Collier commissioners to vote on letter of support for Tigertail restoration project

Collier County is getting behind a controversial project with a letter of support to dredge at the Tigertail Beach lagoon.

The project would restore the beach to what it was like before hurricane Irma.

Linda Ryan has watched the Tigertail lagoon change after years of storms shifting the sand, stopping the tidal flow.

Ryan is a board member for the Hideaway Beach Tax District. She says, “In addition, that sand is covering critical environmental resources, which include seagrasses on which the manatees feed.”

So the Hideaway Tax District and the City of Marco Island have a plan to restore the lagoon through dredging, but they need permits approved to do it.

That’s why Collier County Commissioners drafted this letter of support, which will be voted on Tuesday.

County Commissioner Penny Taylor, said, “At this point, this is the only way.”

“Part of our responsibility is to help nature so that we can preserve it,” added Commissioner Rick Locastro.

He said the letter is a step that comes after hard work and compromise. “Whether it’s a conservancy, or you know, Brad Cornell from the Audubon Society. All of those people have had a seat at the table.”

Cornell said the Audubon Western Everglades is fine with most of the project, except for a portion of dredging on Sand Dollar Island called a “Sand trap”

He explained, “We’ve been heard, but this one fatal flaw the sand trap remains. And so until they find the alternatives to the sand trap,  we’re opposed to the project. It does not make sense to have a restoration project for ecological benefits that destroys threatened bird habitat, where they nest and feed on the north end of Sand Dollar.”