Ruins at Contee Farm Easement, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

SRLT leads a hike in City of Annapolis' Waterworks Park.

Old Colony Cove Conservation Easement, Friendship

Hidden Pond Conservation Easement, Edgewater

Conservation Easement on Lyons Creek in Lothian.

UMBC students help plant saplings in the South River Greenway.

Contee Farm Conservation Easement, Edgewater

Willow Oak Herb Farm Conservation Easement, Severn

A young hiker enjoys Walk for the Woods in the Bacon Ridge Natural Area.

Old Colony Cove Conservation Easement, Friendship

UMBC students help plant saplings in the South River Greenway.

Willow Oak Herb Farm Conservation Easement, Severn

Spring 2013 - Events and Updates:

It Feels Great to Give

The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County hosted the Great Give, a 24-hour online fundraising event, from 7 PM on May 15 to 7 PM on May, 16, 2013. Thank you to our supporters who made this event a success!

Cabin Branch Hike - May 18th, 2013

We're happy that our Friends of SRLT came out to join the Severn River Association’s (SRA) hike along the recently completed (and cleaned as part of Project Clean Stream) Cabin Branch Restoration Project.

Keep an eye out for the announcements of our next events!

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Walk for the Woods, April 20 & 21, 2013

Photo link coming soon...

Walk for the Woods is an annual event co-sponsored by Scenic Rivers Land Trust and Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks. The walk is an opportunity to explore 900+ acres of fields, streams, and woodlands and to celebrate this natural heritage on one of the largest tracts of forest left in the county. This unique piece of county parkland is open to the public during SRLT's Annual Walk, and planning continues to develop regular public access.

The walk is free to all. Donations to SRLT are welcome and are used to continue our mission to permanently protect natural and scenic areas in Anne Arundel County. Thank you to all who attended this year's Walk and for your generous support!

Sign up here for future hikes at Bacon Ridge and other SRLT walks in Anne Arundel County.

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SRLT gives a big THANK YOU to Herald Harbor Volunteer Fire Department for providing stand-by medical services on Saturday April 20th for our Walk for the Woods. Luckily, no one needed to use their medical expertise! If you love the outdoors and enjoy concerts, check out their summer concert series!

Listen in: Annapolis Green's co-founder Elvia Thompson hosted SRLT's Executive Director, Rick Leader, on her radio show "Living Green in Annapolis" on November 21, 2012. Read Elvia's Patch blog post about SRLT's upcoming Walk for the Woods.

An updated version of the SRLT Campaign to 2015, "Building on Success...Protecting Priority Lands in our County," is available for you to view. The first two pages provide a brief summary, which are followed by "A Detailed Look at the Path to 2015 and 5,000 Protected Acres." We encourage all comments and questions by either email or telephone. We look forward to a final release at our Walk for the Woods on April 20th and 21st, 2013.

We have published our end of the year fundraising newsletter that highlights SRLT's accomplishments in 2012. Click here to view the PDF.

Neighborhood Coffees

Promote land preservation in your neighborhood and educate your neighbors by hosting a small group of people at your house or other location for a brief presentation by SRLT staff. We will provide a basic overview of land protection to date in Anne Arundel County, review opportunities in your neighborhood, explain how a conservation easement works, and outline the property tax and income tax savings that an easement can provide. For more information or to schedule, call executive director Rick Leader at 410-310-6541 or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Community Organization Presentations

SRLT staff always welcomes the opportunity to speak to community associations, service groups or business and professional organizations. We can provide a ten to twenty minute presentation that is keyed to the location and demographics of the group. For more information or to schedule, call executive director Rick Leader at 410-310-6541 or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Technical Briefings on Conservation Easements

Targeted at legal, accounting, wealth management and real estate professionals, these brief presentations can provide the latest information on legal and tax issues for conservation easements. SRLT can provide information that will help professionals in the field quickly identify and begin to evaluate potential easement opportunities. For more information or to schedule, call executive director Rick Leader at 410-310-6541 or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SRLT's 50th conservation easement, on the Patuxent River in Lothian.

Since 1988, the Scenic Rivers Land Trust (SRLT) has been protecting land in Anne Arundel County. We work with landowners to safeguard their land in the manner that best suits their needs and priorities. Our professional staff guides landowners in the creation of legal land preservation agreements that define how their property will be protected and can make them eligible for significant property tax savings, large charitable deductions and estate tax savings. SRLT currently manages conservation easements on 60 properties, totaling over 2,600 acres. SRLT also works with Anne Arundel County and other local government entities to provide on-the-ground support and research that informs the selection of priority lands for government purchase or protection. This work has resulted in the protection of thousands of additional acres.

Our Mission

The Scenic Rivers Land Trust works with landowners and other partners to preserve natural and scenic areas in Anne Arundel County. This work is accomplished though landowner education and holding and facilitating land protection agreements.

Our Goals

To identify, monitor and protect priority natural areas in the watersheds of five rivers: Severn, South, West, Rhode and Patuxent.
To educate landowners, community leaders, and public officials about voluntary techniques for protecting and preserving land
To accept and manage conservation easements for the permanent protection of land
To assist in the protective stewardship of our natural resources