No major bridge runs across it. Most commuters dodging traffic on Ritchie Highway between Baltimore and Annapolis don’t see the creeks trickling nearby or think about the hidden river to the north where migrating waterfowl flock each winter. Sandwiched between the Patapsco and Severn rivers, flowing just above the Bay Bridge , the Magothy River does not hide in obscurity, however. From the earliest Woodland Indians to colonists, farmers, and watermen, this land and water have sustained many with its bounty. Today though, this boat-lover’s paradise has over 70,000 people living in its 44 square mile watershed, and the river has changed.

Pollutants have sent the Magothy into a decline over the past 4 decades. To save this Bay tributary, a hardy band of volunteers work doggedly, trying to restore its health.

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