Photo Illustration by Collin Badger

Officials: County Should Explore Casino Bid, Regardless of State’s Compact with Mohawks

By Anthony F. Hall

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The St. Regis Mohawks’ compact with New York State, giving the tribe an exclusive right to operate gambling casinos within an eight county region that includes Warren, appears to be binding, said Martin Auffredou, the county attorney.

“New York State amended its 1993 agreement with the Mohawks in 2004 to give exclusive rights to the tribe in return for 25% of the gross annual revenues up to $72 million,” said Auffredou. “I’ve heard, as many others have, that the tribe is in breach of the contract, but I don’t know that for a fact, and I wouldn’t speculate as to its consequences.”

But the exclusivity compact, which would appear to bar casino gambling in Warren County if New York State legalizes it later this year, should not deter county leaders from seeking a casino, said Lake George Village Mayor Bob Blais.

“I would take the issue to the public and test the waters; don’t be afraid of lawsuits and threats. Go after a casino. The pay off could be substantial, which is why a large segment of the business community has expressed overwhelmingly support for a casino in Lake George,” said Blais.

Lake George Supervisor Dennis Dickinson said he, too, believed Warren County should not be deterred by the compact.

“Even if the exclusivity contract is valid, and I’m not certain that it is, we should be moving forward,” said Dickinson. “Many of my constituents in Lake George want to bring casino gambling here, and I’m doing everything I can to support them.”

According to Bill Dow, the president of thre Lake George Steamboat Company, supporters of a casino in Lake George include executives at Fort William Henry, Roaring Brook, Magic Forest and Waterslide World.

“No matter what I do, and I’m doing everything I can, our business has been steadily declining since 1998,” said Dow. “We very much need a new tourism draw to stabilize our economy.”

Blais said he was no longer advocating a study of casino gambling’s potential impacts for Warren County.

“I agree with Bill Dow, who says that we already have the facts, which are that gambling will be a tourism magnate and that we need new assets if we’re to remain competitive,” said Blais.

Blais said he believes Warren County has already lost valuable time if Lake George is to be a contender for one of the few casinos which, if a constitutional amendment legalizing casinos is passed, would be allotted to upstate New York.

“Saratoga is already lobbying Albany, while we haven’t done anything. I’ve listened to folks in Albany. In the fight for a casino, Saratoga is at the top,” he said.

Chester Supervisor Fred Monroe said that support among the Warren County Board of Supervisors appeared to be luke warm at best.

If Warren County is allotted a casino, the Supervisors want to make certain that local residents have the option to accept or reject it, Monroe said.

Tags: Articles & News, Lake George

Bill Owens

Democrat Owens Joins Local Republicans in Opposing Assault Rifle Bans

By Anthony F. Hall

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

US Representative Bill Owens, the Democrat who represents Lake George and most of the Adirondack Park in Congress, will break with his party’s leaders and oppose President Obama’s proposals to ban assault weapons and limit ammunition magazines to ten rounds.

“I represent a rural Congressional District where hunting and sport-shooting are common practice for many, and so I remain concerned over any effort to restrict the right of gun-ownership for law abiding citizens,” said Owens.

The proposals are among the comprehensive gun control reforms supported by Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats’ leader in the House of Representatives.

“Congress must do its part, without further delay, to take the most dangerous weapons and assault magazines out of the hands of those in greatest danger of doing harm to themselves and to others,” Pelosi said on January 16.

Speaking at the opening of his district office in Glens Falls on January 30, Owens said he could vote in favor of stronger background checks of gun purchasers and measures that would disrupt illegal gun trafficking.

“I believe we can do more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill,” Owens said.

But the Congressman added that in his view, banning assault weapons would do little to reduce crime.

“Most crimes are committed with hand guns,” said.

Assault weapons are purchased primarily by collectors and recreational shooters, Owens said.

A veteran, Owens said that he himself does not own guns.

Asked if he believed firearms were necessary for self-protection, Owens said, “whether it’s realistic to say that guns will protect your home and your family, that requires further study, but the fact is that the Supreme Court has interpreted the second amendment to mean that citizens have the right keep arms to protect themselves.”

In New York, Lake George’s state legislators also opposed measures controlling the spread of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, two provisions of new legislation signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on January 16.

Freshman Assemblyman Dan Stec, the former supervisor of Queensbury, said, “I could not support a bill that severely restricts the constitutional rights of our sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts and ignores overwhelming information that shows restricting access to firearms is not a solution to solving gun violence in our communities.”

State Senator Betty Little also voted against the bill, known as the NY Safe Act. According to Little, “The vast majority of constituents who called and emailed my office did so in opposition to the proposed gun control measures. I think we should have taken more time to consider the impact of the legislation on those who have been and would continue to be lawful in their ownership and use of firearms.”

Even Warren County Sheriff Bud York, who rarely if ever comments personally and publicly on the actions of state officials, criticized the NY Safe Act.

While stating that he was “confident that all Sheriffs will enforce the duly enacted laws of New York, as required by their oath of office,” York added, “it is far from certain that many (of the law’s provisions) will have any significant effect in reducing gun violence, which is the presumed goal of all of us.”

Warren County Republican Committee chairman Mike Grasso said that political expediency, if nothing else, prohibits Congressman Owens from supporting stricter gun controls.

“He has to stay in step with the district. We have a heavy concentration of sportsmen. If he supports new gun controls, it will be the nail in his coffin. His political career will be over,” said Grasso.

