The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) is seeking support with fund-raising for what it’s calling the “Last Great Shoreline Preserve” in Putnam, Washington County by offering an opportunity to win naming rights to the preserve’s eastern overlook trail.

Until February 24, each gift of $100 entitles the donor to entry in LGLC’s Name the Trail drawing. The drawing winner will be given the exclusive opportunity to name the eastern overlook trail as well as receive a picnic for six at the overlook this summer. The new name will be displayed on trail markers and in the preserve’s trail guide, available at the trailhead kiosk and from the LGLC website.

LGLC acquired the Last Great Shoreline nearly one year ago, on February 27, 2009, while also taking a leap into debt in order to finance the purchase. The cost of the land was $4 million with another $300,000 of project expenses.

Though much of the mortgage’s Phase 1 payment has been raised with the support of private donations, LGLC still needs to raise $34,000 by the payment deadline of February 27, 2010. If this deadline goal is not met, the mortgage interest can by contract grow tenfold, from 0.6% to 6%, increasing the overall cost of the land purchase by $144,000 each year over the life of the loan.

In his proposed 2010-2011 budget New York State Governor David Paterson suggested a moratorium on land acquisition by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). By reducing the Open Space Land Acquisition line item to zero, Gov. Paterson eliminated any spending from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) for land acquisition, ostensibly for at least two years. When LGLC purchased the Last Great Shoreline property in 2009 (a culmination of twenty years of negotiations) LGLC says it was led to believe that it would be purchased by New York State within three years. Now, the proposed moratorium in the governor’s budget threatens to postpone the state’s purchase of the property into a distant and uncertain future, according to the LGLC.

The Lake George Land Conservancy’s is says “the purchase of the Last Great Shoreline project… was a crucial step in the protection of the Lake George watershed.” 351 acres and 2,357 feet of shoreline were acquired as a preserve, and 70 acres and 1,613 feet remain in private ownership that is now protected by a deed restriction. LGLC has already built over a mile of trails to lead hikers through a diversity of ecological systems, from the Sucker Brook wetlands, to the lichen covered rocks on the western shore of Lake George.

The land contains approximately thirty-five acres of wetlands (reportedly including a rare white cedar swamp) which which the LGLC says provide important food and breeding sites for amphibians, birds and mammals. These Sucker Brook wetlands provide a natural filtration system, according to the group, contributing to the pristine water quality of Lake George. In addition, the legendary Jumping Rock, rising approximately 30 feet above the lake, is situated on the northern shore and will be preserved forever as an LGLC preserve.

Those who wish to learn more about the Last Great Shoreline Challenge, the trail naming opportunity, or the Lake George Land Conservancy’s work, are invited to visit www.lglc.org, email shoffman@lglc.org, or call 518-644-9673.

Photo: Last Great Shoreline eastern overlook. Courtesy the LGLC.