SAND ISLAND — In the middle of Casco Bay, between the picturesque cottages that line the shores of Chebeague and Cliff islands, an American flag rises from a sliver of land where the radio, tuned to Coast 93.1, was blasting from inside a vine-covered hut out onto a beach dotted with weathered picnic tables, plastic chairs and pairs of shoes.

Closer to the water, a horseshoe crab shell hangs from a sign with the rules of the island: take what you bring, stay off the sand dune, no digging holes.

Protecting this half-acre spot, just 8 feet above sea level, is one thing Scott Kern is serious about, but a lot of the time, he leans toward silly, his gray beard belying a youthful enthusiasm for the world around him — what he calls Planet Sand.

Wearing earmuff-style headphones with a built-in r

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