text: Longboat Pass Study, Manatee County, FL
  The Longboat Pass study was conducted under a cooperative effort between the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Longboat Pass is a tidal inlet connecting the north part of Big Sarasota Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. The inlet is part of a large multi-inlet bay system, where a series of barrier islands separated by several tidal inlets connect the Gulf of Mexico to the large and shallow bay areas of Little Sarasota Bay and Big Sarasota Bay. Longboat Pass Pass is located between Anna Maria Island to the north and Longboat Key south.
  Shoreline positions at north Longboat Key
  Calculated and measured volumes for north Longboat Key
  The technical approach included a regional model for Sarasota and Tampa bays to provide input and boundary conditions for the Management Study for Longboat Pass. The Longboat Pass study provided analysis of the inlet evolution from 1880’s to present including:
  • conditions describing how the system naturally evolved prior to any dredging or inlet modifications;
  • effects of jetty construction and inlet dredging to describe ongoing processes, and,
  • potential alternative inlet management strategies to reduce inlet impacts and provide a basis for management policy decisions.