Save Our Siesta Sands 2 launches nonprofit

A Siesta Key group opposed to the Big Pass dredge has launched a fundraising campaign to finance an independent analysis of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plans. The move paralleled a push by one Sarasota county commissioner for the county to finance a peer review of the project.

Save Our Siesta Sands 2, which Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce member Maria Bankemper launched in December through the creation of a Facebook page, recently announced it was accepting donations to help fund an independent peer review of the Army Corps’ plan to mine more than 1 million cubic yards of sand from the Big Pass shoal to renourish Lido Beach.

“There are other sources of sand that can be mined for Lido and its immediate needs,” Bankemper said. “Why would anyone want to take the chance of compromising our No. 1 beach, especially when we are spending some $20 million to showcase it?”

The nonprofit’s announcement parallels County Commissioner Nora Patterson’s ongoing push for the county to fund a similar study.

“It’s not unusual to ask for a peer review of some sort,” Patterson said at a Siesta Key Village Association meeting Tuesday. “The big concern is if it’s going to harm Siesta Key and, by the way, is it going to hurt South Lido?”

Patterson added that the county would pay for the study.

Save Our Siesta Sands 2, which now has more than 400 likes on Facebook, represents Siesta residents and business owners concerned about the unintended harmful environmental impacts of the dredge, including the increased potential for storm-surge damage on Siesta Key in the event of a hurricane or powerful tropical storm.

“Siesta Key is vitally important to all of us who own and operate businesses on and off the island,” said Bankemper, who is the general manager and co-owner of the Best Western Plus — Siesta Key. 

The Army Corps said the Big Pass dredge will have no negative impacts on Siesta Key beaches or the navigability of the pass. The Army Corps’ final environmental impact assessment, which is based on a previous Sarasota County study, is due out sometime in May.

Bankemper, however, refuted the Army Corps’ findings, saying, “(dredging) has already been proven to have the ability to negatively impact the island.”

Patterson said Visit Sarasota County was considering enlisting Stephen Parker Leatherman, “Dr. Beach,” to review the Army’s plans.

“I want to hear from somebody other than the Army Corps,” Patterson said at Siesta Condominium Council meeting in January. “I want this peer-reviewed by someone without their wallets in the game.”

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected]