The FUND for Lake George announced $443,000 in grant awards across each of The FUND’s “four portals to protection”—science of solutions, invasive species prevention and treatment, salt reduction, and water quality and clarity protection.
“The critical ingredient to our results-driven success is The FUND’s direct investment in the science and solutions that will ensure enduring protection of Lake George,” said FUND Executive Director Eric Siy. “Since 2013, The FUND has made $6 million in targeted investments that are delivering measureable returns.”
This year’s grant awards include:
• Science of solutions: $250,000 to the award-winning Jefferson Project—a collaboration of The FUND, IBM, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute—for breakthrough science and technology making Lake George the world’s smartest lake to inform sustained protection of the lake and watershed;
• Invasive species: $90,000 to the Lake George Park Commission for aquatic invasive species prevention and milfoil removal.
• Salt Reduction: $8,500 to the Town of Lake George for implementation of sustainable winter management best practices.
• Water quality and clarity: $50,000 to the Town of Bolton for a woodchip bioreactor to reduce nitrate pollution; $38,000 to the North Queensbury Wastewater Management District for priority septic system upgrades; $3,500 to the Town of Hague for state funding application support for wastewater treatment plant upgrades; and $3,000 to the Town of Queensbury for state funding application support for the North Queensbury Wastewater Management District.
“These investments are fueling our progress toward completing the Model for Enduring Protection of Lake George by 2020,” Siy said. “Our ultimate success will benefit future generations and fresh waters everywhere.”
The FUND is a privately funded nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of Lake George. Formed in 1980, it applies a science-based approach to protection focused on Lake George water quality and the overall health of the Lake George watershed. It pursues this mission through support of long-term scientific research, direct advocacy, strategic partnerships and investments with diverse public and private interests.
The FUND sponsors the Lake George Waterkeeper among other programs on Lake George. For more on the FUND’s work, visit fundforlakegeorge.org.