August 10, 2026
From left to right: Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky, Previous LGA Board Chair Dr. John Kelly, III., Dr. Peter Gleick, DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton, LGA President & CEO Dr. Brendan Wiltse, LGA Board Chair Bill Creighton.
LGA President & CEO Dr. Brendan Wiltse speaks during the Annual Meeting.
The Lake George Association brought together freshwater leaders, scientists, elected officials, community partners and supporters on Saturday, August 8, for a morning focused on one shared priority: protecting Lake George for generations to come.
Held at the Fort William Henry Carriage House, the 2026 LGA Annual Meeting united local action and global perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing freshwater today.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton opened the featured program with a keynote focused on New York's work to protect freshwater resources and the importance of collaboration among state and local government, scientists, nonprofits and communities.
During her keynote, Commissioner Lefton also echoed the Lake George Association's call for the creation of a comprehensive aquatic invasive species management plan for Lake George.
She was followed by internationally recognized water scientist, author and Pacific Institute co-founder Dr. Peter Gleick, who brought a global perspective to Lake George. Gleick's work has helped define the connections among water, climate change, public health, human rights and sustainability, and his closing remarks offered an optimistic future for freshwater conservation around the country.
Together, the two keynotes reinforced a central message of the morning: The obstacles facing freshwater are significant, but so is our ability to solve them when science, policy, investment and people work together.
NYS DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton delivers remarks during the Annual Meeting.
Dr. Peter Gleick offered a global perspective to Lake George water quality protection.
The Next Chapter of the Lake George Association
The Annual Meeting also provided an opportunity to look specifically at what comes next for Lake George.
Former LGA Board Chair Dr. John E. Kelly III, who led the organization throughout the development of its new Five-Year Strategic Plan, reflected on the extensive process that shaped the plan, including input from LGA supporters, community leaders and stakeholders throughout 2024 and 2025.
The resulting strategy builds upon the LGA's 140-year history while sharpening its focus on the future: using science to identify the greatest threats to Lake George, advancing practical solutions to address those threats, advocating for lasting policy change, and engaging a broad community in the Lake's protection.
LGA President & CEO Dr. Brendan Wiltse then outlined how that strategy is already being translated into action across the watershed, while LGA's new Board Chair Bill Creighton shared the financial strength making that work possible.
In 2026, the LGA plans to invest approximately $4.55 million in lake protection — $1.2 million more than in 2025 — supporting science, wastewater and stormwater solutions, invasive species prevention and management, road salt reduction and other priorities.
Dr. John E. Kelly, III, delivers remarks.
LGA Board Chair Bill Creighton provides a financial update during the Annual Meeting.
More Than $1 Million in Action to Protect Lake George
Perhaps no part of the morning demonstrated the power of partnership more visibly than the recognition of more than $1 million in grants and investments supporting projects throughout the Lake George watershed.
The LGA recognized:
- $550,000 to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to support the Jefferson Project's Smart Sensor Network and the new state-of-the-art research vessel, the R/V Boylen, strengthening the ability of scientists to observe, understand and protect Lake George.
- $240,000 to 26 property owners for septic system upgrades and replacements, made possible through the Lake Champlain Basin Program and Wright Family Foundation, helping prevent nutrients and other contaminants from reaching the Lake.
- $50,000 to the Town of Bolton for construction of two woodchip bioreactors designed to remove nitrogen from treated wastewater before it enters the Lake George watershed.
- $12,000 to the Town of Lake George for construction of a rain garden at Usher Park that will capture and naturally filter stormwater runoff.
- $220,000 to the Lake George Park Commission supporting aquatic invasive species spread prevention and Eurasian watermilfoil management.
Each investment addresses a different piece of the Lake George protection puzzle, from understanding changing conditions through science to preventing nutrient pollution, managing invasive species and improving wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
Together, they demonstrate what becomes possible when science, funding and strong partnerships come together around data-informed solutions.
All grant recipients gathered to recognize the collective partnerships and investment in Lake George water quality protection.
Honoring Two Leaders Who Put Lake George First
The morning also celebrated two individuals whose actions have left a lasting mark on Lake George.
Town of Queensbury Supervisor John Strough received the James D. Corbett Award, one of the LGA's highest honors for commitment to the enduring protection of Lake George.
Throughout more than two decades of service to Queensbury, Strough has been a longtime partner of the LGA and Lake George Waterkeeper, and has championed policies that translate water quality science into lasting community protection.
Under his leadership, Queensbury adopted the first fertilizer restriction law on Lake George, created the first wastewater management district on the Lake in Dunhams Bay, established strong shoreline and stream-corridor protections, adopted a property-transfer septic inspection law, and helped catalyze the Lake George Park Commission's mandatory boat inspection program, among numerous other initiatives.
The LGA also presented the Irving Langmuir Award for Excellence in Stewardship and Development to Tim Shudt, Chief Operator of the Lake George Village Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Shudt's recognition told one of the morning's most powerful stories.
While operating the Village's former wastewater treatment plant, Shudt discovered unexplained water quality violations and persisted in investigating their cause. His work ultimately revealed that plant records had previously been altered, masking years of violations. Shudt brought the issue forward despite the personal and professional risk of doing so.
That decision, together with water quality monitoring conducted by the Lake George Waterkeeper, helped catalyze construction of the Village's new wastewater treatment plant.
Before the new plant began operating in 2022, the former facility averaged nearly 30 monitoring-well violations annually. Since the new plant came online, there have been no monitoring-well violations.
As Shudt once said of the work:
"I want to make sure it's done right. It's Lake George, it deserves the best technology and design."
His actions exemplify exactly what the Langmuir Award recognizes: stewardship, integrity and an unwavering commitment to protecting Lake George.
Queensbury Supervisor John Strough received the James D. Corbett Award, posing with LGA President & CEO Dr. Wiltse and Lake George Waterkeeper Navitsky.
LGV WWTP Chief Operator received the Irving Langmuir Award, posing with LGA President & CEO Dr. Wiltse and Lake George Waterkeeper Navitsky.
Together, We are the Voice of Lake George
Saturday's Annual Meeting showcased the many forms that freshwater protection can take.
It happens when scientists put new technology around, in and on the Lake to better understand how it is changing. It happens when homeowners replace aging septic systems, municipalities invest in better infrastructure and government leaders enact stronger protections. It happens when individuals have the courage to speak up and when partners commit the resources necessary to turn good ideas into measurable results.
And it happens when a community comes together around a Lake it loves.
As the LGA enters the next chapter of its 140-year history, that collective commitment will be more important than ever.
The challenges facing Lake George continue to evolve. So will the science, solutions and policies needed to address them.
But if Saturday morning demonstrated anything, it is that Lake George has an extraordinary community ready to meet that challenge.
Together, we are the Voice of the Lake.
All photography credited to Holly Clark.
