Daniel and Suzanne Goldenson of Bremen made a further gift of land to the
Medomak Valley Land Trust at their annual meeting held on Friday evening,
December 3 that will complete the Karl F. Berger Preserve on Bremen Long
Island. The gift consists of an additional fifteen acres, including a cove
and 700 feet of deep water frontage on the eastern shore of the 165-acre
preserve.
In 2007 the Goldensons donated 165 acres to create the preserve, which
covers the center of Bremen Long Island, shore to shore, with more than a
half-mile of ocean frontage. It was named in memory of Karl F. Berger, a
former Bremen Selectman who died suddenly in 2007 and who had been a very
active and community-spirited Bremen leader.
Working closely with MVLT and the Bremen Conservation Commission, the
Goldensons sought to preserve a major part of the 850-acre island. Bremen Long
Island was an active settlement, with several hundred residents who were
farmers and fishermen in the days before paved roads and electricity on
the mainland.
Today, Bremen Long Island is the summer home for about 25 families, many
of whom have owned their properties for generations. The Berger Preserve
is accessible from Hockomock Channel, on the western shore, and extends
more than 4,000 feet to the eastern shore where the swift ocean current
inspired the name “Flying Passage.”
The newly donated cove on the eastern shore provides the opportunity for
the land trust to develop a safe access point for visitors arriving by
motor boat or kayak. The western access is also within a protected cove,
and is the starting point of a trail that will extend into the wooded
parcel and across to the eastern shore. Trails and signage will
be developed this spring by MVLT and the Bremen Conservation Commission.
