ST. MARYS — The next public meeting of Friends of Twin Lakes Allegany National Forest will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Twin Lakes in the beach pavilion.

In early February 2018, two public meetings were held at the Jones Township Community Center to make the community aware of the status of Twin Lakes Recreation area for the 2018 summer season.

The U.S. Forest Service, representing the Allegheny National Forest, stated that Twin Lakes would only be open for day use for the 2018 season due to the failing waste water treatment system and other infrastructure issues.

The meetings were well attended and many citizens were quite upset by the news and as a result of the meetings, and because of a love for the facility by so many in attendance, Friends of Twin Lakes Allegany National Forest was born.

In March of this year, a board was formed, officers elected, and it has been non-stop ever since. A spring cleanup was held the weekend of April 6th with a fresh coating of snow, compliments of mother nature, but that did not deter the 60 plus volunteers that showed up to help. Several other work weekends were also held to get the lake in shape for Memorial Weekend and the summer season. Volunteers stained signs, bridges, and steps, cut grass, helped landscape and lay new mulch, planted flowers and shrubs and cut trees and brush.

The day-to-day upkeep with the grass mowing and trimming was quite a daunting task during the summer months, but thanks to the Monday night work crews and people who have come to “work and stay” at the campground, much has been accomplished. To date, Friends of Twin Lakes has had over 160 volunteers who have put in more than 2,000 hours of time to help out and keep Twin Lakes open for future generations.

Two fundraising events were held at the lake, one on the first day of fishing season and the other on Father’s Day weekend. Father’s Day weekend included live music on the grounds with Enveil of Kane donating their time and talent to the cause. Both events were well attended and quite successful. Friends of Twin Lakes also had booths at several area festivals and entered a float in the Ridgway Firemen’s parade.

Moving forward, Friends of Twin Lakes is still looking for more help from the community. They are looking for people to help out with fundraising ideas and to help plan the events calendar for next season.

Over the winter months, the group will be focusing on a capital campaign to raise funds to repair the infrastructure issues and prepare for the 2019 summer season. Anyone interested in making a donation can do so through the Elk County Community Foundation, 32 South St. Marys Street Suite 4, PO Box 934, St. Marys, Pa. 15857. Be sure to notate that the donation is for “Friends of Twin Lakes.”