Category: The Environment

A rendering of what the West Brook Conservation Initiative in Lake George village will look like when completed. The “south parcel” stormwater complex is located on the bottom of the drawing, West Brook runs horizontally through the center, and the public festival space in located on the “north parcel” on top. The southern end of Lake George can be seen in the upper right hand corner.

Facing north from the “south parcel” of the West Brook Conservation Initiative. West Brook is beyond the railing in the background. The large pond in the foreground can be seen in blue on the drawing that appears at the top of this post.

The water in Lake George flows from the south to the north. So if the water from the south is cleaner, then the water in the north should be cleaner also.

That is the hope of those building the West Brook Conservation Initiative in Lake George village. The entire site can be thought of as two areas; respectively called the south and north parcels, with West Brook flowing between the two. The north parcel, once home to the “Cavalcade of Cars” and the “Opera House,” will include public festival space, a children’s adventure play area, and a skateboard park. The south parcel will include the stormwater treatment complex with interpretive educational trails throughout.

Construction of the south parcel stormwater treatment complex is now officially complete. All of the partners and supporters in the West Brook Conservation Initiative have something to celebrate. While the stormwater treatment system will not be technically “turned on” until the plants take root, it is expected that by the spring of 2013, the stormwater runoff from the Route 9 corridor and adjoining properties will be directed into the treatment basin.

Facing east from the “south parcel” of the West Brook Conservation Initiative. The new stormwater complex nears completion. Many people will remember that “Gaslight Village” and “Charlie’s Saloon” once occupied the south parcel.

Over 20,000 native plants, shrubs, and trees were installed in October, marking the final phase of construction on the stormwater complex.

The system will filter many of the pollutants that currently enter the south end of the Lake via West Brook. Engineers estimate that 90% of the sediment now flowing into the Lake will be treated by this system and over one-half of the pollutants will be removed. Millions of gallons of untreated stormwater now flow untreated into the south basin of Lake George.

The next phase of the project includes finishing the interpretive trails throughout the south parcel and constructing the public festival space on the north parcel.

Funding is in place for most of the construction needed for the north parcel: the park building (housing the restrooms), the children’s adventure play area, the skateboard park (90% funded), the walkways and interpretative signage, and an at-grade crossing over West Brook. Funding is also in place for the walkways and interpretative signage on the south parcel (through the storm water treatment train).

In approximately three weeks, word is expected on grants that could complete the funding needed for several park elements. Elements to be potentially funded through these grants are:

a. the final 10% of the skateboard park;
b. walkways;
c. park entrance at Beach Road; and
d. signage as well as sidewalks along West Brook Rd.

The project partners are continuing to look for funding sources for the elevated walkway and bridge over West Brook, connected to a fire tower, the Rt. 9 entrance, and the water feature.

Finally, the construction documents for funded elements are presently being completed. Once the grant award announcements are made, the park management committee will decide which additional construction documents will be needed, and those will be completed over the winter. Contractors will bid next summer, and construction will start shortly thereafter. Construction is slated for completion in the summer of 2015.

A sediment pond on Hague Brook is cleaned out. By slowing the flow of the stream, and allowing the sediment to settle out of the water before it flows into Lake George, the basins prevent contaminants from entering the Lake. Sediment basins also help prevent deltas from forming at the mouth of the brook.

The LGA has partnered with the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District (WCSWCD), the town of Hague, and the town of Bolton to remove over 1300 cubic yards of material from eight sediment basins in the two towns. This is the equivalent of approximately 110 dump truck loads.

A 65-foot-long reach excavator was rented for two weeks to complete the work. Each town contributed money and trucking services toward the project. WCSWCD provided project oversight with the assistance of the LGA.

As water flows downstream it carries sediment with it. The sediment can settle out at the mouth of the stream, introducing contaminants and creating deltas in Lake George. By slowing the flow of the water, sediment basins allow the sediment to drop out of suspension and be captured before entering Lake George. In order for the basins to work properly they need to be cleaned out every couple of years.

In addition to cleaning out the upland basin in Hague, the flow of the stream into the basin was realigned. Originally designed to receive 50% of the stream flow, material had built up over time in the old channel, directing 100% of the flow into the basin. Using some of the excess stone onsite from when the basin was constructed, the inlet to the basin was built up so that there would once again be a 50/50 split between the basin and the old channel. In the process, some small pools were created so that fish could migrate upstream, similar to a fish ladder.

