Dome Island is often described as a sort of centerpiece of Lake George. Remarkably, no mansions or hotels were ever constructed there, thanks to the efforts of a young engineer from GE, in Schenectady, who took upon himself the challenge of protecting the island from developers and other harms. In 1917, noticing problems caused by erosion on the north side of the island, Apperson asked permission of the owner to repair the shores. In 1939, when he saw trees marked for cutting, he scrambled to find the money to purchase the island himself, during the Great Depression. And in 1956, after exhausting every possible idea, he finally found an organization interested in taking responsibility for permanent protection, as a nature preserve, The Nature Conservancy.