“Every morsel of food, every sip of water, the air we breathe is the result of work done by other species. Nature gives us everything we need to survive. Without them, there is no us.”
— Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence
Biodiversity, or the variety of plant and wildlife on the planet, is essential to a healthy ecosystem. And what wildlife need more than anything is land—land to roam, land for hunting and nesting, land for migration.
Scenic Rivers’ conservation priorities strive to conserve contiguous tracts of forestland throughout the county to support productive wildlife habitat and migration corridors.
We rely on data from Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Anne Arundel County, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to set our conservation priorities. For example, we use Anne Arundel County Greenways Master Plan, USFWS wetlands, MD DNR Targeted Ecological Area, Green Infrastructure, and sensitive species data to identify priority areas to protect.
For example, several properties under our protection, including the Bacon Ridge Natural Area, serve as habitat for Forest Interior Dwelling Bird Species, such as worm-eating warbler, Kentucky warbler, wood thrush, and Louisiana Waterthrush. The Bacon Ridge Natural Area is also identified as an important habitat for reptiles and amphibians by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.