But, Grasso added, he takes Owens at his word that he’s a supporter of gun owners’ rights.

“He has the highest rating possible from the National Rifle Association. I hope he remains true to those colors,” said Grasso.

Tags: Articles & News, Bill Owens, Gun Rights, Lake George

Spiny Water Flea, A New Invasive, Found in Lake George

By Anthony F. Hall

Thursday, August 30, 2012

The spiny water flea, a half-inch-long barbed flea that poses a long-term threat to established fish populations, is the latest aquatic invasive species to reach Lake George.

The Lake George Association discovered the invasive at the north end of the lake on July 27. New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation and the Lake George Park Commission officially confirmed its presence on Wednesday, August 1.

“The discovery of spiny water flea in Lake George is not welcome news and DEC’s efforts to slow the spread of this and other invasive species will continue,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens.

Since August 1, anglers have submitted samples of fleas to the LGA found in other parts of the lake, but those specimens have yet to be positively identified as spiny water flea, said Emily DeBolt, the LGA’s director of education.

The samples found at Mossy Point on July 27 and identified by the Darrin Fresh Water Institute’s Larry Eichler as spiny water flea were filled with eggs, which indicates that the population is reproducing in the lake, said Walt Lender, the LGA’s executive director.

According to Emily DeBolt, the extent of the infestation is as yet unknown.

“It is still too soon to know,” said DeBolt. “We are working with the Lake George Park Commission and the Darrin Fresh Water Institute to coordinate additional sampling so that we have more information.”

Dave Wick, the executive director of the Lake George Park Commission, said the DEC will take water samples from four locations on the lake in an attempt to gauge the extent of the invasive’s distribution.

“If we don’t think the surveillance is comprehensive enough, we’ll propose a more rigorous approach,” said Wick.

Added Wick, “the only thing good to come from this is a heightened awareness of the need for boats coming to Lake George to be cleaned, drained and dry.”

The Lake George Park Commission is currently drafting a plan that in its final form may include new regulations to prevent the introduction of new invasive species. The first public meeting to solicit public comment was scheduled to take place on August 9 in Bolton Landing.

According to Tracey Clothier of the LA Group, the firm retained by the Commission to assist with the plan, a second meeting will be held in late August or early September to present a range of strategies for blocking invasives and the costs and benefits of each.

“My personal hope is that by the beginning of the next boating season, we will have a plan in place, and that whatever is eventually approved, it will have a buy-in from the community and from New York State,” said Dave Wick.

The discovery of the spiny water flea, said Walt Lender, “shows us that we must do more to stop the spread of invasive species. We have no way of telling how the spiny water flea came into Lake George and there is little we can do now that it is here, but we should not lessen our efforts to keep invasives out. There are too many on the horizon: species that can do much more to harm our water quality than spiny water flea.”

“The message,” he added, “is that we have to get serious about stopping invasives before they enter Lake George.”

While the spiny water flea can disrupt the food chain and contribute to the cumulative impacts of invasives upon the natural eco-system, “it has no known consequences for human health,” said Dave Wick.

Its impact upon established Lake George fish may be unknown for decades, he said.

According to Emily DeBolt, the spiny water flea competes with native forage fish for food, depleting the population upon which larger, game fish feed.

By attaching themselves to fishing lines, spiny water fleas are also a nuisance for anglers, DeBolt said.

According to the DEC, no strategy for controlling or eradicating the spiny water flea has been found.

“Boaters, anglers and other recreational enthusiasts should take precautions to avoid transporting this and other invasive species, particularly after leaving water known to have an aquatic invasive species. Boats, fishing gear and recreational equipment should be inspected and cleaned. Preventing the spread of the spiny water flea is the only means for reducing its impacts on native aquatic communities,” the DEC stated.

Tags: Articles & News, Lake George, Spiny Water Flea

Meet the Lake George Park Commissioners: Dr. Dean Cook, Leaning Forward

By Anthony F. Hall

Sunday, July 8, 2012

People from other parts of the country are astounded to learn that Lake George Park Commissioner Dean Cook still draws his family’s drinking water from Lake George.

“In a way, the purity of the water is deceiving; it makes us think everything is ok. Well, everything is not ok,” says Cook.

Cook was appointed to the Lake George Park Commission in 2010. A dentist whose family has lived on Heart Bay for generations, Cook has a long record of environmental advocacy. He was president of the High Peaks Audubon Society and represented the Society on the Adirondack Council; president of the Lake George Land Conservancy; and a board member of the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, the Lake George Association and the Adirondack Nature Conservancy. He currently serves on the board of Protect the Adirondacks, an organization formed after the Residents Committee and the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks merged.

Cook’s appointment to the Commission was applauded by The Fund for Lake George and Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky, who said, “Dean Cook will bring some fresh blood and a new perspective to the Park Commission.”

He’s done both, at times to the consternation of some of his fellow commissioners.

“When I was first asked if I wanted to be on the Lake George Park Commission, I said ‘no,’ having come to regard it as a rather under-achieving organization, largely representing business interests,” said Cook. “But I was told I would not be a lone voice, and that changed my mind.”

Adding their voices to Cook’s are Joe Stanek and John Pettica, who volunteered to serve with him on an Aquatic Invasive Species Ad Hoc Committee.

The three have spearheaded a project to acquire a portable boat decontamination station and have called for mandatory boat inspections and cleanings.

