Category: Lake George

The Pinnacle, on the lake’s west shore in the town of Bolton, is one of the many trails highlighted in the LGLC’s new pocket guide. (Click image to see larger view.)

The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) was recently awarded a $3,000 grant from the Glens Falls Foundation in support of its Hike Lake George campaign.

The Hike Lake George campaign was launched in 2015 in order to promote the parks, preserves and trails managed by the LGLC as important recreational and economic assets throughout the Lake George region. The Foundation’s grant will enable the LGLC to expand the campaign’s reach by increasing its presence in regional publications and media outlets.

The LGLC is a non-profit land trust that works to protect the water quality of Lake George through land conservation. These efforts also result in the establishment of parks and preserves that are opened to the public; the LGLC currently manages 18 parks and preserves that are open to the public year-round or by special request with nearly 35 miles of trails for hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and, at some preserves, hunting and snowmobiling.

In order to promote Hike Lake George, the LGLC created a Pocket Guide to LGLC Parks and Preserves handout that will be updated each spring and widely distributed at hospitality businesses, tourism and visitor centers, and at all LGLC trailheads. This summer, the Guide and its message to “Hike Lake George” will also reach a broader audience, thanks in large part to the Foundation’s support, in the form of full-page advertisements in regional newspapers and other media outlets.

The cover of the LGLC’s Pocket Guide to Parks and Preserves.

“We are exceedingly grateful for the Glens Falls Foundation’s support of this initiative,” said LGLC Executive Director Jamie Brown. “The Hike Lake George campaign is a huge project that benefits everyone who is looking for opportunities to get out and enjoy the peace and beauty of Lake George. Thanks to the Foundation, we’ll be able to expand our reach and show that it’s easy to find a trail for every hiker.”

Hague Brook, where the Lake George Association plans to stabilize the stream bank. (Click image to see full-scale.)

The Lake George Association has been awarded a total of $47,908 in grants by the Lake Champlain Basin Program for programs, projects and equipment for 2016. The grants will allow the Lake George Association to continue to protect Lake George water quality and to provide education for the future.

The largest of the grants totals $19,608 and will be used for major stream repairs – the LGA’s 2016 Project Focus. The two streams targeted with this grant money are Hague Brook and Jenkins Brook – both in the town of Hague. The work that the LGA is planning with our partners is expected to stabilize stream banks in order to prevent sediment and other material from entering Lake George and degrading the lake’s water quality. The stream repairs are also expected to improve fish habitats in both areas and allow fish to move farther upstream than is currently possible.

“Stream health is very important to Lake George,” said Randy G. Rath, Project Manager for the Lake George Association. “Maintaining or repairing the paths of streams and brooks – and stopping stormwater from eroding streambanks – keeps Lake George clear of runoff, sediment, and debris that can contaminate the Lake.”

The second grant – $14,300 – will help to pay for two Invasive Species Spread Prevention Education Interns. With a long history of educational outreach on invasive species, the Lake George Association plans to hire two interns for the season who will help educate visitors and the community about the threats of invasive species – and about ways the public can help prevent the spread of invasive species both on land and in the water.

“The Lake George Association understands the importance of spread prevention education,” said Kristen Rohne, Director of Education for the Lake George Association. “It’s something we have been doing for a long time as part of our mission

“We realize that the more visitors and residents know about the threats, the better they will understand how their everyday actions can protect the Lake as well as protect all of the surrounding water bodies,” Rohne said. “We expect that in addition to their own work, our invasive species interns will supplement the outreach and informational work being done by Lake George Park Commission’s Boat Inspection Program. The interns will be able to interact with visitors and residents away from the boat launches and increase awareness before the visitors even get to the shoreline,” she added.

