The report also stressed the need for more funding going forward to keep these threats — namely invasive species and contamination from pet waste, litter and excessive salt use in the winter — in check.

It also described other efforts the MLWA undertook this year, including an annual dive to remove garbage from the lake’s bottom, volunteer water sampling for the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program, participation in the annual Lake Placid Community Day and hosting an open house at the Northwood School Innovation Hub in August. Brendan Wiltse, the executive director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute who has conducted extensive research on Mirror Lake’s ecology, presented on invasive species.

The MLWA designed and produced flyers and signs educating people on the harmful effects of feeding waterfowl, according to the report. The organization also began work on a new Mirror Lake Action Plan, continued its participation in the Adirondack Loon Friendly Lake Program and co-sponsored the Adirondack Champlain Regional Salt Summit, which was held at the Conference Center at Lake Placid on Oct. 1.

   

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Finances

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From July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, the MLWA had an income of $27,605 and expenses of $31,255. These figures do not include financial reserves from past years, which allowed the group to operate at a loss this year. Their revenue was divided between $18,500 in grants and municipal funding (67%) and $9,105 in donations (33%).

Their expenses were largely centered around water quality, which amounted to $26,895 (86%) of their expenses. They also spent $3,407 on education and outreach (11%) as well as $953 on administrative costs (3%).

The water quality expenses primarily stem from the organization’s Lake Steward Program, which the group contracts with the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute. The college has stewards to staff a table near the public tennis courts in the village — a popular public boat launch and swimming area for Mirror Lake.

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Lake Steward Program

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The stewards provide boat inspections, and make sure no invasive species are clinging to the boat’s hull — a common vector of spread between lakes — before they head into Mirror Lake. The stewards also share general information and educate the public on Mirror Lake and ways to maintain its ecological health.

The MLWA notes that 2024 was the second summer the group was able to procure enough funding for steward staffing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days per week during the summer tourism season. According to the report, 2,256 boats entering Mirror Lake were inspected in 2023. The report notes that 2024 inspection numbers will be available by January.

Despite its significant cost, the MLWA wrote that it was necessary for its mission. The association notes that prevention — through boat inspections — is crucial to keeping the lake healthy, as invasive species become difficult and expensive to manage once introduced to the lake, and are essentially impossible to eradicate fully.

“The presence of a steward and the information they share with the public is critical in educating residents and visitors about the importance of the ‘clean, drain, dry’ protocol and the threat of invasive species,” the report read. “It is important to be proactive about invasive species — and this fact cannot be overstated.”

The report notes that some lakes in the Adirondack Park — despite some of the most stringent conservation laws in the nation — have become a health risk to swim in or eat fish from due to the presence of invasive species.

“To mitigate the odds of this happening here (in Mirror Lake) we can inspect watercraft entering the lake and educate the public,” the report noted.

     

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Going forward

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Board members discussed the need to secure more funding to continue paying for — among other expenses — the Lake Steward Program. The board appeared in agreement that the MLWA needed to commission an economic impact study for Mirror Lake. Vice Chair Bill Billerman said this would allow the MLWA to be eligible for a wider swath of grant funding opportunities.

Billerman said the study would, in essence, seek to understand how much money Mirror Lake earns the governments and business community in Lake Placid through tourism and taxes, showing what is at risk for the area if the lake’s ecological health and subsequent ability to be used recreationally were compromised.

The study discussion was only preliminary at the November meeting. Billerman said he would look more into the study’s feasibility — including potential groups who could perform the work — before the MLWA meets again in December.

Marcy Fagan, the MLWA’s chair and a biology teacher at Northwood School, said at the November meeting that she was working with her students on plans to reduce salt use on campus, which drains into Mirror Lake.

She said a key to reducing salt use was clearing the snow off of walkways soon after it fell and before it compacted to ice. Fagan said her students had formed several “rapid response” teams that would take shifts to shovel snow during or just after storms this winter.

Fagan said her students learned the importance of early snow removal by watching archived videos of the 2024 Adirondack Champlain Regional Salt Summit. The videos of this and past years’ summits can be found at tinyurl.com/2fpj5t9u.

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About the MLWA

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The Mirror Lake Watershed Association meets on the second Monday of each month at 5 p.m. at the village’s Beach House on Mirror Lake — located at 31 Parkside Drive. The meetings are open to everyone, and the MLWA welcomes public comments.

Its mission statement is: “To protect, educate, and advocate for Mirror Lake and its surrounding watershed by monitoring and improving water quality, preserving and enhancing its ecological health and natural beauty, and raising and encouraging public awareness about the importance of mitigating threats to the watershed.”

The MLWA is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and is operated on a volunteer basis. For more information, including the full 2023-2024 annual report, visit www.mirrorlake.net.