“We have to lock up the lake as soon as possible if we’re to control invasive species. If boats are not clean, drained and dry, we’re open to every invader that comes along,” said Cook.

While the Lake George Park Commission approved a resolution earlier this spring supporting a pilot project to test the boat washing station, Park Commission chairman Bruce Young said the resolution “does not authorize anyone to do anything.”

Moreover, Young emphasized, “There are no regulations in effect that make boat washing mandatory. It’s purely voluntary. For inspections and washing to be mandatory, everyone in the Lake George basin has to get behind it.”

“The feedback I hear is that not every group is ready to go along with that,” said Commissioner Jim Kneeshaw. “The Ad Hoc Committee is a three-man steam roller, pushing a plan I’ve never seen.”

Cook makes no apologies for assuming a more aggressive posture than most of his fellow commissioners.

“We’re the organization appointed to protect this lake. As a commissioner, I’m fighting tooth and nail to protect this lake We’re not here to be popular, we’re here to protect the lake. The Lake George Park Commission has to set the standards, to be a leader and enforce regulations,” he said.

The Commission’s first priority is protecting water quality, said Cook.

“It’s painfully obvious that over half a century, there’s been a decline in water quality. Here in Heart Bay, you can see why. The shoreline looks like Connecticut, with lawns running straight to the lake and pushing all that runoff into the water. We need to re-vegetate the lawns and remove impervious surfaces. That’s where we can all play a part,” Cook said.

Dean Cook

Stream corridor regulations could play a decisive role in limiting stormwater runoff, said Cook.

“If the new regulations require approval from Albany, than we should have been in Albany a long time ago,” said Cook. “Recently a group of us went to see Bob Hallman, Governor Cuomo’s Secretary for the Environment, and he had never heard of the Lake George Park Commission. He didn’t know we exist.”

“But we have to be aggressive on more fronts than combating invasives and reducing stormwater runoff,” said Cook. “We have to stop salting the roads. We have to protect these mountainsides. And we have to stop passing out dock variances. Just because you bought a bigger boat doesn’t mean you deserve a bigger dock. We’re being killed by a thousand cuts.”

Cook speaks frequently of his “conservation heroes:” Clarence Petty, Harold Jerry, Arthur Savage, Bob Glennon, Tim Barnett.

“My three years on the Adirondack Council were an education in environmental policy and Adirondack history. These people had been through all the wars. The train ride to New York for meetings was a two hour seminar on the way down and another on the way back,” said Cook.

Cook says those Adirondack advocates have inspired him and shaped the way he sees the purpose of the Lake George Park Commission.

“The only way to protect the lake is to keep fighting the good fight. Use your intellect, your knowledge, your passion. Ours is the crucial generation. If we don’t protect the lake, it will be too late.”

This article is the first in a series of profiles of members of the Lake George Park Commission.

Tags: Articles & News, Dean Cook, Lake George, Lake George Park Commission, Meet The Lake George Park Commissioners

Map of the New York 20th Congressional District

The Men Who Would be Lake George’s Voice in Congress

By Anthony F. Hall

Thursday, July 5, 2012

After Re-Apportionment, Lake George Finds itself in New Congressional District, Meeting the Candidates for the First Time

For the first time in more than a century, Lake George will be represented in Congress by someone from the North Country rather than the Hudson Valley.

Once part of the blue collar, urbanized 20^th Congressional District, Warren County is now wholly within the newly configured 21^st district, which encompasses all but a few slivers of the Adirondack Park and stretches from Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain.

For most of the past forty years, the district has been represented in Washington by moderate Republicans: Robert McEwen, David OB. Martin and John McHugh.

McHugh resigned in 2009 to become President Obama’s Secretary of the Army. Bill Owens, a Plattsburgh attorney, won a special election to fill the vacancy and became the first North Country Democrat to be elected to Congress since the Civil War. He was re-elected in 2010.

Matt Doheny

Challenging Owens is Republican Matt Doheny. A self-made millionaire, he grew up in Alexandria Bay, the resort town on the St. Lawrence River, attended Allegheny College and in 1995 graduated from Cornell University’s law school. Abandoning the law for business, Doheny became an investment banker and started his own venture capital firm, North Country Capital LLC, in 2010.

Both Owens and Doheny were in Warren County last week, introducing themselves to the voters who, each hopes, will be their constituents in 2013.

Doheny lunched with Bolton Supervisor Ron Conover at Cate’s Cafe in Bolton Landing, met with Lake George Village Mayor Blais and attended a reception sponsored by the Lake George Republican Committee at the Lobster Pot.

Owens was in Glens Falls on Saturday, touring the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council’s Annual Arts Festival with Mayor Jack Diamond.

Both separately stopped by the office of the Lake George Mirror for a conversation with us.

The Contest for the Center

According to Owens, a former law partner of the late State Senator Ron Stafford, the concerns of Warren County voters are no different from those of North Country residents.

“It’s the economy and jobs,” said Owens.

Both Owens and Doheny said the social issues that have polarized the national debate appear to have little significance here.

“Frankly, few people talk to me about social issues,” said Doheny. “They talk about jobs. If immigration comes up, it’s not because they’re opposed to immigrants; farmers want to make certain they have the laborers they need and border cities want Canadian customers,” he said. “Gay marriage? In New York, that’s a non-issue. The state legislature took care of that.”

Upstate New Yorkers tend to be centrists, said Owens.

“I tell people that my district is composed of Rockefeller Republicans and Reagan Democrats,” said Owens.