Lake George Friends and Partners,

Attached, please find the Lake George Park Commission’s 2015 Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program Final Report. This report concluded the two-year pilot mandatory trailered boat inspection program for Lake George, and details both how the program was administered and its outcomes. This program simply would not have been possible without the tremendous support of our many partners, both state and local, who have provided the funding necessary to make this program a reality. The Commission believes that this program has been a success in working to protect Lake George, and this effort has been broadly supported by both the users of the lake and the public in general. A recent Sienna Research Institute poll of recreational users of the lake noted that “96% of respondents rated this program as important or very important in protecting Lake George.” We owe a considerable debt to the dozens of organizations and passionate individuals who have helped shape this program into one that does not impact boater use of Lake George while still providing for strong protection. In fact, boater registrations on Lake George have actually increased over the two years of this pilot program. Thanks to our funding partners, there has been no cost to boaters on Lake George for either the inspection or a decontamination if required. We believe this is the best model achievable, and will work to maintain this key element to the program.

Looking to the future, the Commission is currently working to make this initiative a permanent program on Lake George. It will take continued support and diligence from all of our collective agencies and organizations to do so, but we believe that given what’s at stake, this support will continue for the long-term.

I invite you to take a look at this report to get a broader understanding of the outcomes of this aquatic invasive species prevention effort. Please feel free to share this with anyone who you think will be interested. We are always open to new ideas and thoughts for improvement, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Commission at any time with your thoughts and ideas.

Working collectively we also had a very aggressive year in addressing the Eurasian watermilfoil issue in Lake George, and you can find a comprehensive 2015 Milfoil Control Final Report on our website at www.lgpc.state.ny.us.

Wishing you the best in 2016,

Dave Wick
LGPC Executive Director

Lake George native Mike Dier has been elected president of the Lake George Association’s Board of Directors.

“I am honored to become President of the Lake George Association’s Board of Directors, and look forward to working with our talented and effective staff and our engaged board members to continue the LGA’s important work,” Dier said.

“Mike has been involved in the Lake George Association for many years, most recently as our Executive Vice President.” said C. Walter Lender, Executive Director of the Lake George Association. “His love for the Lake is clear to anyone who has worked with him, and his energy and drive will help to continue our work protecting Lake George water and educating for the future.”

Dier, who now lives in Queensbury, said it is crucial for the LGA to focus on new and future partnerships whenever possible. “In recent years we’ve seen a strong sense of cooperation develop between the Lake George Association and municipalities, Warren County Soil and Water, the other nonprofits, and the regulatory agencies like the Lake George Park Commission that work in the Lake George watershed,” Dier said. “That regular cooperation is beneficial for the health of the Lake. In many cases, we can do so much more together than we could separately.”

“We are looking forward to continuing that cooperation so that critical Lake-Saving Projects – on our own and with our partners – will proceed in sustaining Lake George’s water quality,” he added.

Along with Dier, the LGA Board of Directors elected Cheryl Lamb as Executive Vice President and Daniel Behan, Jr., as Treasurer.

Lamb was re-elected to the LGA Board of Directors in August at its Annual Meeting. She and her husband, Buzz, are the former owners of Norowal Marina in Bolton Landing.

Behan is a project manager for Saratoga Prime Properties and has 25 years of experience in marina management and development, including the Harris Bay Yacht Club in Cleverdale and the Bolton Landing Marina.

Cathy LaBombard was re-elected as Secretary, and Dan Davies and Bill Dutcher were re-elected as Vice Presidents. Former Board President Victor Hershaft will remain involved with the LGA as the past president. “I am honored to continue working for the Lake George Association in a formal capacity,” Hershaft said, “and I am pleased to see that the Board has chosen Mike as our President. He is eminently qualified to keep the protection of Lake George moving forward.”

Dier grew up in (and on) Lake George with swimming, boating and camping as some of his earliest memories. “I know now that the accomplishments of the Lake George Association and its partners are why we were able to enjoy the lake then, and why we are able to enjoy it now.” “I got involved in the LGA because I saw that it was an organization of action – real, in the-ground action that makes significant differences in the protection of water quality in Lake George,” Dier said. “What’s also important is that the Lake George Association accomplishes that delicate balance of respecting the Lake’s needs and respecting the needs of the various users. It’s not easy to do, but it is important. We are all fortunate to be able to have and use Lake George – a resource that the LGA’s been preserving for more than a century,” he said

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.