In Hague a total of four basins were cleaned out, including two basins on Hague Brook, one on Jenkins Brook, and a fourth across the street from the town beach parking lot. In addition, the public boat launch area was also cleaned. A total of 715 cubic yards of material were removed from the Hague sites. The Hague highway department hauled all of the sediment; Morrissey Construction did the excavating.

In Bolton, just over 600 cubic yards of material were removed from four basins. The basins were located on Finkle Brook, Huddle Brook, and Indian Brook. Bolton Highway Department handled all of the trucking and Morrissey Construction did the excavating. Reale Construction transported the excavator from site to site daily.

‘‘This is truly a team effort with all of the parties involved,’’ says LGA Executive Director Walt Lender. ‘‘It is really great to have the municipalities support the clean-outs every year and Jim Lieberum from Soil and Water did an excellent job working with Randy Rath, LGA’s project manager, to coordinate all of the logistics of the entire effort including project oversight.’’

LGA staff members Jill Trunko (left) and Emily DeBolt (right) stand near a newly planted eastern hemlock that is part of a new vegetative buffer along English Brook in Lake George. The buffer included 120 plants, funded through the DEC’s Trees for Tribs program.

This October, the LGA joined several partners to plant dozens of native plants and shrubs along English Brook near its mouth at Lake George.

“When the subdivision at Lochlea was created,” said Tom Jarrett, one of the LGA members involved in the project, “a 50 ft. vegetative buffer was designated along the brook. This buffer requirement is being honored during construction of Dan Dwyer’s property on the brook, but we thought we could do more.”

“The existing buffer on the property benefited greatly from some supplemental planting,” said LGA Education Director Emily DeBolt. “The existing under-story was pretty sparse, and since English Brook is one of the larger tributaries to the lake, we wanted to help improve the buffer to protect the stream, and ultimately the lake. We decided to see if we could get some funding from a DEC program called Trees for Tribs, and we were successful,” she said.

The Trees for Tribs program is run by the DEC’s State Tree Nursery at Saratoga, which supplies the plants for the program. Trees for Tribs is part of a DEC initiative to restore and protect stream-side forests in the Lake Champlain Watershed. The program offers free native trees and shrubs for qualifying riparian buffer projects.

The LGA, Lake Champlain Lake George Regional Planning Board, Jarrett Engineers PLLC, and local property owners at the Lochlea estate worked together on the project. Along English Brook and the Dwyer’s property, 120 native plants and shrubs were planted, including arrowwood, red twig dogwood, red oak, high bush cranberry, eastern hemlock and more.

Today, the outside advisory group hired by the Lake George Park Commission, recommended that mandatory boat inspections and decontamination be undertaken for transient boats entering Lake George.

This is a big step for boats being brought onto the lake and is being undertaken after much public input. The Lake George Park Commission retained the LA Group, an outside consultant, to make a recommendation for the prevention of invasive species in Lake George. The LA Group’s recommendation was made in a public presentation today in Bolton.

How Mandatory Inspections Would Work:

Mandatory inspections would be required of all transient boats.
A stream-lined procedure would be available for “Lake George-Only” boat owners and hand-launched boats.
Three or more regional inspection/decontamination stations would be located at optimal points of entry into the Lake George Park.

Inspection tags required signifying compliance with Clean-DrainDry standards
Mandatory inspection tag verification required at launching facilities
Inspection Tags Removed Upon Launch
New Tags Secured to the Trailer Upon Leaving Launch
Boats that Arrive with Unbroken Inspection Tag may Re-Launch without Re-Inspection

Boats that do not pass inspection would undergo de-contamination at a boat wash station.
Boats arriving at launch without proper inspection tag will be directed to one of the regional inspection stations to screen the boat.
Additional inspection stations may be available at commercial marinas should the marina choose to provide certified inspection/decontamination services.
All marinas must provide trained persons to verify inspection tags.
Unstaffed launches would either add staff, establish MOU agreement, or close.

The entire presentation is posted on the LGPC’s website.