Owens’ votes in Congress are more likely to reflect the interests and opinions of his constituents than those of his conference.

He voted to repeal an excise tax on medical devices, a major industry in Clinton County as well as Warren and Washington Counties.

He also co-sponsored a bill to protect the federally permitted transportation of firearms from state regulations.

Ordinarily, Matt Doheny would be considered a traditional, moderate Republican, but he seemed uncomfortable acknowledging that, perhaps because he fears alienating Tea Party supporters. (Tea Party favorite Doug Hoffman quite possibly cost him his first Congressional bid with a quixotic, third party run in 2010.)

Explaining his reluctance to identify himself with either the moderate strain of Republicans or with today’s more radical party, Doheny said, “we have to get everybody under the tent. It was Ronald Reagan who said, ‘if my friends are with me only 70% of the time, they’re still my friends.”

Doheny says he is much more comfortable with the language of business than he is with the language of ideology.

“I’m a business guy,” says Doheny. “I want to look at the research. I want to see the data.”

Bill Owens

The Economy and Health Care

Asked what he thought the federal government should do to stimulate the economy (other than to stay out of it), Doheny said he will support pro-growth policies. For the most part, that means cutting taxes, reducing spending and deregulation.

But, Doheny adds, “as a businessman, you’re trained to do the deal.” That, he says, will make him more accommodating than, say, social conservatives.

As a member of Plattsburgh’s most prominent law firm, Bill Owens was inevitably drawn into that city’s leadership circles, where he helped attract Canadian companies to Clinton County and led the effort to transform the Plattsburgh Air Force Base into an industrial park.

Those experiences have shaped Owens’ thinking about economic development.

“Every community has to have its own strategy. What you have are assets, and you have to identify the market for those assets,” said Owens.

A representative in Congress can be helpful, Owens explained, by identifying sources of federal funding that will advance projects and by linking communities with common needs and goals.

“There’s no need to re-invent the wheel,” he says. “I try to marry people from one part of the district with those in another who have valuable experience.”

Both Owens and Doheny view broadband as a necessary part of any effort to create and sustain jobs in rural communities.

Both view affordable health care as a priority, but disagree about how that can be achieved.

Doheny opposes the Affordable Health Care Act’s mandate that everyone purchase health insurance. “That’s un-American,” he says.

But Doheny believes that tax policies can be changed and inter-state markets created to make health insurance more affordable and portable, giving people more freedom to change jobs or create new businesses.

Owens voted in favor of the Act, parts of which may or may not be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court later this month.

“It’s the only piece of legislation that’s been offered,” said Owens. “It may have to be tweaked as we learn what works and what doesn’t work, but its emphasis on preventive health care is the key to reducing health care costs.”

A Republican Edge

If enrollment lists are any indication, the advantage lies with Doheny. Republicans, Conservatives and Independence Party voters outnumber Democrats in the district by a two to one margin.

“Clearly, it’s a challenge,” said Owens. “But because people here are willing to listen to what someone says rather than attach labels, we believe we’ll be successful.”

Doheny, too, is confident about his prospects.

“Bill Owens won and held the seat by the narrowest of margins, the narrowest in the country,” said Doheny. “Our chances are excellent.”

Tags: 20th Congressional District, Articles & News, Bill Owens, Lake George, Matt Doheny

Plant More Trees: Assembly Point Volunteers Win Support, Applause from New York State

By Mirror Staff

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Kicking off a campaign to replace trees lost to last fall’s tropical storm Irene and indiscriminate cutting, volunteers planted 500 trees in fields, wetlands and along streambanks on Assembly Point on April 27.

The effort was the first of a series of similar events sponsored throughout the Adirondacks by the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Lake Champlain Basin Trees for Tributaries program.

The native trees and shrubs were grown at the DEC’s State Tree Nursery in Saratoga Springs.

According to the DEC, the Trees for Tributaries program was established to protect stream corridors within the Lake Champlain basin and is a partnership with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“In the wake of Tropical Storms Irene and Lee, homeowners and communities across the state witnessed the devastation that swollen rivers and streams can pose to people and property,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “Our Trees for Tributaries program provides trees and shrubs free to municipalities and private landowners to restore damaged banks of streams, tributaries and rivers damaged by the tropical storms and subsequent flooding.”

Commented Leilani Crafts Ulrich, the chairman of the Adirondack Park Agency, “The Adirondack community continues to work together to overcome the devastation of last summer’s tropical storms. Replanting vegetation will help stabilize shorelines and diminish the impacts of flood events. I applaud the hard work and dedication of all who are so generously committing their time to plant our future.”

The effort on Assembly Point was organized by the the Assembly Point Water Quality Awareness Committee, which was established earlier this year.

“The group feels that they can be the feet on the ground and the eyes within the neighborhood, with the collective goal to identify negative impacts to Lake George and its water quality, and help promote positive initiatives to reduce those impacts,” said Kathy Bozony, the Lake George Waterkeeper program’s Natural Resource Specialist,

A similar committee has been proposed for Cleverdale and Rockhurst, Bozony said.

“A water quality awareness committee within a small community can inspire and educate by personally taking action to become better stewards of the lake, and can work closely with neighbors to do the same,” said Bozony.

