Interactive Map of
Protected Properties

Highlights of Indian Point

2010 - CCLT Bird List and brochure.

STUDENT VIDEOS
Information about the nature of Indian Point and the Hook. Created during a special program in 2013

Cottontail Rabbits training
December 1, 2012


Searching for signs of cottontails on Indian Point

Indian Point

Location: Located on the southwest tip of Chebeague Island and connecting to the tidal sandbar of Little Chebeague Island, "the Hook," owned by the Indian Island Company.

Date Protected: 1999

Conservation Purposes:Provides 3,700 feet of scenic shoreline and seabird habitat with public access to the tidal sandbar and limited access for low impact recreational use.

Description and History: Indian Point, also known as "The Hook," is located on the west side of Chebeague Island adjacent to the tidal sandbar to Little Chebeague Island. In 1999 the owners and stockholders of the Indian Island Company granted a conservation easement to CCLT on twenty-five acres of land, with 3,700 feet of shoreline, "to provide significant public benefit, in particular for the residents and property owners of Chebeague Island and the Town of Cumberland, by preserving forever in substantially its current form and usage:"

• the wildlife habitat and open space;
• the scenic views to and from Casco Bay and the adjacent Little Chebeague Island, a state park;
• the continued availability of pedestrian and vehicular access across, and parking on, a portion of the property to accommodate pedestrian access across the beach to the adjacent tidal sand bar to Little Chebeague;
• the availability of a portion of the property for low-impact outdoor recreational use and nature observation by residents and property owners of Chebeague and Cumberland and their guests.

Visitors to The Hook will immediately understand why the Indian Island company wanted to include the property in its holdings in the 1930s. There is a windswept wildness to this place that is uncommon in the center of Casco Bay. Sea birds gather to feed at low tide, the mussel beds shift with the seasons, and the open view is exhilarating. Indian Point is a sand bar, an ecosystem extremely vulnerable to erosion, and therefore it is essential to respect the restrictions listed above (which are also included in the easement).

We are fortunate that the current owners - heirs and neighbors of the original TIC stockholders - wanted to share this exceptional place in perpituity.

Birds of Indian Point
CCLT is fortunate to have this extraordinary catalog of bird sitings as a contribution to the documentation for our conservation easement at Indian Point. Tineke Breed compiled all of these sitings over many years of walking the site. She and her husband Robert Breed are among the original donors of the conservation easement over Indian Point. Beverly Johnson, an avid bird watcher and CCLT Director, joined Tineke Breed to prepare this rich, shared photo documentation. We are grateful to both of them and hope that everyone will enjoy using their guide to walk Indian Point and add to their sitings. Please share your photos, sitings and observations by emailing Beverly Johnson at bjohnson@chebeague.net and Tineke Breed at mfbreed@comcast.net.

Public Access:

 The Hook is treasured by all on Chebeague but needs special care, especially during the busy summer months when so many wish to enjoy beach and bar. Please be guided by these reminders:

• “Walk if you can, drive if you must.”  The access road should be used only to deliver small children who cannot walk down or handicapped persons.

• Please park in designated spaces along North Road. Parking below is limited to five cars and intended for clammers and handicapped persons.

• Please drive slowly (5 mph) on the access road; there are often children walking.

• Please respect the privacy of the owners beyond the public access corridor to the beach and intertidal bar and along the beach by the boathouse.

• Please stay off the vulnerable dunes.

• Please enjoy low impact use only:  “Leave only footprints; take only photographs.”

•   Please restrain dogs on the beach and bar from molesting migratory birds, especially during the migration season of late July and August.

Please join the partnership in preserving, experiencing and enjoying this unique natural area on Chebeague.

Indian Point Chebeague Island

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