LANCASTER, Pa. — Full of meadows, overlooks and forests, hunters and hikers of all ages can explore the 350+ acres of the Clark Nature Preserve in Martic Township, Lancaster County.
Part of the ancestral lands of the Susquehannock and Shenk's Ferry peoples, the preserve houses wooded forestland, wildflowers, schist rock outcroppings and beautiful views of the Susquehanna River.
"As you head on the trails downriver toward Tucquan Glen, you're going up and down through multiple glens, crossing multiple streams and walking through a mature deciduous forest unique to this part of Pennsylvania," said Fritz Schroeder, the Interim President of the Lancaster Conservancy.
Schroeder says the mission of the Lancaster Conservancy is to protect unique forested lands not only for nature but also for the community. One of the ways in doing so is by enabling further access, an example being Clark Nature Preserve itself.
The land was assembled from three separate preserves: House Rock, Reed Run and Pequea South, named in honor of a gift by the Clark Associates Charitable Foundation.
"When we assemble smaller parcels into larger parcels of protected lands, we're creating interior forests and protecting life," Schroeder said.
The organization has done so on the York County side as well, with acquisitions from Hellam Hills Nature Preserve through Roundtop and Wizard Ranch.
"This is our heritage," Schroeder said. "Any time you can have a positive impact by protecting natural resources to ensure we can have these experiences [hiking, fishing, hunting] not just for ourselves, but for future generations."
Like so many Lancaster Conservancy lands, Clark Nature Preserve was at the forefront of increased foot traffic for those looking to get outside during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Schroeder said it's only amplifying a decade-long increase in involvement the likes the organization hasn't seen before in its 53 years.
"There's a rediscovering of nature," Schroeder said. "We're using that to protect additional lands, to create more trails."
One of those trails includes a soon-to-be-completed universal access trail, to be called the Lloyd Clark Trail. The path aims to provide more access both for hiking and potential hunting to those with limited mobility.
"The more trails we can build sustainably, the more benefit we'll see in the health and wellness perspective and the greater understanding of the need of forest land and how we build that out," Schroeder said.
The organization provides what they call "outdoor economic development" not only for the preserves, but for the nearby communities of Columbia, Wrightsville and Marietta.
Schroder says folks are visiting those communities at higher percentages related to preserve visitation than ever before.
"Not only are we providing a resource for our community directly, but we're also starting to provide a whole new set of economic development opportunities for communities moving forward," he told FOX43.
And foremost for a group founded by sportsmen and propelled further by environmentalists in recent years, Schroeder says preserving land is not a political issue, but a bridge.
"This is a livability issue," he continued. "Protecting and restoring land benefits everyone living in our communities. We're proud of the work we do and that we appeal to everyone who calls our communities home."
For more information on the Clark Nature Preserve and the Lancaster Conservancy as a whole, including volunteer opportunities, visit the organization's website here.