Tags: Articles & News, Assembly Point, East Side, Tree Planting, Trees

Illustration by Collin Badger

Game On: Groups Begin Debating Benefits and Risks of Bringing Casino Gambling to Lake George

By Anthony F. Hall

Friday, March 30, 2012

Casino gambling will not become legal in New York State for another two years, if then. Nevertheless, the prospect of casinos in Lake George is stirring new hopes among some residents, and fears in others.

“Casinos, if they come here or if they go to competing resorts, could determine the future of Lake George,” said Lake George Village Mayor Bob Blais. “If it’s put to a vote, it’s going to be the biggest decision ever made in Warren County.”

In December, Blais and the Village’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to help fund a study of a casino’s likely impacts on Lake George.

“If we’re to determine the effects of gaming on infrastructure, taxes, employment and the quality of life, we need information. We have to get the ball rolling,” said Blais.

Blais said he would ask Warren County and the Town of Lake George to contribute to the costs of the analysis, which would be conducted by an independent consultant.

Bill Dow: Pros and Cons

Bill Dow, the president of the Lake George Steamboat Company, has been conducting some research on his own.

In October, Dow paid a visit to an old friend in Las Vegas, Michael Gaughan, the casino owner whom Dow came to know in the early 1990s, when Dow and his father were exploring the possibility of acquiring gaming licenses for their New Orleans steamboats.

Among other things, Dow concluded: “A gaming casino would be a powerful magnet. Gaming is very much a growth industry, even as America’s economy becomes discouraging to the rest of us. Were a casino to come to the Catskills and not the Adirondacks, then our tourist trade would further atrophy.”

Nevertheless, Dow said, a few things should be taken into account if gaming is to have a maximum economic impact.

“A casino may well seek to build a hotel in conjunction with their gaming facility. We would not want such, such should be prohibited. A casino will want its own food facilities. Again, such could be quite harmful to our local economy. Employment: an operator’s contract should specify at what level local people must be used, as well as calling for a training program to bring locals up the ladders. Tax rates: The county, the towns, the school districts, the environmental organizations all will attempt to be blessed by the casino’s tax flow. I do not think anybody below the state level would receive a meaningful money flow,” Dow stated.

Roaring Brook Ranch: Build it Here

While Dow believes a casino should be independent of a hotel if it is to have a significant economic impact, the owners of Roaring Brook Ranch say “our site is the best location for a casino and we hope our community agrees.”

“Even one casino would benefit the community,” said George Greene, one of the owners of Roaring Brook. “Gamers wouldn’t stay just at our resort; they would fill the neighboring resorts.”

Greene added, “We were approached by a consortium who wanted this property for a casino resort in 1996, the last time the state considered legalizing casinos. We had the acreage and the access to the interstate the investors needed, and it was in Lake George. In 1996, we projected that about 5,000 full time jobs would be created, in addition to the construction jobs.”

According to Greene, Lake George needs gambling if it is to survive as a resort area.

“We no longer have even the ten week season. It’s busy only on weekends. And it’s been years since anyone could afford to stay open in winter,” said Greene. “A casino would be very helpful to this area.”

Little: Pact May Preclude Casinos

However profitable gambling could be for Lake George, a 2004 agreement between New York State and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe may preclude Lake George casinos, says New York State Senator Betty Little.

“That law grants the St. Regis Mohawks the right to operate slot machines in exchange for a portion of the proceeds for the State,” said Little. ”The law prohibits the state from allowing others to operate slots in an eight county region, which includes Warren County.”

Little continued, “How would a constitutional amendment legalizing gambling address that? Would the State have to change the 2004 statute and what interest would there be in doing so?”

But, Little said, “The legislative leaders and governor have agreed to work toward an amendment. There is public support for doing so and given the state’s financial challenges, a strong desire to act.”

According to Dan Macentee, Little’s spokesman, the Senator would support Warren County’s efforts to bring gaming to the area, if, that is, Warren County wants casinos.

Gambling Has Support

Among the Warren County Supervisors voicing support for casino gambling is Ron Conover, the Supervisor from Bolton.

“I don’t have any objections in principle to gaming, so under the right scenario, I could support it,” said Conover. “ We need year round jobs, and gaming would help businesses extend their season. Casinos, as we know, generate more forms of recreation than just gaming. They support golf courses, entertainment and winter sports. We should be receptive to what the business community has to say.”

Speaking as a member of the business community, Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce – Visitors Convention Bureau president Kevin Rosa said, “If you build it, they’ll come.”

He added, “Every resort business from Hague to Lake George would benefit, if, of course, the gaming business is done right. We’d look for one that’s compatible with our environment, and allows us to remain a resort that reaches out to families.”

Environmental Groups Opposed

While there is, as yet, no organized opposition to casino gambling on Lake George, advocates for environmental protection said their organizations will probably oppose it and may work actively to prevent it from coming to Lake George.

“We were opposed to casino gambling in 1996 because we didn’t feel it reflected the values of the Adirondack Park,” said John Sheehan, a spokesman for the Adirondack Council. “We believed it would bring new pressures for development and undermine the quality of life. I have no reason to believe that our position today would be different.”

Peter Bauer, the executive director of the Fund for Lake George, said his organization “takes a dim view of legalized casino gambling anywhere in the Lake George watershed.”

Bauer continued, “The Fund is hard-pressed to see how gambling can have anything but a negative affect on the ecological health of Lake George and on tourism. Whatever identity Lake George has, it will change over-night if gambling is permitted.”

Bauer said his organization will seek partners in opposing casino gambling on Lake George.

