In July 2011, the LGA installed a diversion structure to direct stormwater into a large Aqua-Swirl unit at Rt. 9N and English Brook.
The Lake George Association announced recently that the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation has awarded the 126-year old conservation organization a grant of $450,000 for lake-saving initiatives. This is the LGA’s eighteenth consecutive award from the Froehlich Foundation.
This grant award will provide $170,000 toward lake saving projects, $55,000 toward education and outreach programs, and $225,000 toward lake quality programs, Citizen Science, the Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program, invasive species management, and lake stewards.
“This grant award provides crucial support for our lake saving projects,” said Walt Lender, the LGA’s executive director. “Through cost-sharing with our municipal partners, we are able to complete stormwater infrastructure projects like sediment basin construction, and streambank and wetlands restoration. These upstream projects dramatically improve the quality of the water entering Lake George,” he said. “This funding is key to our ability to protect Lake George for future generations,” he added.
Nearly half of the total grant award will provide funding for the LGA’s Lake Quality Projects. These projects include the Asian clam eradication effort, as well as the LGA’s Lake Stewards and invasive species management activities. In addition, these funds help the LGA provide Geographic Information Systems support for lake management, as well as technical assistance to the municipalities surrounding Lake George.
In addition, “the grant, when leveraged with funds from members and donors, enables us to secure significant funding from public sources, and in turn, extends our ability to complete more projects throughout the watershed,” Lender said.
The LGA’s popular Floating Classroom program will receive $22,000 to help teach lake science and watershed management to area students and the general public. Over 2,000 people benefit each year from the LGA’s Education and Outreach programs, which are largely underwritten through grants like the one provided by the Froehlich Foundation.
With these funds, LGA staff help homeowners, businesses, municipalities and landscapers protect water quality by providing information on how to:
install vegetative buffers, rain gardens and rain barrels;
reduce lawn size and non-permeable surfaces;
control stormwater runoff; and,
use no-phosphorus fertilizer and native plant species in landscaping.
Established in 1885, the Lake George Association is America’s first lake association and a pioneer in the conservation movement. The LGA spent nearly $900,000 in 2010 to carry out its mission to protect Lake George. In addition to the funding from the Froehlich Foundation, the LGA relies on income from membership support and fundraising events.