Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/285258
the island to more danger from major storms and hurricanes. Most recently, the Boaters' Coalition, which has members from Clearwater south to Marco Island, became the sixth organiza- tion to announce its opposition to the Army Corps plan. Peter van Roekens, a Siesta resident who chairs the group, noted in his March 8 announcement that the vote was unanimous, adding, "The Boaters' Coalition opposes this dredge based on navigational concerns that Big Pass will end up in the same condition as every other dredged inlet that does not have protective jetties, namely they become shallow and basically impassible for anything except shallow draft boats without repeated dredging on a regular basis." For examples, he cited New Pass and Stump Pass. Although natural passes do tend to shift, he added, they remain open. "There are just too many boating interests that depend on Big Pass remaining navigable" — including the Sarasota and Bird Key yacht clubs and Marina Jack in downtown Sarasota — "to take this risk," he continued. PREPARING FOR A FIGHT In the meantime, one group that already had created a Facebook page to promote the pro- tection of Siesta Key has begun a fundraising drive that could pay not only for an indepen- dent peer review of the Army Corps' models and report but also for a legal challenge to the dredging of Big Pass, if necessary. A slide shown by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives to Sarasota groups last year shows the agency has predicted no ill effects on the channel from the dredging of Big Pass. Image courtesy City of Sarasota Sarasota News Leader March 28, 2014 Page 38