“We’ll be reaching out to others. There are many groups who don’t want large-scale, casino gambling inside the Adirondack Park,” said Bauer.

To the Floor of the Legislature

A constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling in New York State is expected to be introduced in both houses of the legislature this year. Once introduced, the amendment must be approved by two consecutively elected legislatures and by the voters before it becomes law.

According to Dan Macentee, Little’s spokesman, it is by no means clear what the amendment will allow: a limited number of casinos, distributed across the state or in a few specified areas; or the right of every county to decide if it wants casinos or not.

“It’s vague, at this point. What we do know is that part of the December discussion about revitalizing New York’s economy included an agreement by the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the Assembly to move a constitutional amendment lifting the prohibition on casino gambling,” said Macentee.

Tags: Anthony F. Hall, Articles & News, Gambling, Lake George, Lake George Gambling

The delta at English Brook, November 2010. Photo courtesy of LGA

Should Lake George’s Deltas be Dredged?

By Dave Wick and Peter Bauer

Friday, March 16, 2012

YES:

Dave Wick, District Manager, Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District

When Kitty Rooney was a young girl in the late 1940s, her family bought property at the outlet of English Brook. On hot days, she would run 30 feet from her small cabin and jump into Lake George. That same cabin now stands more than 280 feet from the shoreline, but the house itself never moved. The land grew. Even worse, to get to water more than one foot deep, you need to walk out another 270 feet into the lake. Without the delta, that area would be more than 30 feet deep.

So how is it that in only 60 years time, the lakeshore has essentially moved 550 feet from where it was? The answer: the unprecedented growth of the English Brook delta due to vast amounts of sediment coming down the brook. But English Brook is not alone.

Lake George exhibits massive sediment deltas at the mouths of streams in most developed watersheds. At the outlet of Finkle Brook, lakeshore owners have docks exceeding 140 feet in length. On Hague Brook town beach, you need to walk out almost a football field’s length before reaching waist deep water. Conversely, streams with undeveloped watersheds around Lake George exhibit very minimal or no sediment deltas.

Dave Wick

Are these enormous deltas in Lake George “natural” features of the lake, or has their growth been greatly accelerated by human-induced practices in the stream’s watershed? To be sure, streams do meander and erode over time, carrying sediment to their outlets. This is a normal process, and no one disputes that. However, the alarming growth of the deltas over the past 50 years cannot be attributed to natural stream activity. The construction of the Adirondack Northway in the 1960s, the washout of the Bolton landfill in 1996, the 28,000 tons of sand applied to our roads in wintertime each year in the Lake George watershed are but a few of the many documented human-induced causes of this issue. To those who have studied and worked on this issue for decades, the answer is abundantly clear. We have caused most of the problem and should be responsible for addressing it.

In fact, the debate on the cause of the growth of the deltas has been over for quite some time. There are dozens of reports on this issue, all of which culminated in the Environmental Impact Statement in 2003. This public document, titled “Lake George Deltas Sediment Management/Shoreline Restoration Project” took two years and over $100,000 to produce, and it is seen as the most thorough technical review of this important subject. The following is its introductory paragraph:

“Human activity in the Lake George watershed has significantly increased the quantity of sediments and suspended solids carried by the tributary brooks and engineered drainage structures and subsequently discharged to the Lake. Upland development, highway sand spreading activities, land clearing and logging and other human activities, in combination with inadequate erosion and sedimentation controls, have resulted in significant discharges of sediments and suspended solids to the tributary brooks and drainage structures, above natural “background” levels. In turn, these human-derived sediments and suspended solids have been discharged to the Lake, forming sediment deltas near the mouths of the tributary brooks and drainage structures…”

The facts are in, and the question resolved.

The follow-up question is why would we consider dredging? Quite simply, these deltas are significantly impacting both the ecology and recreational use of Lake George. The report outlines considerable boating safety hazards, greatly reduced or eliminated spawning habitats for fish (trout, smelt, salmon), inhibited boat docking for marinas, businesses and landowners, aesthetic declines, and proliferation of invasive species’ bedding areas (Eurasian milfoil and more recently Asian clam). These are uncontested facts, and the impacts are very real.

So what do we do? The first thing is to correct our upland problems and minimize the amount of sand and silt that reaches Lake George. Many partners already work together on a daily basis to do this. The Lake George Park Commission and local towns adopted stormwater runoff regulations for new development. The NYS Department of Transportation stopped using road sand in the winter. The Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, Lake George Association, local towns and the NYS Departments of State and Environmental Conservation have put millions of dollars into stormwater management and stream restoration projects. All this has significantly reduced the amount of runoff, sediment and pollutants reaching Lake George over the past two decades.

But what of the existing deltas? Are sediment removal activities harmful to the lake? Dredging is actually nothing new on Lake George. In the 1970’s and ‘80’s, the Warren County Department of Public Works excavated the West Brook delta every few years to keep it away from the Steamboat docks. Prospect Mountain Brook delta has been cleaned out to keep the Shoreline Cruise and Village docks clear. Foster Brook delta in Washington County was very successfully excavated two years ago, and as a result, the smelt are running for the first time in more than 10 years. These projects are all done with permits, regulatory oversight, and with lake protections in place during excavation activities. These projects are not harmful to the lake; they are a benefit.

Looking ahead, many conservation agencies and organizations have been working with the surrounding towns on developing cost-effective ways to alleviate most of the impacts from the larger deltas in Lake George. The current proposal is to undertake excavation projects which will restore four feet of water depth at a few of the delta locations. In most cases, this represents removing only 10-20% of the actual volume of the deltas. This practical plan provides the best possible outcome for the least cost.

