The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort in Lake Placid is seen on the shore of Mirror Lake on April 16, 2023. The Crowne Plaza resort is at left on the hill, and the Grand Adirondack Hotel is the tall building on the right, on the other side of Main Street. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — Mirror Lake Watershed Association board members Monday, May 8, decided to sign a contract with the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute for a daily watershed steward this summer to help prevent invasive species from entering the lake.

As of this week, the MLWA had only raised $16,000 of the almost $26,000 needed to have a steward at the boat access near the tennis courts seven days a week. But there is still time to pay the bill.

“We pay at the end of the year,” MLWA co-chair Bill Billerman said at Monday’s meeting.

Money pledged so far is coming from the town of North Elba ($6,000), village of Lake Placid ($5,000) and Henry Uihlein II and Mildred A. Uihlein Foundation ($5,000). Billerman said he hopes to get at least $2,500 from the Ironman Foundation; a formal application needs to be submitted.

To come up with the rest of the money, board members decided to ask hotel owners on the lake for contributions, including the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, Mirror Lake Inn and High Peaks Resort.

Members of the Mirror Lake Watershed Association meet Monday, May 8 at the Mirror Lake Beach House. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

Billerman told the North Elba Town Council on May 2 that the MLWA would also be adding money from its donations.

The Mirror Lake watershed steward program began in 2021, two days a week. In 2022, the program was expanded to four days a week, and this year it will be every day from mid-June to Labor Day.

The time of day is still to be determined. The contract says the steward will be on duty from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., including a 30-minute lunch break. However, MLWA board members questioned whether that was the right time. Educating people fishing on the lake from boats was a priority, they said, and people usually fish early in the morning or in the evening. Yet the shift is only eight hours, so the steward can’t cover all the daylight hours.

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 Adirondack Watershed Institute.

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.

After this year, the MLWA is hoping to come up with a plan to fund the daily summer watershed steward program annually. Billerman has already asked the town and village to include money in their yearly budgets, and he hopes to get an annual contribution from Ironman Lake Placid, which uses the lake for the 2.4-mile swim portion of its triathlon.