The private property owners Gulf Coast Rod, Reel and Gun Club, and the GCA which manages the Pass property, filed this suit to protect the Pass from being filled in with dirt and closed completely, which would decimate an already storm-ravaged area and cause extreme hardship to restaurants, retail stores, bait shops, and other businesses relying on tourism, and homeowners trying to rebuild after the huge storm surge from Hurricane Ike. Ike was a Category 2 hurricane making landfall on the northeast end of Galveston Island, about 18 miles from Gilchrist, on September 13, 2008.