Members of the Lake Placid Village Board of Trustees Monday, May 1 approved $5,000 toward the program, and members of the North Elba Town Council Tuesday, May 2 doubled down on their support, adding $3,000 to the $3,000 they had already pledged.

As of Tuesday, the MLWA had raised $16,000 — $5,000 from the village, $5,000 from the Henry Uihlein II and Mildred A. Uihlein Foundation and $6,000 from the town, according to MLWA co-chair Bill Billerman. The MLWA will also be adding money from its donations.

Billerman told the town council Tuesday that there’s a possibility of getting $2,500 from the Ironman Foundation. Ironman Lake Placid uses Mirror Lake for its 2.4-mile swim portion of the triathlon every July, and athletes continually train on the lake for the race.

“Moving forward, we do think that one of the organizations that needs to step up is definitely Ironman,” Billerman told the town council, “because they are invested in using the lake.”

Billerman is encouraging village and town officials — in their dealings with Ironman — to push the organization to contribute money for better invasive species prevention on Mirror Lake, so the watershed steward program can be in place annually.

MLWA officials want to expand the watershed steward program to seven days a week this year. From 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., mid-June to Labor Day, stewards would be stationed at the boat access near the tennis courts on Mirror Lake Drive. A steward worked four days a week in 2022 and two days a week in 2021, when the program was established. The Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute manages the program.

Watershed stewards inspect boats — mostly canoes and kayaks since gas-powered motorboats are not allowed — and educate their users about the “Clean, Drain, Dry” philosophy and invasive species, such as Eurasian watermilfoil, variable-leaf watermilfoil, zebra mussels, hydrilla and spiny waterflea.

Two invasive plants — purple loosestrife and the yellow iris — are already impacting Mirror Lake. With an “active infestation” of purple loosestrife around the entire lake, MLWA volunteers pull those plants before they go to seed. Last summer, 258 purple loosestrife plants were removed.

In 2022, the steward counted almost 1,200 boats entering the lake, of which 53 had organisms on them, none of which were invasive species.

Anyone interested in donating money for the Mirror Lake watershed steward program can contribute through the MLWA website, marking the funds for the steward program; those funds would be forwarded to the AWI.

Last summer, officials at the AWI reminded the public about a new state law that affects anyone using a motorboat inside the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park, and within 10 miles of its boundary. Boaters must carry a certificate showing their watercraft has been cleaned, drained and dried for every trip.

Certificates are not needed for canoes or kayaks. However, paddlers are also required to clean, drain and dry their vessels and equipment.