Help Prevent Invasive Species
If you are bringing your personal boat to use in Blue Mountain Lake or you plan to fish, please do your part to keep the lake free of invasive species.
JUNE 2024 UPDATE: The Water Watch Committee of the Blue Mountain Lake Association asks people with motorboats to please avoid driving into the channel near the dam in Utowana Lake, given the aquatic invasive species in that area. There are orange buoy markers.
Since May, 37 gallons of variable leaf milfoil have been removed, a significant amount for so early in the season, attributable to warming weather. Fragments can be carried back through all three lakes, causing tremendous harm.
CLEAN. DRAIN. DRY your boat, motor, bilge water, well, fishing gear, and paddles before launching into our pristine lake. Clean and dry your trailer (5 days drying time recommended).
Boat Wash Stations
Use a free Boat Wash Station before arriving at Blue Mountain Lake. A full wash/decontamination takes less than 15 minutes!
The wash station at the Glens Falls rest stop on the Northway (Rt 87) is open most days, while the boat washing station on Rt 28 (near the Lake Durant campground) is typically open Fri-Sat from 7:30 am – 4:00 pm.
To find a station:
https://www.adkwatershed.org/boat-wash-stations
Required Certification
NY State law requires motorized boat users to obtain certification that they have inspected and removed aquatic invasive species before launching in waters in, and immediately adjacent to, the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
The certificate can be obtained from a boat wash station, a boat steward, or self-completed procedure.
https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/selfissuedcertificate.pdf
Bait Procedures for Fishing
Prevent the spiny waterflea from entering Blue Mountain Lake. This species is present in Indian Lake. Prevention is the only means to stop it – once this flea is in a lake, it cannot be removed.
Spiny waterfleas spread by attaching to fishing lines, downriggers, anchor ropes, and fishing nets and hitching rides to other waterbodies. They can also be transported in bilge water, bait buckets, live wells, and the bottoms of canoes and kayaks.
—CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY your boat and trailer prior to entering new body of water.
—Only use certified disease-free bait purchased from a licensed dealer.
—Never move bait or other fish from one water to another.
—Soak fishing gear and equipment in hot water (140 degrees F) for 2 minutes prior to entering new body of water.