Marco Island lagoon dredging impacts beach shortcut

MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — Marco Island residents who used Tigertail Lagoon as a shortcut to Tigertail Beach, may find that more difficult now. The city dredged the lagoon in February to help with water flow, making it deeper and harder to wade across, and officials say the crossing was never meant to be a path to the water in the first place.

Resident John Sidelko said he has seen many neighbors cut across the lagoon to reach the beach.

"I've never personally done it, but I've seen a lot of people walk across," Sidelko said.

Questions about the deeper water began surfacing on Facebook among residents. City engineer Mohamed Dabees explained the purpose of the dredging project.

"This channel is meant to maintain the flushing at the dead end of the lagoon," Dabees said.

Dabees worked on the project to restore the ecosystem after Hurricane Ian destroyed it in 2022. The point of the project was to create a barrier between these sensitive ecosystems and crashing waves. He said the February dredging represents a small portion of the overall restoration effort.

"It's roughly 1 to 5 percent of the actual project," Dabees said.

The lagoon is a critical wildlife area, and Dabees said foot traffic poses a threat to its recovery.

"Wading across and having a lot of traffic on environmentally sensitive grounds are not going to thrive or reestablish if we have a lot of foot traffic on them," Dabees said.

Dabees added that maintenance needs will vary from year to year depending on storm activity.

For Sidelko, the longer walk to the beach is a worthwhile trade-off.

"To protect this, and increase the ability for the birds to nest here is very important," Sidelko said.

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