04 Jan Tread Lightly! Impact Report: Shawnee National Forest Kinkaid Lake Pavilion Restoration

Project: Shawnee National Forest Kinkaid Lake Pavilion Restoration
Location: Illinois

Description: Over a two-month period, from October to December 2023, 12 volunteers from Jeep’N Shawnee replaced the roof of a pavilion in danger of being demolished thanks to funds from Yokohama Tires. Volunteers replaced 1,200 square feet of roof and supports to repair a 1970s-era pavilion in a day use area. They also removed old roofing materials and cleared waist high brush from pavilion field and used sandbags to help shore up a washed out forest road in the area

Thank you to the partners who made this possible:

• Jeep’n Shawnee
• Yokohama Tire

“It’s important to Jeep’n Shawnee to help promote forest access, and to maintain and keep areas open. This is where we play, and we have a lot of great forest roads around here-we volunteer to both help improve and restore recreation areas to help keep them open for future generations. Tread Lightly! has helped us on the last couple of projects with more resources than we previously had, allowing us to make a much bigger impact helping to maintain public lands. We look forward to working on more projects with them in the future!” Joe Santhoff, President of Jeep’n Shawnee

“I am amazed at the work Jeep’n Shawnee was able to complete on this nearly a half century old pavilion in such a short amount of time, saving it from being torn down due to lack of resources for maintenance. Tread Lightly! is committed to helping the public take an active role in helping to maintain public lands, and this group has done a stellar job for years doing exactly that. The project funding we have been able to add to the mix has helped them tackle bigger projects recently, and we hope they can continue this trend!” Scott Ammerman, Tread Lightly! Northeast Program Manager

Want to get involved in your own Tread Lightly! project? Find upcoming activities, events, and grant opportunities at treadlightly.org.