Cape town moves Fourth of July fireworks display to Labor Day weekend to protect piping plovers
A popular Fourth of July fireworks display on Cape Cod has been moved back to Labor Day weekend to protect the piping plovers population, officials said.
Town officials in Barnstable say they were notified by Mass Wildlife that their planned fireworks display was in too close proximity to the endangered species of shorebird.
Barnstable will instead hold the fireworks display on its rain date on Sept. 3, 2022.
On July 4, 2021, the Mass Wildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program documented the town’s fireworks display as a violation of the Endangered Species Act, noting that the barge needed to be adjusted away from Smith Point and Kalmus Beach.
“Moving the fireworks display to Labor Day became the only option as plover and tern nesting activities are no longer a concern in September,” Barnstable officials said in a news release.
A variety of other Independence Day festivities will go on as planned.
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