Lake George Association's Lake Steward Program

The Lake George Association’s Lake Steward Program is an aquatic invasive species education and spread prevention program. Lake stewards were hired for the summer to inspect boats at various boat launches around Lake George. Stewards looked for and removed invasive species, and educated boaters on how to prevent their spread within the Lake and to other lakes. In addition, lake stewards collected data about the vessels entering and exiting the Lake.

LGA Steward checks visitor boat — A LGA Lake Steward talks with a boat owner before performing a courtesy inspection during the program in 2013.

The LGA’s Lake George Lake Steward Program is no longer an active program on Lake George, though it was the foundation upon which the Lake George Park Commission built its Mandatory Boat Inspection Program. Currently, all trailered boats must undergo an inspection at a regional inspection station around Lake George before they launch. Additional information about the program can be found at the Lake George Park Commission’s website.

The Lake George Lake Steward program sought to help contain the spread of the six invasive species already present in Lake George: spiny water flea, Eurasian watermilfoil, zebra mussels, Asian clam, Chinese mystery snail and curly-leaf pondweed. The program also helped prevent new invasive species from being introduced into Lake George.

Multiple studies have shown that boats and and recreational equipment are among the main vectors of aquatic invasive species spread. This high risk pathway is also one that we have the ability to do something about. While it can be intentional, often times the spread of invasives is unintentional, with the boater not realizing that there are plants or other species attached to the hull of the boat, entangled in the prop, or caught on part of the trailer or other equipment, or that moving these species around will cause a problem.

Lake George Lake Steward Program Reports and Summary

Between 2008 and 2013, the LGA’s lake stewards inspected more than 32,000 boats at high traffic launches around the Lake, removed 490 aquatic invasive species samples from boats, and have educated more than 75,000 boaters about invasive species spread prevention.