News

LGA Community Scientists are dedicated Lake Protectors, participating in a variety of programs to monitor water quality in the lake and its streams, invasive species, harmful and concerning algae growth, and local wildlife. All of the data brought in by our Community Scientists supports the LGA and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation programs that work to keep the lake clear and clean.

With freshwater seemingly ubiquitous and easy to access – whether it’s upon instant demand from our sink faucets or an easy stroll down to one of Lake George’s beautiful shorelines – it’s incredibly easy to take this resource for granted. But we should remember that freshwater is just that: an invaluable, finite resource.

Whether you’re visiting for a week, enjoying the full season, or proudly part of our local business community, the Lake George Association invites you to take part in a lineup of exciting events that celebrate — and help protect — the lake we all love.

On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, the New York State Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation hosted a public hearing to explore the issue of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) statewide. Executive Director Dr. Brendan Wiltse provided testimony. 

The Lake George Association (LGA) announces the continuation and expansion of its Lake Impact Fund grant program, reinforcing its Investment for Impact approach to protecting the water quality of Lake George through critical infrastructure improvements.

The Lake George Association has awarded $15,000 to the Village of Lake George for the purchase of a sidewalk plow equipped with a salt brine application unit as part of its Road Salt Reduction Grant Program.

The Board of Directors of the Lake George Association (LGA) has selected Brendan Wiltse, Ph.D., as its new Executive Director. Dr. Wiltse will leave his current position as Executive Director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute in Saranac Lake, NY, to officially join the Lake protection group on or before January 2, 2025. He succeeds Leigh Youngblood, who currently serves as the LGA’s interim executive director.

LAKE GEORGE — Traditionally we measure Lake George water quality with a Secchi Disk or by the amount of phosphorous and chlorophyll A in the water. But in early September, snorkelers Bob and Debby Benway came across another indicator of the Lake’s clarity: freshwater bryozoans attached to submerged limbs.  

LAKE GEORGE — As part of the LGA’s continued monitoring of the effects of ProcellaCOR in Lake George, and as a follow-on to the results we released on September 3, today we release our latest findings. 

ProcellaCOR found in both native plants and Eurasian watermilfoil:
Over the course of 11 days — June 29 through July 9 — we collected 31 samples of native plants and Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) in Blairs and Jelliffe-Knight (formerly Sheep Meadow) bays, where the herbicide was applied on June 29. The independent lab we are using at the University of Connecticut found ProcellaCOR or a ProcellaCOR degradant (a chemical byproduct that also acts as an herbicide) in eight of the plants. 

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Association (LGA) has established a new Lake Impact Fund to provide financial assistance to residents in the Lake George basin who undertake Lake protection projects on their property.  

The Lake Impact Fund will be an ongoing program that helps the community take actions that keep the water and ecosystem of Lake George healthy. In its first two years, 2024 and 2025, the program will issue a total of approximately $400,000 to assist with septic system upgrades for properties that fall within the Lake George Park Commission Wastewater Inspection Program area. 

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Association (LGA) has announced initial results of the ProcellaCOR monitoring program being conducted by The Jefferson Project — a partnership between the LGA, IBM Research, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — and the LGA science team. An outline of the monitoring program and results can be found on the LGA website. 

The results have been reviewed with the Lake George Park Commission (LGPC). The findings complement and supplement the monitoring conducted by the LGPC (see results on the LGPC website). Taken together, these data form a comprehensive study of the herbicide’s effects in Lake George. 

LAKE GEORGE — The LGA’s Fourth Wave group began a new type of fundraising on August 1 with “Dollar a Day for the LGA” donation boxes placed at 19 local businesses that invite visitors to donate a dollar each day they stay in Lake George in support of the LGA’s efforts to keep Lake George clear and clean. The boxes also include a Venmo code for those who prefer cashless donation. The program runs through Columbus Day (October 14). If you would like a “Dollar a Day” box at your business, email Tyra MacGuffie at [email protected].  

LAKE GEORGE — About a five-minute walk from the parking lot of the Lake George Recreation Center (99 Transfer Road) are a lean-to, a table, and nine benches constructed in 2019 as the LGA’s Outdoor Classroom. Earlier this month, signs were installed to identify it and to educate the students who go there to learn about the effects of land and streams on Lake George as a follow-up to the LGA’s Floating Classroom excursion on the Lake. 

LAKE GEORGE — In light of the Lake George Park Commission’s (LGPC’s) treatment of Eurasian watermilfoil with the chemical pesticide florpyrauxifen-benzyl (ProcellaCOR), The Jefferson Project has developed and implemented a detailed monitoring plan. This will measure and model the water dynamics of Lake George, specifically the two treatment bays, Blairs Bay and Sheep Meadow Bay, determine the levels and destination of the active ingredient and its major degradant compounds as well as the impact to the native and non-native components of the Lake George ecosystem.

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Association has appointed Elyce Buell, Ph.D., as its new Water Quality Research Manager, a science-to-solutions–based position focused on understanding of the various threats to Lake George water quality. In her new role, Elyce will work on existing and new research projects for the LGA. This will involve establishing instrumentation to collect data in specific watersheds in the Lake George basin, analyzing the data, and communicating the findings to municipalities and the public.  

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Association (LGA) is closely monitoring the behavior and effects of the ProcellaCOR pesticide that the Lake George Park Commission (LGPC) had applied to two Lake George bays early this morning.

LAKE GEORGE — At today’s Supreme Court hearing, Justice Muller lifted the temporary restraining against NY State, which prevented the Lake George Park Commission (LGPC) from applying an herbicide to Lake George. With the restraint removed, the LGPC can put the chemical herbicide ProcellaCOR in the lake any time from now until the end of the day Sunday, when the permits expire.

LAKE GEORGE — Leigh Youngblood, the new interim executive director (ED) of the Lake George Association (LGA), brings deep experience in nonprofit conservation. Under her leadership, the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust in Athol, MA, grew staff from one to nine people and reached a total of 35,000 conservation acres in north-central Massachusetts over the course of 26 years. Municipal wetland protection is also a significant part of her conservation expertise