Mountain Lake PBS and Bright Blue EcoMedia have teamed up on a documentary to highlight the challenges of aquatic invasive species management in the Lake George basin, titled “Lake Defenders”. A free public screening will be held at the Sagamore in Bolton Landing at 6:30 pm on October 9th. A preview of the film is available online below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=encTbE9NHOM

The film is a 30-minute special highlighting both the successes and mounting challenges of aquatic invasive species control in the ‘Queen of American Lakes’, where citizens, scientists and nonprofit organizations have joined together to defend Lake George and its watershed. Invasives include Eurasian milfoil, zebra mussels, and Asian clam, the newest threat to Lake George ecology.

“The Lake George example is one that can serve as a model for thousands of communities across North America, communities that are struggling to conserve their lakes and resilience of their ecosystem and interdependent economies,” said Jon Erickson of Bright Blue EcoMedia and University of Vermont professor.

The documentary is part of the educational mission of Mountain Lakes PBS, based in Plattsburgh, NY. “We’re working with the nonprofit Bright Blue to provide quality lifelong learning content and curriculum while also telling a local success story to a much wider audience,” according to Dan Swinton, Director of Production and Content at Mountain Lake. Mountain Lake PBS will seek distribution throughout all of New York’s PBS stations.

A free public screening of “Lake Defenders” will take place on Oct 9th at the Sagamore in Lake George at 6:30 pm. The doors will open at 5:45 for hors d’ oeuvres. Following the film, Jon D. Erickson and Victor Guadagno of Bright Blue EcoMedia will be on hand for a period of Q&A. A screening will also take place in Albany on October 25th as part of the New York State Museum’s Adirondack Day.

Prior to the film’s broadcast premiere on October 19th at 9 pm, Thom Hallock, the award-winning producer of Mountain Lake Journal, will feature a special round table discussion with Jon D. Erickson and Vic Guadagno of Bright Blue at 8 pm on Mountain Lake PBS.

BrightBlue EcoMedia has an educational mission to produce digital media that will enhance, enrich, and sustain human cultures and the ecological systems on which they rely.

Mountain Lake PBS produces high quality programs for local and worldwide audiences, reaching over 3.9 million viewers in New York, Vermont, Quebec and Ontario.

Here is the flyer for the next Lake George Park Commission public meeting scheduled for September 27, 2012 regarding the Lake George Invasive Species Plan.

The meeting will be held at the Bolton Town Hall.

All are encouraged to attend and participate.

Special Presentations are scheduled for 2:30 and 6:30 pm.

A long section of West Brook, a major tributary to Lake George, was damaged last year by Tropical Storm Irene. The LGA will begin a project this fall to stabilize and restore the streambank.

This fall the Lake George Association will begin a project to stabilize a long section of streambank in the village of Lake George, on West Brook, which was severely eroded during last August’s Tropical Storm Irene. A $10,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program is making the project possible. The project will also restore some of natural sinuosity of the stream to protect the stream banks in that section of the brook. Once complete, the project will keep exposed sediment from further eroding into West Brook, and ultimately into Lake George.

“Because West Brook is one of the major tributaries to Lake George,” said LGA Project Manager Randy Rath, “it is a very high priority for us. In the last 30 plus years, the delta in Lake George at the end of West Brook is estimated to have grown to over 7000 square meters. We would like to limit as much additional growth as possible,” he continued.

Last year, after Tropical Storm Irene, work crews supervised by the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District (WCSWCD) cleared fallen trees and stabilized some to the major problems along West Brook. Due to all the work that needed to be done throughout the watershed, there wasn’t the time or resources to properly stabilize the upper banks of the brook, leaving unprotected soils that could easily wash into the brook from runoff. Fifteen feet of vegetative buffer protection along the banks were lost. A house 30 feet away is also at risk.

The LGA will work with WCSWCD to create the design and plan for the restoration project. The New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is allowing the work under a Tropical Storm Irene/Lee emergency permit issued last year. The design will include shallow step pools, coir logs, rock vanes, rock material, and vegetation.

Coir logs will be installed to capture runoff. Coir logs are thick, densely packed tubes that can provide strong structural support along shores, bank, and slopes. A twine net holds mattress coir fibers.

Cobbles and boulders from the brook will be used to reshape the channel, creating shallow step pools for habitat as well as toeing in the outer edge of the stream bank.

To prevent invasive species from being tracked on to the project site, the excavator used in the project will be power washed prior to entering the site.

All plants, shrubs and trees used in the project will be native to the area and matched to the local vegetation.

The site will be monitored for invasive species after completion as well.