Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/136775
DESTRUCTION ON THE BEACH Snowy plovers abandoned three eggs in a nest in late March on Siesta Key after the buffer area was vandalized. Contributed photo by Bob Luckner TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW THIS WEEK, VANDALS RIPPED UP SIGNS AND STAKES PUT IN PLACE TO PROTECT ENDANGERED NESTING SNOWY PLOVERS ON SIESTA PUBLIC BEACH By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor Two nights in a row this week, one or more people have destroyed signs and ripped out stakes marking a nesting area for snowy plovers on Siesta Public Beach, Sarasota Audubon volunteers have reported. ciation, told The Sarasota News Leader on June 12. The destruction was in the same area where vandalism was discovered in late March and a subsequent brush fire was reported. It is in The incidents, which occurred between sun- the proximity of Beach Access 9, just north of Siesta Public Beach, set and 6 a.m., were Luckner added. discovered by a volunteer on the mornI just hope that we can get enough ings of June 11 and 12, Catherine Luckner, volunteers out there to keep watch. a Sarasota Audubon Catherine Luckner Volunteer member and president Sarasota Audubon of the Siesta Key Asso- "Everything has been pulled up, broken, signs torn in half," Luckner said of the June 12 damage. "This is very destructive."