Last month the Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) ended nearly two decades of negotiations when it completed the acquisition of 351 acres and 2,357 feet of shoreline along Lake George’s eastern shore in the Town of Putnam.
The conservation project, called the Last Great Shoreline, was aided by a $400,000 grant from the Open Space Institute and also includes 70 acres and 1,613 feet of shoreline remaining in private ownership that is now protected by a deed restriction.
The Last Great Shoreline is the largest, undeveloped, privately owned parcel remaining unprotected in Lake George. Lying just south of Anthony’s Nose and Adirondack Camp, a popular kids’ summer camp, the land is visible from the shoreline of Hague, Friends Point and Island Harbor.
The land contains approximately 35 acres of wetlands (reportedly including a rare white cedar swamp) which provide important food and breeding sites for amphibians, birds and mammals. These Sucker Brook wetlands provide a natural filtration system, contributing to the pristine water quality of Lake George. In addition, the legendary Jumping Rock, rising approximately 30 feet above the lake, is situated on the northern shore and will be preserved forever as an LGLC preserve.
“We are celebrating the protection of this Last Great Shoreline, a beautiful wilderness with extensive wetlands that provide critical habitat for wildlife as well as a natural method of water filtration,” said Nancy Williams, executive director of the Lake George Land Conservancy. “Protecting this property is essential to completing the visual chain of protected, forested lake views that extend from Anthony’s Nose to Gull Bay.”
The $4 million project marks the largest dollar purchase in LGLC history. In addition to the OSI grant, the purchase was funded by the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation and the support of private donors.
“Protection of Lake George’s Last Great Shoreline is a huge step forward in protecting Lake George’s water quality and viewshed,” said OSI President Joe Martens, “While OSI is proud to have played a part in its protection, the Lake George Land Conservancy deserves the thanks and praise of all New Yorkers for taking on this hugely important project.”
OSI has protected close to 20,000 acres in the Adirondacks, including the nearly 10,000-acre Tahawus parcel acquired in 2003.
LGLC plans to build a trail to the shoreline overlook that will be open to the public from dawn to dusk. The trail will run along the upper ridges toward the Lake George shoreline south of Pam’s Point. A path to Sucker Brook wetlands and a boardwalk with interpretive signage would enhance the educational value of the trail system. In the future a trail may be built that will connect to LGLC existing Gull Bay Preserve and its active great blue heron rookery, just south of the new property.
The Jumping Rock parcel will be open via boat from the water and open by land for educational trail programs from Warrick Road.
The Lake George Land Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust dedicated to working with willing landowners to protect the world-renowned water quality of Lake George and to permanently preserve the natural, scenic and recreational resources of the Lake George region.