Marc Sarkady has lived on Plum Island, Massachusetts, for more than 30 years. When a letter from the Town of Newbury landed in his mailbox listing “flags” among devices that could harass protected shorebirds, he read it as a shot at his Fourth of July. “Are you serious?” he said. “You’re telling me I can’t fly American flags on my property to celebrate America 250?”
Town officials say that is not what the letter means.
The notice
Plum Island homeowners recently received the notice, which said Newbury had “become aware of the use of devices and materials intended to deter” protected shorebirds from beach and dune systems. It named “mylar streamers, flags, [and] reflective materials” as examples. Activities meant to keep birds away from suitable habitat, the letter said, “may be viewed as harassment or disruption of normal feeding, nesting, or migratory behavior.” That is barred under state and federal endangered species laws and can carry “significant regulatory and financial penalties.” The notice added that non-compliance may bring state or federal enforcement.
Sarkady says the island has roughly “10 miles of open beach” with no houses on it, where birds roam freely. “It’s a nature preserve,” he said. “So, to us, it’s like, ‘Folks, come on, be reasonable.’”
What the town and the state say
Newbury Town Administrator Tracy Blais said the town is “not in any way attempting to interfere with the property owner’s rights to use their property or to restrict their use of their property for ordinary and patriotic purposes.” The town, she said, agreed to a request from MassWildlife to help “spread the word” about protecting endangered species. “The letter merely recited provisions of the law, and the Town is not asserting any threat or legal liability,” Blais said. Residents, the town added, are free to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
A MassWildlife spokesperson told Fox News Digital the agency “is not prohibiting residents from displaying American flags on their property and has not issued any violation letters or notices to these landowners.”
Legal pushback
Sarkady and two neighbors contacted the Pacific Legal Foundation. On Wednesday the group wrote to Newbury Conservation Agent Mason Ferrick, saying the demands raised “significant concerns” about property rights and the legal basis for the town’s claims. The letter asks whether Newbury contends homeowners are legally barred from displaying flags, streamers or reflective materials on private property, and what legal basis applies the state and federal endangered species acts to privately owned beachfront. The foundation says no court has found a homeowner liable under those laws for putting up decorations.
“Flying the red, white and blue on the Fourth of July is as American as apple pie,” said Mark Miller, the foundation’s director of Environment and Natural Resources Litigation. Of the state and local denials, he told Fox News Digital: “When governments send letters that look like threats, sound like threats and walk like threats, they shouldn’t be surprised when people take them as threats.”
Sarkady also described an earlier episode. He claimed a state wildlife official sent a nearly identical letter last year to a neighbor who put ornamental banners on her beachside lawn, then phoned her and threatened fines and possibly jail. She took the displays down. The state agency denied that account.
Before the notice arrived, Sarkady and others had handed out about 50 American flags and about 100 signs reading “Plum Island Honors America” across the island. “It’s really us trying to bring the island together,” he said.
