Property along Braden River was Carl Bergstresser’s ‘slice of heaven’

His property along the Braden River in East Manatee was Carl Bergstresser’s “slice of heaven.”

The approximately 12 acres near the Braden Woods subdivision was where he would see wildlife, such as deer, wild boar and bobcats, on a daily basis. It was this wildlife that Bergstresser loved about living there for more than 30 years.

Before he died on July 26 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 56, Bergstresser, whose grandparents built the original Linger Lodge, worked to ensure that this “slice of heaven” amidst all the development off Linger Lodge Road in East Manatee would be preserved.

His wishes for the 12 acres “to be transferred to a nonprofit organization or government entity that will maintain such property for wildlife conservation and general conservation purposes” are detailed in his will, said Bradley Magee, a local attorney who worked on Bergstresser’s will.

“This was his wish that he told me. He loved wildlife very much and loved that property very much,” Magee said. “It will be our job to pick a nonprofit or government entity that will properly preserve this property.”

As one of the early members of the Keep Woods group, Bergstresser worked on an effort to preserve the adjacent 33 acres to his property, which was once owned by his family, from development. The East Manatee residents are concerned that a proposed subdivision that would be built in this wooded area would displace this wildlife.

“We are even more committed now to see that through to completion,” said Gary Hebert, with the Keep Woods group.

Proposed infill development in question

With the proposed infill development, called Myara Subdivision, going for approval before the Manatee County Planning Commission on Thursday and the Manatee County Commission on Sept. 1, the Keep Woods members plan to ask the commission to direct county staff to look into buying the property, which is not for sale, and to turn it into conservation land.

Myara Subdivision, which would be built on the north bank of the Braden River east of Interstate 75, would include up to 32 houses on about 33 acres. The property owner is ESME I LLC of Venice and the developer would be Neal Communities. The applicant is requesting a rezone from residential single family — one dwelling unit per acre — to planned development residential with a preliminary site plan.

County staff has recommended denial of the rezone request and preliminary site plan, according to the staff report.

Only 18.7 acres of the property would be developable, which Braden Woods residents say is inconsistent with the surrounding area. Braden Woods is a subdivision of about 500 homes built in the late 1980s at a density of about one home per acre.

“In order to preserve the wetlands and buffer on the Braden River, we are clustering it so there is not the destruction,” Pat Neal, chairman of Neal Communities, has said.

Presence of wildlife along Braden River

In the beginning of a video produced by the Keep Woods group to highlight its opposition to the development, Bergstresser talks about how he’s been coming to the area since he was a little boy.

There have been “so many changes around the whole area but yet we always left this as kind of natural property,” he said in the video.

“The wildlife lives right now on 48 acres including the one that I’m standing on and the 33 that the developer wants to build,” he said. “Now if he builds on that 33 acres, what wildlife is here can’t be confined to 12 acres and survive. It’s not possible. We would love to see it preserved bottomline. If nothing else, keep the zoning the same — one home per acre. Do not clear cut all the trees that way some of the wildlife may stay.”

Mike Sheppard, who is now 23, still remembers the first time he saw a pig on Bergstresser’s property.

“I was really little. They were like four or five times the size of me,” Sheppard said.

When Sheppard attended Braden River Middle School, he said he would ride his bike past Bergstresser’s property, often stopping by. Sheppard said some of the best days were spent hanging out there and sitting outside watching the wildlife such as the pigs and hawks.

“There’s not much like that out here,” Sheppard said. “Carl was a big advocate for keeping the wilderness and not too many people are like that anymore.”

The wildlife was Bergstresser’s family, said Phil St. John, who lives in Braden Woods.

“This was more than a piece of property to him,” St. John said. “This was his family’s roots.”

Bergstresser’s love for the wildlife and the area was what inspired St. John to become involved in the Keep Woods group.

“This is kind of his family’s legacy and history,” St. John said. “I have a personal commitment to Carl to work toward his wishes, his desires and kind of carry on what he asked me to do here.”

Since the wildlife goes through the entire 45 acres, the Keep Woods group would love to see the entire area be made into a preserve, Hebert said.

“We would like to preserve the entire tract of land to make sure they have enough area to survive,” he said.

Preserving the land would be continuing on Bergstresser’s legacy, said Ethel Carter, who knew him for almost 20 years.

“This was his home,” she said. “He was raised here. He had a passion for the environment and was very much a part of it. It would be honoring Manatee County and all the people who live here and that’s what he wanted. He wanted everybody to have the animals around in whatever capacity we possibly can for the legacy of children and grandchildren.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Property along Braden River was Carl Bergstresser’s ‘slice of heaven’."