Lake Wesserunsett Association is collaborating with Somerset Woods Trustees on…
Preserving Black Point
We have the opportunity to ensure Black Point, a treasured place on Lake Wesserunsett, remains forever available for all to enjoy. A favorite place for swimming, fishing, and solitude, Black Point is an integral part of the Lake Wesserunsett experience. For 45 years, the community has enjoyed open access to the property. But now, the landowners have decided to sell. Thankfully, they are prioritizing conservation of this iconic property.
If we act to conserve this 130-acre property with more than half a mile of undeveloped shoreline, we can:
decrease threats to lake water quality,
maintain and enhance to public recreational access for hunting, fishing, hiking, and swimming, and
maintain important wildlife and waterfowl habitat – including one of 3 nesting loon sites on the lake.
Curious to hear even more? LWA and Somerset Woods Trustees recently sat down with Now You Know (Channel 11) to share more. Watch here.
In the words of our neighbors…
“When I was about 12, my girlfriends and I attempted to reach Black Point by foot. We packed the least amount of necessities and hiked from Salmon Road. Our trek started with a snapping turtle we were petrified to pass, but worked up the courage to get by. We stopped to skip rocks and got covered in blood suckers on the shore’s edge as we inched closer to the point. For hours we laughed, screamed, cried, and sunk into mud… we never made it to Black Point that day. Eventually, we canoed out. Black Point is where I caught my first fish, saw my first heron, and had my first close encounter with loons. It was magical. We continue to make an annual trip to Black Point to camp, fish, eat delightful food, and tell stories by the campfire that has been there since I was a little girl in the 90’s and likely before that. It feels like a far away, secret, very special place.” - Ana Frazier
Being allowed to camp solo there when I was 10-12 years old. Sometimes with a friend or two. Fishing for white perch off Black Point with children and grandchildren. Having an osprey grab a fish my granddaughter had just thrown back within 5’ of the canoe. Hunting for ducks and deer—sometimes successfully. Running a trap line with a friend after school from Black Point to the inlet by canoe. Reversing the trip the next day. Maybe most importantly, experiencing the great biodiversity of the area over many years. Perhaps the best classroom of my younger years. - Eric Lahti
”Black Point was a prominent landmark during our first motor boat trip getting to know Lake Wesserunsett in the early 2000s. Lilly and I have fond memories of kayaking to the campsite to picnic and swim since building our house here 18 years ago.” - Mark Doty
“My family has had a camp on Lake Wesserunsett for 65 years and I've had many opportunities to observe the beauty of Black Point. Whether by driving by in a motor boat, fishing off the shoreline,or kayaking around the point,I certainly have gained an appreciation of how wonderful this iconic property is and how important it is to protect it.” - Chris Perkins
“I’ve spent all my summers on the lake. All these years Black Point has never changed. What a gift it will be for future generations to be able to say that. It will be this way forever.” - Bill Pottle
“Some of my best childhood memories are my brother and I paddling around the lake and exploring Black Point. I have deep connections to that place. My whole family does.” - Heather Finnemore Johnson
“Bev loved the lake. Every year she would organize a camping trip to that pretty spot below Black Point. Five or six of us …all of us junior high buddies…would pack our boats and head out, equipped with food, sleeping bags, and packs of cigarettes stolen from one of our mothers. No parental worries in those days although often just before dark we would hear a dad call from a boat asking if all was well.” - Margo Reid
About the Lake Wesserunsett Association
Lake Wesserunsett Association is a 501(c)-3 membership organization established to preserve, enhance and protect Lake Wesserunsett and its watershed. LWA works on behalf of the town and the region to protect the lake.
Our water quality work includes providing courtesy boat inspections to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic plants every summer for 24 years, extensive program of water quality testing annually for 43 years, invasive aquatic plant surveys, camp road maintenance surveys and recommendations for improvements, and educational programs. LWA also places and maintains navigational markers around the lake, and conducts the annual Audubon loon survey.
LWA is a volunteer run organization, the only paid positions are our courtesy boat inspectors. We have a board of 11 trustees, and approximately 130 family memberships.
Together with Somerset Woods Trustees, the Lake Wesserunsett Association is raising the funds to purchase Black Point’s 130 acres and 3,800’ of undeveloped shoreline, which Somerset Woods will forever own and manage for public benefit.
Somerset Woods Trustees and Lake Wesserunsett Association have worked together since 2022 to conserve parcels important for maintaining water quality and watershed health. Black Point will be our second collaborative acquisition, following the successful purchase of Reid-Lahti Wetlands in 2023.
Under the terms of the sales contract, we must complete the purchase no later than November 2026. We appreciate the seller’s willingness to grant us the time to fundraise and ensure the successful conservation of this special place.
“LWA is very fortunate, and it is to the lake’s great benefit, to partner with SWT, the oldest land trust in Maine, for protection of important parcels on the lake,” said Mark Doty, President of Lake Wesserunsett Association. “This conservation aids the long-term health of the lake, the watershed, and wildlife for the people of Madison and other lake users.”
Why we are doing this
Our goal is the long-term protection of:
lake water quality by the extensive wetlands slowing and filtering stormwater runoff before it enters the lake, and lessening runoff by maintaining the forest upslope of the lake
public access to the land by boat from the lake and on foot from Route 201, hunting, fishing, walking, swimming, bird watching, kayaking an undeveloped shore.
woods and wetlands for wildlife habitat
undeveloped shoreland
a historic loon nesting site (1 of only 3 on the lake)
How to contribute
Somerset Woods Trustees and the Lake Wesserunsett Association are collaborating on the $350K Black Point Campaign to support the purchase and long-term care of Black Point Preserve. Somerset Woods Trustees is the fiscal manager for the campaign, and it will be the entity to purchase and forever care for the property. Therefore, all campaign donations should be made to Somerset Woods Trustees.
Donations may be made securely online here or mailed to Somerset Woods Trustees, P.O. Box 833, Skowhegan ME 04976.
Notably, donors may structure their gifts as pledge payments made over two tax years, 2025 and 2026. To discuss structuring your gift, or to make a gift of securities in support of Black Point, please contact Somerset Woods Executive Director Jennifer Brockway at 207-612-1606 or Jeff Johnson LWA co-chair of the Capital Campaign Committee at 207-485-6600. And you can always email hello@wesserunsett.org with any questions.
We also ask that you spread the word to friends and neighbors about this opportunity to protect this special place.
How you benefit
Everyone, whether from the Town of Madison or from the greater region, benefits in many ways with the conservation of this special place.
Maintaining and enhancing public access for recreation to the land from the lake and from Route 201 for hunting, fishing, swimming, hiking, snowshoeing, and biking.
The conservation of this parcel will help to maintain the current water quality that everyone enjoys for being in and on the lake. It also protects and maintains the habitat for wildlife and waterfowl.
