The federally endangered piping plover returned annually at Whitefish Point for the first time in twenty three years when a pair of nesting plovers fledged three chicks at Whitefish Point in 2009. By 2012, three piping plover nests were confirmed at Whitefish Point. The sparsely vegetated, sand-cobblestone beaches at Whitefish are ideal breeding grounds for the piping plover. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated approximately of Whitefish Point shoreline as critical habitat for the bird, giving it protection under the Federal Endangered Species Act at Whitefish Point.
