Lake George, NY – The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) purchased 53 acres along Federal Hill Road in the Town of Bolton on April 16, providing further water quality protection to the Indian Brook sub-watershed.

The “Federal Hill Forest” contains steep forested slopes, an open field looking east to the Tongue Mountain Range, a 3-acre wetland, and naturally buffered streams that join the main branch of Indian Brook before entering into Lake George’s Northwest Bay. Protecting these features from development allows the land to do what it does best—absorb and filter water before it reaches the lake.

These 53 acres adjoin the 207-acre Sundew Pond property, which LGLC acquired and permanently protected in 2025. In addition to protecting water quality, the expansion of protected lands provides unfragmented habitat necessary for native terrestrial and aquatic wildlife to thrive.

The LGLC purchased the Federal Hill Forest from the Bixby family, who owned and cared for the land for generations.

“After more than 100 years of Bixby family ownership,” said William K. Bixby, III, “we are proud to entrust this land to the Lake George Land Conservancy. We share the LGLC’s commitment to protecting the watershed to preserve the beauty of Lake George for generations to come. It is an honor to have the LGLC as our neighbors, and we trust their stewardship to care for this land as we have. I think this would make our grandparents, Ralph and Lucy Bixby, very happy.”

LGLC Executive Director Mike Horn said, “We are grateful to the Bixby family for working with us to permanently conserve this land and carry forward their legacy of stewardship. Keeping the land in its current natural state will deliver long-lasting benefits for wildlife and for the local communities who depend on the lake’s exceptional water quality and beauty.”

The protection of these 53 acres was made possible through the success of the LGLC’s 2025 Land Campaign, and through funding from a Water Quality Improvement Project grant, which is awarded and administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

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