Category: Lake George

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.

There was an intense boat fire near Fischers Marina in Kattskill Bay on the east shore of Lake George earlier this week. The Post-Star has details on the fire and its aftermath, and on the victims, both of whom survived the explosion.

The Lake George Association has an update and pictures on its Facebook page.