Glens Falls Post Star - Stefanik: Clean Lakes Help Businesses

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By Kathleen Moore

The unprecedented effort to protect Lake George by requiring inspections of every trailered boat has a new supporter: U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.

She wants to help organize a regional forum to educate other local leaders and persuade them to implement the protection program at their lakes.

The youngest woman ever elected to Congress, the freshman legislator is on a visiting tour of every county in her district this month.

She spoke Tuesday at the Boathouse Restaurant, overlooking Lake George, at an event sponsored by the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Stefanik, R-Willsboro, briefly mentioned her support of the Lake George boat inspections and then amplified her remarks upon a question from the chairman of the Fund for Lake George, which helped organize the Lake George Park Commission's mandatory boat-inspection program.

The issue is that boaters can unwittingly spread invasive species from waterway to waterway. Microscopic organisms hitch a ride in trailer wheel wells and other locations, moving with the boat.

Lake George officials are already contending with several invasive species, and last year required every trailered boat to be inspected and decontaminated to stop more species from entering the lake.

Stefanik said other government leaders should take notice.

"It's an issue in other lakes," she said, calling it a problem for tourism.

She supports the inspections, saying she likes to "find that common-sense middle ground where you can be pro-environment but also pro-economic development."

Jeff Killeen, chairman of the Fund for Lake George, thanked her for her support.

"The economy and the environment are sort of the same thing, especially up here," he told her.

She asked him to help her set up a regional forum on the topic.

"So you can educate others … other tourism groups I represent," she said. "Let's plan that long-term and not just throw it together. Put together a really formative event."

She said she hopes the forum could help town supervisors and other leaders protect their natural resources, which draw in tourists.

There will also be a summit this week on that topic, though not designed specifically for those who aren't yet taking action. Regional groups will discuss what's working and what's not on Schroon Lake, Lake George, Friends Lake, Loon Lake and Brant Lake.

The Brant Lake Association, town of Horicon and Adirondack Council are hosting the Adirondack Park Invasive Species Summit & Award Presentation from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Horicon Town Hall. The summit is free and includes lunch.

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