The three sediment removal projects currently proposed are Finkle Brook and Indian Brook in Bolton, and Hague Brook in Hague. These projects are receiving the highest level of examination from all regulatory agencies, including sediment analysis, fisheries impacts, work area containment, disposal of the sediments, and more. Currently, a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is being prepared by the Lake George Association which will discuss even more options for how to safely and effectively remove these sediments from the lake.

We have a responsibility to the lake, its users, and ourselves. If we are to continue to enjoy this resource and protect it for future generations, we need to fix our past mistakes. The issue is right in front of us, and the choice is clear.

Peter Bauer

NO:

Peter Bauer, Executive Director, The FUND for Lake George

An application to dredge deltas in three streams around Lake George is currently under review by various agencies and will likely be approved soon. The proposal outlines a major $3 million project to dredge three deltas at the mouths of Finkle and Indian Brooks in Bolton and Hague Brook in Hague.

Are these beneficial projects? Yes, but not the best given limited resources. Will they help improve the water quality of Lake George? Marginally, at best. Does dredging the mouth of a stream fix the source of the problem? No. Are there other projects that could be undertaken for a similar price that would provide greater benefits to the lake? Absolutely.

This is a major decision for the Lake George community. The costs involved will eat up scarce resources for water quality projects for years. Right now, Lake George is experiencing ecological changes due to accelerated rates of nutrient loading delivered to the lake by stormwater. This is what drives Lake George’s slow, yet steady decline in water quality. Dredging deals with a symptom, not the actual problem.

The FUND for Lake George has seven major concerns with this proposal.

One, these projects are being funded as water quality enhancement projects. We see delta dredging as a commercial enhancement project or a recreational or even a fisheries project, but not a water quality project. The Department of Environmental Conservation classifies dredging as a recreational project. Dredging deltas will do nothing to stop the lake’s slow downward deterioration.

Here’s the science. Core samples taken from the deltas show that they are overwhelmingly made up of “coarse” sediment. But it’s the “fine” sediment that contains high levels of nutrients as these particles successfully bind with nutrients, whereas the “coarse” particles do not. The “fines” that are carried through stream channels are carried further out into the lake, while the “coarse” sediments are dropped in the deltas. Hence, delta removal provides only marginal, if any, water quality benefits whereas reducing the flow of sediment into the streams in the first place will help protect the lake.

We believe that water quality monies are better spent on building rain gardens, retrofitting local and state roads for roadside stormwater infiltration, building dry wells and swales, community stormwater planning, among many other projects. Such projects provide immediate and long-term benefits to the lake.

Two, dredging stream mouths does nothing to deal with the source of the problem. We think that all upstream sedimentation and stormwater sources should be identified and fixed before dredging the mouths of streams. Supporters are fond of saying that delta removal is like cleaning up an oil spill. To stay with this analogy we see dredging the delta as cleaning spilled oil on the ocean surface while ignoring the burst oil well at the ocean bottom that’s spewing oil. Without fixing upstream problems, the deltas will reform.

Three, the Town of Bolton is not really even in the game for trying to fix stormwater problems. The failure to control stormwater before reaching the streams and failure to maintain vegetated buffers along the streams compound the significant natural movement of sediment down the hillsides and into the lake. Despite overwhelming evidence of sedimentation in the lake from streams in its community, Bolton opposed enacting stream buffer regulations by the Lake George Park Commission. Bolton has even drafted a new zoning ordinance that equates the ecological value of a tree stump along a stream with that of a living tree (yes, that’s true). Local anecdotes talk about the large quantities of sediment in the delta that washed down from the local landfill and other failed municipal projects.

To really help the lake we need to control stormwater before it reaches these streams and repair stream corridors. The best method to stop sediment from reaching a stream is an intact vegetated stream buffer. Sadly, large stretches of all three streams proposed for dredging do not have protective corridors. Moreover, each of these streams has many points where stormwater flows in untreated.

Four, at one time it was policy around Lake George to first address all the upstream and upland problems in a stream watershed before undertaking delta dredging. We support the position of George Stafford, the Director of the Division of Coastal Resources at the Department of State, who stated in this newspaper that no dredging projects should be allowed until all upland issues have been addressed. Too bad nobody listens to George.

Five, we know better. Contrast the absence of stormwater control work in the Finkle Brook watershed with the list of successful projects in the West Brook watershed. Above West Brook there have been dozens of control projects in the Town and Village of Lake George, the NYS DOT completed major retrofits on the Northway and a major project to treat stormwater from the Route 9 corridor is underway as part of the West Brook Conservation Initiative. We applaud the stormwater control work completed in parts of Lake George Village. The Village has been the most proactive community around the lake, but it has a lot more work to do. West Brook has a large delta, but serious work has been undertaken upstream to fix real problems.

We see stormwater control work in the West Brook watershed as the model for delta removal. Fix problems upstream in a systematic way first. If dredging projects are undertaken without addressing upstream issues, the deltas will grow back.

Six, there has been no environmental review of the proposed mechanical dredging method of driving equipment into the lake. Studies from Lake Tahoe performed by UC Davis documented that mechanical dredging with excavators as currently proposed have the greatest potential for negative water quality impacts from suspended sediments, re-suspended nutrients, potential algal blooms, and other ecological impacts. The application being reviewed for Lake George would not even be accepted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. There’s existing science on these impacts that’s not being examined.

