June 30, 2023
June 22, 2023 — A clearly committed group of 135 people from the Lake George area showed up for the LGA’s inaugural Lake Protector Summit, which ran from 9 am-11 am at the Fort William Henry Hotel & Conference Center.
The audience — comprised of property owners, seasonal and full-time residents, area businesses, visitors to the Lake, government officials, and press — was highly engaged, asking questions that ranged from regulation to prevention of harmful algal blooms (HABs) to the role of business in Lake protection.
At the Lake Protector Summit on June 22, 2023. Photo courtesy of The Post-Star.
Topics covered at the Summit were:
• The Economic Importance of Lake George, from Jim Siplon, president, Warren County Economic Development Corp.
• Issues Facing Lake George: Septic, Stormwater, and HABs, from Brea Arvidson, LGA water quality research manager, and Brian Mattes, senior research specialist for the Jefferson Project.
• Lake Protection Solutions: A Case Study, from Randy Rath, LGA lake protection and geospatial systems analyst.
• Lake Protector in Action: Canoe Island Lodge, from Amy Houghton, senior associate, RLA, for Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture.
• Your Property and the Lake Protector Profile App, from Monika LaPlante, LGA managing program director.
A report from WAMC focused on the science and threat of HABs to Lake George and the LGA’s new Lake Protector Profile app, which helps property owners and others take preventive actions to protect the Lake.
Kathy Ervolina, who has registered for the app and lives off Dunham’s Bay, told WAMC she wants to reduce stormwater runoff on her property: “It has to be done. The Lake has to be protected.”
The Post-Star gave complete coverage of the event, quoting LGA president Eric Siy’s closing remarks: “This Lake is at risk of getting loved to death, but as a concerned community that builds a culture of commitment, we can prevent that from happening.”