A boat being inspected as it enters Lake George at Mossy Point Boat Launch.
The Lake George Park Commission at its monthly meeting this week voted to move ahead with the process to create a permanent Boat Inspection Program on Lake George, calling the two-year pilot — which expires at the end of this year — very successful.
The vote represents a major milestone in protecting Lake George from invasive species arriving by trailered boats.
As you likely know, the Park Commission’s Boat Inspection Program is the regulatory outgrowth of the Lake George Association’s successful Lake Steward Program.
At the LGPC meeting in Ticonderoga this week, Park Commission Chairman Bruce Young said that among the reasons why the program should become permanent are:
• It is effective in managing the risk of invasive species entering Lake George,
• It is widely accepted by boaters and by residents, and
• The data shows that the program is not hurting tourism or cutting back on boating traffic to Lake George. In fact, more boats were inspected in 2015 than in 2014.
LGA Executive Director C. Walter Lender said the LGA is pleased to support the effort to make the inspection program permanent.
“We know that the Lake George Park Commission’s Boat Inspection Program is critical to protecting Lake George. That is why the Lake George Association has pledged $30,000 a year for the next three years as part of the local match for the program.”
“That $30,000 comes from our members, who have told us that the inspection program is quite important to them. It’s a smart investment,” Lender said.
In the last two years, the Park Commission’s personnel at boat launches have had contact with nearly 42,000 boaters. In each instance, the boat has been inspected and decontaminated, if necessary (16% have needed to be cleaned in 2015). Nearly 250 confirmed aquatic invasive samples have been removed from boats in the last two years – and 40 samples are still being analyzed.
Before a permanent program can be put in place, there must be public hearings – two are being tentatively planned for December. The Park Commission will also accept written public comment on the proposed regulations that make the program permanent.