Ecology and Management
Willis & Elsie Shenk Nature Preserve is managed for its habitat being of highest and best use.
Fishing Creek is designated as a high quality cold-water fishery. It supports a wild trout population and is supplemented by trout stocking by the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission in the spring. Fish species found in the Susquehanna River also use the creek for spawning, early life stages, and seasonal movements. The same species of water fowl and birds found on the Susquehanna River can be spotted along Fishing Creek, including herons, egrets, and kingfishers. Fishing Creek also supports other wildlife, including white tailed deer, turkeys, hawks, foxes, muskrats, raccoons, and squirrels.
Watershed
Fishing Creek traverses the preserve with wide meanders around bedrock outcrops before being joined by an unnamed tributary and continuing a long meander through Fishing Creek South Nature Preserve and eventually emptying into the Conowingo Pond of the Susquehanna River.
Hunting Information
Willis & Elsie Shenk Nature Preserve is open to Archery Only Hunting. Respect property boundaries and safety zones. All Pennsylvania Game Commission Rules and Regulations apply. See ‘Where to Hunt’ for more details.
Report Hunting Violations:PA Game Commission Centralized Dispatch Center at 1-833-PGC-HUNT (1-833-742-4868) or 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453)
Acquisition History
The Conservancy acquired the first tract of this Preserve in 2016 with funding from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Natural Lands Preservation Fund of Lancaster County. The rest of Willis & Elsie Shenk Nature Preserve was donated by Henry and Mary Lou Huffnagle in 2009.
Amenities
Limited parking. Preserve sign.