From mid-March through Labor Day, pets (excluding seeing eye dogs and other service-related animals) and kites are not permitted at the following Fire Island National Seashore locations:

• On the ocean beach from the east boundary of Robert Moses State Park to the Village of Kismet (includes the beach in front of the Fire Island Lighthouse).
  
• On the ocean beach between Oakleyville and Cherry Grove in the Sailors Haven area (which is part of the Sunken Forest Preserve).
  
• From the western boundary of Smith Point County Park west to Long Cove (in front of the Fire Island Wilderness and just east of Watch Hill).
  
• Additional areas as necessary due to actively nesting piping plovers:
  
• • In May 2009, the beach closure was expanded at Watch Hill to include most of the beach west to Davis Park (Ocean Ridge). 
    

  • In 2009, plovers nested on the beach in front of several Fire Island communities: Davis Park, Ocean Bay Park, and Fire Island Pines. The Town of Brookhaven closed the beach to vehicles and required that pets be leashed at all times in these areas due to the hatching of plover chicks. 

These closures are made to protect federally and state listed threatened and endangered species. Dates normally coincide with anticipated arrival and departure times for the threatened piping plover.

Pets are not permitted at any time on lifeguarded beaches (Watch Hill, Sailors Haven, Barrett Beach).

Pets are also not permitted in Robert Moses State Park or in Smith Point County Park.

Several Fire Island communities prohibit dogs and other pets on the beach. Please check before you plan your visit. 

The first piping plover of the season is usually observed on Fire Island by mid-March. Nesting and mating begins soon after the birds arrive, and the first egg of the season can be expected by late April. Fire Island National Seashore begins installation of fencing to protect suitable plover habitat around the beginning of April. As nests are established, exclosures are constructed to protect both the nests and the eggs. After chicks have fledged, or flown from the nest, symbolic fencing is left up to protect suitable habitat for threatened and rare plant species, the seabeach amaranth and the seabeach knotweed.

Where dogs are allowed, please remember:

• Pets must always be kept on a leash no longer than 6 feet.

Always be considerate and pick up after your pet. Dispose of pet waste properly. (Don't bury dog feces in the sand on the beach.)