Property owners Richard Bradshaw and Michael Pistole have agreed to surrender development rights on 61 acres of their Hidden View Farm in Crownsville, bringing the total amount of preserved land in the greenway to 3,753 acres.

"It's always great to have a private landowner interested in conservation," said Alyssa Domzal, who coordinates South River Greenway efforts for the nonprofit Scenic Rivers Land Trust.

The South River Greenway is a cooperative effort among nonprofit groups and government agencies to preserve sensitive, undeveloped land that drains into the South River.

About 10,000 acres of land have been identified for the greenway, mostly north of Annapolis and into Crownsville.

The greenway is roughly bordered by Defense Highway (Route 450) to the south, Generals Highway (Route 178) to the east, Davidsonville Road (Route 424) to the west and Route 3 to the north.

The greenway has been identified as an "Important Bird Area" by Audubon and has been highlighted as a key habitat for reptiles, as well.

Of the land that's been preserved so far, some of it has been bought outright, such as a 500-plus-acre wooded tract that's part of the old Crownsville Hospital Center campus now owned by the county. Other parts of the greenway have been entered into conservation easements, such as Hidden View Farm.

Under a conservation easement the property owner retains possession of the land. But they agree to give up development rights forever, even if the land changes hands. In exchange for giving up development potential, the property owner can receive tax breaks.

Domzal said the Hidden View Farm conservation easement will help wildlife and water quality.

The owners had considered subdividing the land and developing it, he added.

But Bradshaw and Pistole were contacted as part of an outreach effort to key landowners in the greenway area. They attended a workshop on land preservation earlier this year and decided to go ahead with the easement instead.

"They had always been very committed to the land and had been great stewards of the land," Domzal said.

Bradshaw and Pistole couldn't be reached for comment, but in a prepared statement, Bradshaw said they appreciated the beauty of the land when they bought it in the early 1990s but knew it needed work - there were 10,000 tires dumped on site.

"We immediately were struck with the realization that this might be an overwhelming project, to purchase and more importantly, restore this property to its natural state," Bradshaw said.

The tires have since been cleaned up and the Hidden View Farm property is home to all sorts of wildlife and plants, a 450-year-old white oak tree and Bacon Ridge Branch, which snakes down to meet the South River.

Hidden View Farm totals 90 acres, but part of the land already has two houses built, so that section is not eligible for a conservation easement, Domzal said.

Domzal said she hopes the actions of Bradshaw and Pistole might inspire other landowners in the area to put conservation easements on their properties, too.

"It's important to use to work with private landowners to ensure connectivity of the forest," Domzal said.

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