University of New England students research erosion and impacts of January storms on Wood Island

Many of Maine’s lighthouses suffered damage from January storms, and the Wood Island lighthouse was no exception.

The Wood Island lighthouse is located on Wood Island, a 35-acre island off the coast of Biddeford. The lighthouse stands on five acres owned by the U.S. Government, according to City of Bideford records. The remaining 30 acres is a bird sanctuary managed by the Audubon Society.

The last keeper of the lighthouse left the island in 1986, when the light became automated. Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse (FOWIL), a local chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, maintains the lighthouse, and the Coast Guard maintains the light and the foghorn.

Construction of the Wood Island Lighthouse was authorized by Thomas Jefferson in 1808, and it was the 13^th lighthouse built in the United States, according to the FOWIL website. The light station is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

“It is a special place to me for all the wonderful memories I have of meeting and spending time with so many people who care so much for preserving and protecting the lighthouse,” said FOWIL member Aaron Fox.

After the January storms, the island lost 6-8 feet of shoreline, leaving 15 feet between the shore and lighthouse, said University of New England student Alexa Livingston. Additionally, the boathouse was lifted and moved by the storm, and part of the boardwalk was washed away, she said.

Livingston is one of the students in an Environmental Studies senior capstone project working with professors UNE Pam Morgan and Will Kochitzky researching erosion on Wood Island and coming up with possible ways to mitigate it.

“We all loved working with the Friends of the Wood Island Lighthouse. It was a great experience to be able to bring what we’ve learned into this project and get involved in our community and a piece of its history,” said UNE student Paige Merrill.

David Plavin, president of the local shoreline preservation group Save our Shores, worked with the capstone students. He said that the students presented their findings to the FOWIL board and did a terrific job.

“They created maps that track recent land loss, met with the Army Corps of Engineers, are looking at funding and grants, and exploring living shorelines solutions,” he said.

While the island has been uninhabited for decades, FOWIL conducts tours in July and August, giving people a first-hand look of the island and the light house, and the opportunity to climb to the top of the tower.

“We anticipate having tours as normal (this summer). To do so we need to build a new, short walkway between the boat ramp and the boardwalk to replace the section lost in the storm. We already have a contractor lined up to do this work before the start of tours in July so we expect it to be finished without any interruption to the tours,” according to an April 23 statement from the FOWIL executive committee.

Restoring the shoreline of an island is not easy, according to FOWIL members. This is an extremely large-scale project, and will require help from many sources, including the government, both public and private organizations, and individual volunteers. There are a lot of legal and zoning requirements that are required to act on this. For example, Coast Guard approval is needed for any work to happen on the lighthouse or surrounding land, as they own the buildings and property, and maintain the light and foghorn.

 The project will also require massive funding, which would likely come mostly from grants, but donations could also provide a substantial source of help. Additionally, assistance from people or organizations with engineering skills and environmental knowledge would help continue the project and protect the lighthouse in the years to come.

For more information on the Wood Island Lighthouse, go to the FOWIL website. An ice cream fundraiser for the lighthouse is being held at the Seashore Trolley Museum at 5:30 p.m. on July 24.

Thomas Garcia is a senior at University of New England and a UNE Community News Fellow.