Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/332945
Tourists visiting Lido have been wondering about the situation they are encountering. "Where is the beach? Why isn't anything being done?" These are questions Carl Shoffstall has been hearing more frequently as people walk sections of the beach. "In my opinion, we need to do something about this," said Shoffstall, president of the Lido Key Residents Association. "We had to do something yesterday." But Siesta hoteliers, residents and property owners have banded together to form Save our Siesta Sand 2 (SOSS2) as a means of conveying their concerns about the project's potential impacts on boaters' navigation of the Big Pass channel and on Siesta's beaches. The owners of the Best Western Plus-Siesta Key hotel on South Tamiami Trail in Sarasota have retained Donald Hemke, a prominent Tampa environmental lawyer; two other attorneys are working pro bono for Siesta interests. Members of SOSS2 do not agree with the Army Corps' conclusions. Removing more than 1 million cubic yards of sand from Big Pass, which has never been dredged, will have a detrimental impact on navigation and the natural downdrift of sand on Florida's west The Army Corps of Engineers proposes placing three groins on the southern end of Lido Beach. Image courtesy Army Corps of Engineers Sarasota News Leader June 20, 2014 Page 20