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Lake Trout

Lake Trout

State: Lake’s Fish Safe to Eat in Moderation

By Mirror Staff

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

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Given the pervasiveness of mercury and its tendency to accumulate in fish, New Yorkers are advised against eating fish taken from the state’s water bodies more than once a week.

Moreover, children and preganant women are advised not to eat any bass, walleye, pickerel, pike or yellow perch over ten inches taken from Adirondack lakes.

And pregnant women and children are advised against eating any fish at all, regardless of species, from several enumerated Adirondack lakes.

Lake George, however, is not on that list. Does that mean it’s safe to eat lake trout and salmon which may have been taken from Lake George?

According to Peter Constantakes, a spokesman for the Department of Health, which issues the advisories, “the latest available data does not indicate a need for a specific advisory for Lake George for lake trout and salmon.”

The most recent data was compiled by New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation between 2003 and 2007, said Lori Severino, a spokeswoman for DEC. According to that study, the levels of mercury found in the bass and perch that were sampled were relatively low.

“The levels shown for these species do not trip the DOH criterion for a specific advisory,” said Severino.

The study did not include samples of trout or salmon, Severino said. Peter Bauer, the executive director of The Fund for Lake George, said the fact that lake trout were not sampled left a worrisome gap in the state’s data.

“Lake trout is perhaps Lake George’s most popular sport fish. It should have been tested,” he said.

Moreover, Bauer said, while the mercury levels found in Lake George’s bass and perch may have been acceptable by state standards, levels in some of the fish may have exceeded federal guidelines.

“We’re advising New York State to revisit its mercury studies of Lake George,” said Bauer.

Peter Constantakes, the DOH spokesman, said that in the absence of new data, residents and visitors to Lake George should abide by the state-wide advisory against eating fish more than four times a month. Children under 15 years of age and women under the age of 50 should heed the warning to avoid eating bass, pickerel, yellow pike and walleye, and should also limit fish consumption of any species to no more than four meals a month, Constantakes said.

 

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Diamond Island

Diamond Island

How the State Acquired Diamond Island

By Mirror Staff

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

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Diamond Island was owned by the American Historic and Scenic Preservation Society of which the late George McAneny of Bolton Landing was president. For many years the Lake George Association policed the island and kept it cleaned up. It was after one of these clean-ups that the LGA suggested to Mr. McAneny that the society deed the island to the state. Mr. McAneny replied that effort to do so had been made but the then attorney General  held that there was a flaw in the title and the state could not accept it.

During the months that followed, LGA went about making a title search of the island. It discovered that one of the owners, Col. Walter Price had left the island to his daughter in his will. Later the island was deeded to Katrina Trask, who gave it to the above-mentioned society.

It was later proven that the party who sold the island to Mrs. Trask was Price’s dauughter. LGA contacted Arthur Hopkins, head of the division of Lands and Forests for the New York State Conservation Department. Mr. Hopkins was elated  that the puzzle was solved, but his enthusiasm was short lived. The Attorney General ruled that according to the charter of the American Historic and Scenic Preservation Society, property could be accepted but could not be sold or given away. This was eventually overcome by passing a special act of the Legislature allowing the society to give the island to the state.

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State Ban on Phosphorus Takes Effect in 2012

By Anthony F. Hall

Friday, December 31, 2010

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Algal blooms are forming due to Phosphorus fertilizers used on Lake George Lawns

Two years from now, the use of phosphorus-heavy fertilizers will be prohibited not only in the Town and Village of Lake George, but throughout the Lake George basin and, in fact, the entire state.

Governor David A.Paterson has approved a measure that  prohibits homeowners and landscape contractors from applying fertilizer containing phosphorus on any lawns within the state.

The Town and the Village of Lake George adopted regulations limiting the use of fertilizers with phosphorus earlier this summer.

The only exceptions to the state law will be for property owners who are installing a new lawn, or if a soil test shows a phosphorus deficiency.  Retailers can still sell phosphorus fertilizer for consumers who fall into those categories, provided signs about the dangers of phosphorus are posted.

The new law, which takes effect January 1, 2012, also prohibits the application of any fertilizer whatsoever within 20 feet of a water body. Fertilizers can be used within ten feet of water  if a vegetative buffer has been established along a shore.

“We think this is a great step forward,” said an official with New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

Phosphorus has been shown to contribute to the spread of aquatic weeds and the growth of algae, robbing water of oxygen that fish need to survive and limiting the recreational use of lakes and ponds.

“In time, we’ll see a marked difference in plant growth in the lake once the full effect of the phosphorus ban takes effect,” said Walt Lender, executive director of the Lake George Association.

According to Lender, the bill also bans phosphorus in dishwashing detergent.

“This will keep additional phosphorus out of septic systems and municipal wastewater treatment systems,” Lender said.

“We’re very pleased Governor Paterson signed the bill into law,” said Lender. “It’s a huge step in the right direction, not least because it has generated a lot of discussion about the effects of phosphorus on water quality.”

Lake George’s representative in the New York State Senate, Betty Little, said she voted in favor of the bill after it was amended to allow retailers more time to sell their inventories of phosphorus fertilizers and once the New York State Farm Bureau withdrew its objections to the bill.

According to Peter Bauer, the executive director of The Fund for Lake George, the ban on phosphorus-based fertilizers should be followed by a ban on the use of all fertilizers.

A fertlizer ban would reduce pollution by another nutrient, nitrogen, which can be just as harmful to water quality, Bauer said.

“Phosphorus free fertilizers are like low tar and nicotine cigarettes – they’re just as dangerous as the originals,” said Bauer. “We don’t need any of these products for healthy lawns.”

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