With people and vehicles digging into the sand all along the east coast, wild beaches are few and far between. But on the Vineyard, the rare and endangered northeastern beach tiger beetle, a key signifier of uncorrupted beaches, has regained its footing.

Erosion on the Island’s coastline — a process as old and familiar as the Island itself — has accelerated to a point of critical concern this winter, battering South Beach, flattening dunes in Katama, flooding key intersections and roadways and crumbling cliffs at Lucy Vincent and Squibnocket.