DNREC to close the Point March 1

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will close The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean and bay beach, starting Sunday, March 1, to protect the nesting grounds and migratory paths for threatened and endangered species, including piping plovers, American oystercatchers, least terns, red knots and other species.

Since 1993, The Point has closed annually for most of the spring and summer for the benefit of threatened and endangered bird species, and the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife regularly conducts surveys to monitor impacts to the populations at this and other locations. During the 2025 nesting season, the piping plover, listed federally as a threatened species, experienced mixed results in Delaware, with an increase in adult pairs to nine at The Point – a record for the site since monitoring began – but a statewide nesting success that faltered due to predation and climate conditions, though productivity, measured as fledglings per plover pair, was fairly typical at The Point.

The division also monitored two other species at The Point, including the American oystercatcher and least tern. Two American oystercatcher pairs nested in 2025, but no chicks reached fledging age. There were 53 nesting attempts by least terns last year and, although some eggs hatched, no fledglings of the species were confirmed from the colony.

The Point’s beach on the ocean side will reopen to the public Sept. 1. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter. The dunes, the area behind the symbolic PVC fencing at the top of the beach, are always off limits to visitors to protect this sensitive habitat.

The DNREC Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have worked together since 1990 to implement a management plan to help bolster and increase shorebird populations in Delaware.