ALA Symposium at Paul Smith’s College

Schroon Lake Association board members attended the Adirondack Lake Alliance Symposium at Paul Smith’s College on Friday July 26, 2026. This year's ALA Symposium theme was "Adirondack Lakes in Focus - Challenges, Solutions and Shared Stewardship". They had an exciting line up of speakers this year. ALA firmly believes that in order to be successful across the Park, Lake Associations need to continue to work together, seeing our watersheds as vitally connected to and impacting each other, and connecting us to them. 

Opening the day, our Adirondack elected officials, Assemblymen Michael Cashman and Matt Simpson, joined us for updates from Albany. Mr. Cashman is the new Assemblyman who now holds Billy Jones former seat, and Mr. Simpson has been a longtime supporter of ALA. The schedule allotted plenty of time for their comments and for a Q&A session with the legislators.

The first highlighted speaker was Dave Kanietakeron Fadden,  Director of the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center in Onchiota, NY who presented his latest book, co-authored with Curt Stager, PhD, from Paul Smith's College. The book, "The First Adirondackers: 12,000 years of Indigenous Peoples in the Adirondack Uplands", presents he and Curt's findings of indigenous people living and thriving in the Adirondacks, and their stewardship of the land and water. The book also highlights Dave's incredible paintings of Mohawk history.

Following the ALS’s successful January webinar on wake sports and the environmental concerns associated with these watercraft, Laura Dlugolecki, Lakes and Ponds Policy and Outreach Coordinator for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation presented Vermont's wake sports regulations, their evolution since the original implementation, and lessons learned along the way.

After lunch, Sarah Goodrich, Research Scientist from New York's Department of Environmental Conservation, discussed DEC’s approach to tracking and managing Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Given the increasing lake temperatures, increases in lake nutrients, and the possible impact of new watercraft such as wake boats, we can anticipate more frequent reports of such blooms in the future, and knowing how to manage these will be critical skills for all of us.

The final session of the day was with Sunita Halasz, Clean Water Community Advocate with the Adirondack Council, moderating a panel on "Lake Management in the Age of AIS". The panel consisted of Michele Curry, Blue Mountain Lake Association and Adirondack Lakes Alliance, Brian Greene, Program Director for the Adirondack Park Invasives Plant Program (APIPP), and Guy Middleton, Executive Director of Upper Saranac Foundation and ALA Advisory Board.

There were also several related service providers, including NYSFOLA, NYS DEC, APIPP and more, who we met with during breaks and lunch.

All of us at SLA appreciate the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and share ideas with lake advocates throughout the Adirondack Park.

- From SLA Board Member, Neil Chippendale