Save Split Oak Forest

importance of Split oak Forest

Zebra longwing butterfly

Split Oak Forest is a conservation area on the border of East Orange and Osceola Counties. The area was purchased by the state in the early 1990's as a land and gopher tortoise mitigation to offset the construction of the Orange County Convention Center. It remains one of the most important habitats for native and endangered gopher tortoise.

The Forest is rich with biodiversity, with many endangered species such as the Florida Scrub Jay. The FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission) has maintained Split Oak for more than 30 years using taxpayer dollars.

The conservation area of Split Oak Forest has the strongest legal protections in the State. Eroding those protections as is being threatened with the construction of this toll road would set a legal precedent that could be detrimental not just to Split Oak, but to all conservation land at risk of development across the State.

TOLL ROAD THREAT

In 2018, the Central Florida Expressway Authority, backed by corporate interest groups, proposed placing a toll road through Split Oak Forest in order to save costs to their sprawling toll roads which will subsidize developers looking to convert thousands of acres on the east side of Central Florida. Despite private land owners offering to sell, the CFX Board has been working with Tavistock and other corporations to set aside tax-funded conservation land in Split Oak for free . Meanwhile, thos developers standing to greatly profit from this toll road will not have their impact fees increase to pay for the long term costs of these expenses to existing residents and will receive connectivity for their unsustainable and unaffordable mega-developments far outside the urban corridor.

If this toll road and the future developments go through, this will not only be an erosion of public conserved land and a strike to sensitive habitats, but an erosion of the ability of the public to trust in our state’s democracy.

The state has another option. To accept the money from those land owners willing to sell and avoid the bisection of Split Oak.

Central Florida Expressway Proposed routes through split oak

What is the split oak forest campaign?

The Save Split Oak Campaign is a volunteer driven grassroots initiative developed to organize residents who want to see the forest protected in perpetuity, the corruption exposed in our political system and to see environmental champions elected in the area.

VOLUNTEER today!

aDVOCACY

The Split Oak Forest is home to hundreds of threatened species in need of protection from the Central Florida Expressway Toll Road threatening to expand through the middle of this important forest. This campaign is a grassroots initiative expanding the reach to voters throughout Orange County to spread awareness on the upcoming election.

education

Endangered keystone species like the gopher tortoise, Florida Scrub Jay, Florida Panther, and Sand Hill cranes are all located on site. This toll road to nowhere will kill many animals and damage vital ecosystems that sequester carbon form the air and purify our water systems. These incredible animals are all in danger of being extinct, and future generations could never witness their beauty.

organizing

The legislation protecting Split Oak Forest is some of the most strict in the state and yet, it is being disassembled by greedy politicians, corporations, and misinformation. By weakening the rules protecting Split Oak Forest, corporate interests and developers can then open the floodgates and weaken other protections across the state.

in 2020, orange county voters put defending split oak on the ballot and won!

November 2020, residents of Central Florida had the choice to protect this forest in perpetuity by voting YES on Amendment 2. They voted by more than 86% of the vote to affirm the existing protections of this sensitive conservation area. However, FWC, Orange and Osceola County have continued talks with the Central Florida Expressway authority to pursue the destructive toll road through Split Oak Forest and we are continuing to organize around this issue. If these protection, some of the strongest legal protections in the state, are erroded, it will set a precedent for future legal fights along other conservation areas around the State of Florida. Ultimately, this fight is needed to protect all conservation lands in the entire State!
Help us save the lives of thousands of animal species that call this forest home by donating to Friends of Split Oak Forest so they can retain legal council and take action in court!

Volunteer Photo Gallery

This gallery is a collection of many volunteers' photos from within Split Oak Forest including Danny Gooding who can be followed on social media @dannygoodding. Please support these incredible artists!