I'm a resident of Elk County, a native of Ridgway, PA, and a frequent visitor to the Bear Creek site of last year's gathering. Also, I covered the gathering for the local newspapers.
I can personally attest to the excellent job down by the cleanup crews after the gathering. The area was clean, reseeded and in excellent condition. In fact, I was in the valley last weekend and a non-attendee would be hard pressed to identify all but the most intensely used areas.
Personally, I wish you would have left the bridges. They were a wonderful aid in navigating across the often deep Bear Creek.
I only wish that some of our locals would have the same care for our beautiful resource. Some months after the departure of the gathering, the area around "telegraph hill" was littered with a wide variety of garbage, none of Rainbow origin.
It was a fascinating and fun time for those of us who were made welcome in your family. I wish you well this year and hope that the federal authorities will be less offensive in their behavior toward the family.
If I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me or to use this brief testimonial as you see fit.
All my best,