EDITOR:

I am glad to see you are interested in Stump Pass and Lemon Bay. Unfortunately, it is impossible to maintain the pass flow simply because of the redirected flow in Lemon Bay from the digging of the ICW in the mid-1960s. Just look at an aerial photo taken during any extreme low tide and our problem is clear: The Army Corps of Engineers dammed the natural flows and channels. I realize this can not be undone, but we could simply redirect a more natural flow inside to flush the pass naturally. It would require some spoil removal between Cedar Point and Stump Pass. Also we need to restore as much flow as we can along the ICW between the Tom Adams Bridge and Rag and Ski Alleys. Beach refurbishment is as big a problem as solution. It kills all the critters naturally thriving in our surf! Sand fleas, coquinas, minnows, etc. are food for fish. You can’t fix or even maintain the pass and Ski Alley without restoring some of the natural flows. You might want to consider that the mess we have made of Lemon Bay and Stump Pass has a big effect on our fish stocks, habits and of course fishing. Our water quality and fishing are Englewood’s economy! Without fishing we are not viable. Please help us fix this problem, not just band-aid it wasting monies and efforts.