easements across the county, totaling more than 3,800 acres.
According to Scenic Rivers, conservation easements are the most cost-effective way to conserve land and keep it in private ownership. Land conservation protects land from unnecessary development, preserves its natural, cultural, agricultural, or historical significance, creates greenspaces, and promotes the overall quality of life.
“As a local land trust, we work with landowners and partners to conserve natural and open land,” says Sarah Knebel, executive director of Scenic Rivers. “We focus on three main areas: land conservation, stewardship, and outreach. As we continue to face critical challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, invasive plants, deforestation, and solar siting, it’s important to educate the community about the environmental and economic benefits of protecting land and to increase community engagement.”
From Humble Beginnings
A nationally accredited land trust and private nonprofit organization based in Annapolis, Scenic Rivers has made significant progress in achieving its mission to “conserve the special forests, farms, wetlands, and natural areas that sustain Anne Arundel County.” Founded in 1988 as an all-volunteer land trust, Severn River Land Trust (as it was originally known), hired its first part-time staff in 1997. Although the organization was founded in 1988, it established its anniversary year as 1989, the year it closed its first conservation easement.
In 2003, the organization changed its name to Scenic Rivers Land Trust to reflect the expansion of its work beyond the Severn River watershed. Throughout the years, the organization has secured additional conservation easements and accepted existing easements from other land trusts.
“Scenic Rivers conserves the natural areas that are so important to a healthy community—places that people truly value,” says Joan Renner, president of Scenic Rivers’ Board of Directors. “By protecting these special places, we’re helping create a community where both wildlife and people can thrive. Without long-term efforts to protect and care for these places, we risk losing them for good.”
Photographs courtesy Scenic Rivers Land Trust
Noteworthy Achievements
Scenic Rivers has secured conservation easements and created programs that have greatly impacted land conservation efforts. The following is a snapshot of a few of these accomplishments.
In 2005, Scenic Rivers launched a public/private partnership, known as the South River Greenway, to protect more than 4,000 acres of forested land in the headwaters of the South River. Situated in the heart of it lies Bacon Ridge Natural Area, Scenic Rivers’ largest conservation easement, which was acquired in 2011 through a partnership with the Maryland Environmental Trust. Consisting of more than 1,100 acres, the central 630.7 acres of property are protected by the easement. Bacon Ridge is owned by Anne Arundel County and managed by Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks.
Bacon Ridge also serves as a setting for land stewardship. Launched in 2020, the Healthy Forests Program (as it is now known) hosts public workdays for volunteers to help control the spread of invasive plants within the conserved forest. To date, Scenic Rivers has worked with volunteers and contractors to control invasive plants on 37.2 acres, which included the removal of 4,248 pounds of invasive plant material by volunteers.
“Invasive plants are one of the most serious threats to our forest ecosystems,” Knebel says. “The Healthy Forests Program strives to protect biodiversity and engage the community. We want to raise awareness about the importance of invasive plant control and expand the program to other conserved properties.”
In August 2024, Scenic Rivers protected 47 acres of forest in the Bodkin Creek watershed in Pasadena from development—securing its 80th conservation easement. The forest boasts more than 800 linear feet of streams and three acres of forested wetlands. Funding was provided by the Anne Arundel County Forestry and Forested Land Protection Grant Program, which is administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and funded by Anne Arundel County.
The property is one of the “Top 100 Most Important Properties to Conserve” in Anne Arundel County. In 2021, Scenic Rivers partnered with the Chesapeake Conservancy’s Conservation Innovation Center to compile its “Top 100” list.
As Scenic Rivers looks toward the future, the organization is excited to continue to grow and build on its success.
“Accelerating the pace of land conservation throughout the county is a high priority,” Knebel says. “We plan to continue to collaborate with our partners to address urgent environmental challenges, increase stewardship, and engage the community. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, and we look forward to the next 35 years.”
Special thanks to Erin Valentine, development and communications officer, Scenic Rivers Land Trust.
Celebrating 35 Years of Growth
Since its beginnings in the Severn River watershed, Scenic Rivers has expanded its service area to include the Herring Bay and the South, West, Rhode, and Patuxent River (within Anne Arundel County) watersheds.
In 2022, Scenic Rivers accepted five existing conservation easements from North County Land Trust— adding the Bodkin Creek and the Patapsco River (within Anne Arundel County) watersheds to its service area. This transfer offered an opportunity for Scenic Rivers to collaborate with communities in North County and generate excitement about land conservation efforts.
To date, Scenic Rivers serves all of Anne Arundel County except the Magothy River watershed, which is served by the Magothy River Land Trust.
Here’s to the next 35 years! Learn more at SRLT.org
