Prior to 1984 Little Sarasota Bay was open to the Gulf of Mexico. The opening formed a “saltwater doorway” which separated the barrier islands of Casey Key and Siesta Key. It was known as Midnight Pass and it allowed fresh water to flow freely into Little Sarasota Bay, flushing out debris and maintaining a healthy ecosystem with clean blue waters.

Unfortunately, Midnight Pass was closed off by human intervention in 1984, when the Army Corp of Engineers formed the Intracoastal Waterways, sealing off Little Sarasota Bay from the Gulf. Since that time there has been a longstanding controversy over this small strip of land, particularly regarding the devastating effects it has had on the local ecosystem.

With last years hurricanes, Midnight Pass has reopened. Over the coming months we will monitor water quality, install long-term protections for Little Sarasota Bay and push the county to finish the job with dredging the North and South channels.

Midnight Pass was once a strong, stable, and naturally formed inlet dating back hundreds of years. In the 1840s, charts of the region show “Buccaneers Pass” separating Siesta and Casey Keys, later renamed Midnight Pass. In the early 1920s a hurricane ripped up the bayfront, reshaping the contour of the coastline, but the Pass endured.

One of the recurring themes in the Midnight Pass tale is the inlet’s movement. Those historical charts show the “wild, migrating” pass moving north or south across a three-mile stretch of coastline during the past 100 years.

The deepening of the IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW) in the early 1960’s, and especially the improper depositing of more than 200,000 cubic yards of sandy spoil material, had a major impact on the equilibrium of Midnight Pass. As the northern channel began to shoal in, Midnight Pass started to migrate North. The Southern channel handled the majority of the waterflow, trying to do the job of two channels, and eventually trees fell into navigable waters and were left there, further adding to shoaling problems.

In the mid 1970’s, a petition effort addressed the issue… but was ignored. In 1980, Sarasota County acquired lands in the area specifically to allow for the relocation and stabilization of Midnight Pass … but again, nothing was done.

The issue was controversial among locals as “experts” had an opinion on what should or should not have been done to the inlet. On Dec. 5, 1983, the pass was finally closed by two Siesta Key beachfront residents to protect their Gulf Front homes from destruction due to erosion when the inlet migrated northward. They promised to safely re-establish it farther to the south.

Syd Solomon and Pasco Carter Jr., both now deceased, financed several failed attempts to dredge open an inlet, then pleaded financial hardship to the Sarasota County Commission and asked for relief. Sympathetic commissioners let them off the hook, and nothing was done to reopen that major channel.

Since Midnight Pass was plugged, elected officials and those paid to protect our environment refused to take the necessary steps to save little Sarasota Bay. There have been multiple attempts, both within and outside the legal system, none of which have resulted in any change. A group of pass-opening proponents banded together in 1985, and the Midnight Pass Society began a shovel brigade that briefly did open the pass before government officials bulldozed the tiny waterway closed again.

In September 2024 Hurricane Helene opened it back up but it close shortly after.   In October 2024, Hurricane Milton opened it again this time, widing it and deepening it which allowed it to stay open.