18.05.12
LAKE GEORGE — Tourists are long gone from the lake, but the fight against an invasive clam will keep scuba divers in the chilly waters through the middle of December.
Efforts began this spring to smother the invasive, dime-sized clam by placing large mats on the five acres of lake bottom off the village, not far from Million Dollar Beach, and the fight has expanded this fall to include efforts to suction up clams further up the lake in Middleworth Bay in the town of Bolton, said Peter Bauer , executive director of the Fund for Lake George.
Armed with hoses from floating pontoon boats, divers have been suctioning up six inches of lake bottom to get the clams, he said. The hoses feed a large debris bag, which separates the clams before filtering the water back to the lake.
Suctioning is being tried in areas where mats cannot be used, such as under wharves, on rocky bottoms and in shallow water, Bauer said.
This fall, underwater mats were also added to clam infestations found on three acres near the village, where mats put in during the spring had been taken out during the summer tourist season, and to 2.5 acres near Norowal Marina in Bolton, he said.
Source: Albany Times Union