Seven, we question whether delta dredging is the best investment given the limited resources to fund projects needed to protect the water quality of Lake George. The two biggest challenges that threaten the water quality and public enjoyment of Lake George are stormwater pollution and aquatic invasive species infestations. It’s too bad to see public funds for water quality going to a project that is not a water quality enhancement project.

Tags: Articles & News, Dave Wick, Dredging, English Brook, Lake George, Lake George Deltas, Peter Bauer

Irving Langmuir

Waterkeeper Establishes Stewardship Award Honoring Irving Langmuir

By Mirror Staff

Monday, February 27, 2012

Dr. Irving Langmuir, the Nobel laureate whose world-wide fame as a scientist was equalled, on Lake George at least, by his prominence as a conservationist, is to be honored by the Lake George Waterkeeper with an award recognizing outstanding acts of stewardship.

According to Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky, the first Langmuir Award for Excellence in Development and Stewardship will be presented in 2012.

The award will be given to individuals, contractors or agencies of government that incorporate elements of Low Impact Development.

Navitsky defines Low Impact Development as “a stormwater strategy that maintains or restores the natural hydrologic functions of a site to protect the natural resources and water quality of Lake George.”

Those eligibile for the award will have demonstrated how Low Impact Development can be implemented and whose project promotes public awareness of environmentally-sensitive design.

Tags: Articles & News, Awards, Irving Langmuir, Lake George, Lake George Stewardship, Lake George Waterkeeper

We’ve Got Jobs: Marinas Turn to Schools for Skilled Workforce

By Anthony F. Hall

Thursday, January 5, 2012

In this section of upstate New York, where the unemployment rate is roughly 7%, finding employees shouldn’t be difficult. But according to the managers of Lake George marinas, it’s not only difficult, it’s almost impossible.

“Every one is in dire need of help, especially skilled help,” said Bob Palandrani, Jr, the owner of Snug Harbor marina in Ticonderoga. “When we can find people, they’re often at square one as far as training and experience go. We have to do the training, which is lengthy and expensive.”

The need for skilled, waterfront employees has led local school superintendents, the marina owners and their trade group, the Eastern New York Marine Trades Association, to push for a specialized vocational program.

“The marinas told us, ‘we need people now’,” said Ticonderoga school superintendent John McDonald. “We’d like to have a two year, marine technician program available to students by September, 2012.”

Ticonderoga High School would host the new program, which would be co-ordinated through two BOCES districts and taught by qualified instructors recruited by BOCES.

The program is expected to draw students from as far south as Lake George and as far north as Crown Point.

According to John McDonald, Ticonderoga used to offer marine technician training through a program taught at Snug Harbor by Bob Palandrani Sr.

“That ended about ten years ago, when the expense of the program, and the difficulty of holding it off-site, became too great,” said McDonald. “When we built a new facility here that could accommodate the program, we decided to see if we could revive it.”

Earlier this year, McDonald polled marina owners and spoke at a meeting of the Eastern New York Marine Trades Association.

“Fifty marina managers and boat dealers were asked if they thought the program would be valuable, and fifty responded positively,” said Bob Palandrani,Jr, who also serves on Ticonderoga’s Board of Education.

A committee composed of Palandrani, Rich Solen of Loon Lake Marina, Scott Andersen of F.R. Smith & Sons and Roger Phinney, the executive director of the Eastern New York Marine Trades Association, was organized to help establish the program.

The group visited similar programs throughout New York State and discussed ways to make a high school program an even more comprehensive one.

“Scott Andersen took the bull by the horns and approached the manufacturers and asked them if they’d be willing to help make this program a certified training program for their engines,” said Palandrani.

No manufacturer offers certification programs anywhere within easy commuting distance of Lake George, said Palandrani.

“If the manufacturers get on board, a student could leave here certified to service a Yamaha, Mercury, Volvo or Evinrude,” said Roger Phinney.

By providing equipment and technology in exchange for the training offered by the program, the manufacturers could help reduce the costs of operating the program, said Phinney.

According to Phinney, a minimum of thirteen students is needed before the program can start.

In November, Phinney, Palandrani, Andersen and Solen brought boats and engines to Ticonderoga High School to meet with students and to encourage them to consider registering for the program.

“This will be hands-on training,” Scott Andersen told one group. “We’re not going to just tell you about this engine. You’ll learn to take it apart and put it back together. You’ll learn by doing, from backing up trailers to loading and unloading boats.”

A qualified technician can make roughly $40,000 a year and a service or sales manager can expect to make $75,000 a year, Bob Palandrani said.

“Our new service manager graduated from the original program twelve years ago,” said Palandrani. “He worked his way up from dock boy, learning his skills along the way.

According to Roger Phinney, the student will learn more than a trade; he’ll acquire skills that will serve him well no matter what he does.

“We want them to come out with the basics of the trade, but we also want to teach them life skills that will be of value to any employer,” Phinney said.

Local school boards and superintendents are lining up behind the program, said Shari Brannock, a superintendent from Crown Point.

“It opens up other avenues for our kids; my board definitely supports it,” she said.

Ticonderoga will host another information session for superintendents, principals and students interested in the program in March. Anyone interested in participating should contact Roger Phinney at 791-0070 or John McDonald at 585-7442.

Tags: Articles & News, BOCES, Jobs, Ticonderoga