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the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is carried out, this will modify the wave and storm pro- tection and alter the sediment supply to the onshore beaches." That report also noted that Big Pass has been open at least since 1888, based on historical charts of the region. It further pointed out, "The morphology [or structure] of [Lido and Siesta] keys [is] distinct, since Lido Key was formed from artificial fill of small mangrove islands, and Siesta Key was formed from suc- cessive beach ridge growth. … The offset and the relative stability of the north side of Siesta Key create conditions favoring development of a large ebb tide shoal." The report continues, "The offset of Siesta Key protects or shelters sand entering the pass from waves approaching along the south, so the sand can accrete in this 'offset' more easily than along an open, straight coast served by an inlet. … Aerial photographs spanning the period from 1940 to 1990 show very clearly the movement of sand from the shoal to the beaches of Siesta Key." It also says, "Shoal geometry will change once the dredging takes place because the shoal will adjust to the void imposed by the dredging." SKVA MEMBER CONCERNS Peter van Roekens, the SKA secretary, a mem- ber of the Boaters' Coalition in the county and a Terrace East condominium complex repre- sentative at SKVA meetings, pointed out that the Corps probably would release its latest modeling studies of the Lido project late this month, a fact Wreford also noted in the inter- view last week with the News Leader. "We can pretty much guarantee — I would say 99.9 percent — that those will [show] no harm to anything," van Roekens added. "No harm to Siesta beaches or navigation." For years, van Roekens has surveyed Big Pass to provide information about the channel The accretion of sand on Siesta Public Beach has been attributed to the natural downdrift of sand from north to south on the west coast of Florida. File photo Sarasota News Leader February 7, 2014 Page 62