Chebeague Island's "the Hook" Reopens After Restoration Project Welcoming Beachgoers and Piping Plovers Alike

A beloved stretch of shoreline on Chebeague Island is returning to a more natural state following a months-long restoration effort aimed at protecting it from erosion and supporting an unlikely new group of residents: endangered piping plovers.

The project, completed in June by the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, focused on Indian Point, a 16-acre property locals call "the Hook" at the southern tip of the island. The site features shrubs, brush and 3,700 feet of shoreline, and has been one of the few places on the island where the public can reach the beach. At low tide, a sandbar connects Indian Point to Little Chebeague Island, which is owned by the state.

"It's the land trust's most popular site on the island," said Penny Asherman, the organization's executive director.

The land trust acquired Indian Point in 1999 after 30 local landowners agreed to pool and protect the shared land. But in recent years, rising seas and increasingly powerful storms began wearing away at the property. The severe storms of January 2024 proved a turning point, washing out the access road and path to the beach and damaging a stone sea wall near the shore.

"That spurred us last year to collaborate with the landowners to take action to address the impact of climate change that we know aren't going to stop, and to help restore the public access and enhance the natural habitat that is there," Asherman said.

Over the past 18 months, the land trust led its first fully realized restoration project, partnering with island volunteers, Maine Audubon, state organizations, donors, contractors and the town of Chebeague Island. Crews removed the deteriorating sea wall, allowing waves and sand to shift naturally along the beach. Contractors built a 400-foot boardwalk over the winter to give visitors a reliable path to the shore. This spring, volunteers planted native dune grass to hold the sand in place and create better wildlife habitat. New welcome signs and interpretive panels about the dunes and shorebirds were also installed.

The land trust hosted a ribbon-cutting for the boardwalk along with tours of the restored property on the evening of July 2.

A Beach Designed With Piping Plovers in Mind

The restoration wasn't just for people. Starting in 2022, a pair of piping plovers nested on the dunes of Indian Point — the first time in roughly four decades of regional monitoring that the endangered species had nested on a Casco Bay island rather than along the mainland. A second pair also turned up on nearby Littlejohn Island that same year.

"That was super exciting for us, but it also helped us shift our thinking about, like, 'How can we make this property better habitat?'" Asherman said.

The number of nesting pairs has grown since. One pair nested in the first two years, while two pairs have set up territory in each of the last two summers. So far, 11 chicks have fledged from Indian Point under the watchful eyes of island volunteers.

Laura Minich Zitske, associate director of conservation and director of the Piping Plover and Least Tern Project at Maine Audubon, advised the land trust on the restoration. She noted that piping plovers generally prefer long, open stretches of shoreline — like Maine's southern beaches — over small islands. But with the regional plover population hitting record highs in recent years thanks to conservation work, more pairs are venturing into new territory in search of nesting spots.

The newly abundant dune grass, reduced erosion and a dedicated community of monitors made Indian Point an appealing option.

"Whatever is good for the beach, ultimately, is also good for the birds," Zitske said.

For Chebeague Island, the project represents a balancing act that will only grow more familiar along the Maine coast: holding back the effects of a changing climate while opening space for both visitors and vulnerable wildlife to thrive.