About the Save Split Oak Forest Campaign
The Save Split Oak Campaign is led by a coalition of volunteers working diligently to uphold the conservation area protections to Protect the Split Oak Forest Forever! Valerie Anderson is the President of the non-profit, Friends of Split Oak Forest, which is not affiliated to the Save Split Oak campaign, but she serves as a lead volunteer and an advocacy adviser. Lee Perry is a Climate Activist and volunteer campaign strategist organizing the development of the Save Split Oak Campaign. This movement is not funded by private interests. It is supported in a grassroots, volunteer-led way.
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What is at risk if we lost the split oak fight
Ecological Concerns:
Split Oak Forest is one of the most sensitive habitats in Orange + Osceola County and hosts so many diverse species that it is one oft he most biodiverse areas in the COUNTRY. It has thousands of species, many of which are endemic and found no where else in the world. Hundreds of species are at risk of being pushed out of their natural habitats and many others will die. Split Oak is home to animals like the endangered gopher tortoises, many of which were brought in as mitigation from other developments. In other words, were relocated from other now-developed lands only to be moved again or paved over for this toll road to occur.
Gopher tortoises can survive for up to nine months underground. Imagine being buried under a road for nine months, slowly suffocating to death. This is why need to protect this forest. No living being deserves that level of cruelty. Other endemic species, like the Florida Scrub Jay, are extremely threatened and need this vital habitat to bring their population back to a healthy number. You can help save these animals by contributing to this mission and helping our campaign get the reach and audience it deserves.
Legal + Political Concerns:
There have been so many laws infringed upon and the fight to protect this forest has been one paved on lies. This is because the private interest groups like the developers and profit seeking corporations are paying major campaign contributions that have eroded the integrity of our political system. Split Oak Forest is one of the most legally protected conservation areas in the State of Florida. If this case moves forward and the protections are eroded, it will set a legal precedent that could allow for a legal pathway for future conservation lands throughout the state to also be at risk. This fight is bigger than just Split Oak Forest.
The entire future of conserving land in the state of Florida is at risk in our case. We must win.
Help everyone in Orange County understand what is at risk if we allow the Central Florida Expressway Authority to use Split Oak as its stomping ground for a new toll road. We do not need more roads to no where. We need to protect the shrinking number of wildlife areas we have left.
Split Oak Forest is one of the most sensitive habitats in Orange + Osceola County and hosts so many diverse species that it is one oft he most biodiverse areas in the COUNTRY. It has thousands of species, many of which are endemic and found no where else in the world. Hundreds of species are at risk of being pushed out of their natural habitats and many others will die. Split Oak is home to animals like the endangered gopher tortoises, many of which were brought in as mitigation from other developments. In other words, were relocated from other now-developed lands only to be moved again or paved over for this toll road to occur.
Gopher tortoises can survive for up to nine months underground. Imagine being buried under a road for nine months, slowly suffocating to death. This is why need to protect this forest. No living being deserves that level of cruelty. Other endemic species, like the Florida Scrub Jay, are extremely threatened and need this vital habitat to bring their population back to a healthy number. You can help save these animals by contributing to this mission and helping our campaign get the reach and audience it deserves.
Legal + Political Concerns:
There have been so many laws infringed upon and the fight to protect this forest has been one paved on lies. This is because the private interest groups like the developers and profit seeking corporations are paying major campaign contributions that have eroded the integrity of our political system. Split Oak Forest is one of the most legally protected conservation areas in the State of Florida. If this case moves forward and the protections are eroded, it will set a legal precedent that could allow for a legal pathway for future conservation lands throughout the state to also be at risk. This fight is bigger than just Split Oak Forest.
The entire future of conserving land in the state of Florida is at risk in our case. We must win.
Help everyone in Orange County understand what is at risk if we allow the Central Florida Expressway Authority to use Split Oak as its stomping ground for a new toll road. We do not need more roads to no where. We need to protect the shrinking number of wildlife areas we have left.
2020 orange county charter amendment
Since the 2020 amendment vote to enshrine protections for Split Oak Forest within the Orange County Charter, the team has been organizing fundraising opportunities and educational advocacy events in order to retain legal council and continue to spread the word about the threats of a toll road endangering the biodiversity of this conservation area.
In 2023, Commissioner Bonilla moved for a vote at the Orange County Board of County Commission meeting on November 28th 2023 and successfully secured the vote of all commissioners (Accept Commissioner Christine Moore) and Mayor Demings to stop the cooperation and participation of negotiations to progress the toll road with the Central Florida Expressway Authority.
However, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is the government agency that manages Split Oak. It also holds a conservation easement in the Osceola County portion of Split Oak and is a party to the Grant Award Agreement with Orange and Osceola Counties to the Florida Communities Trust (FCT). At their Board Meeting December 5th at 8:30 am, FWC will be considering releasing their easement and delegating further decisions regarding Split Oak to the Executive Director, currently Roger Young.
Currently, the volunteers of Save Split Oak are collaborating on future efforts to push for the CFL Expressway Board to find an alternative route which will not encroach on this conservation area nor erode the legal protections needed to affirm future efforts to protect this and other conservation lands in the future throughout the State.
In 2023, Commissioner Bonilla moved for a vote at the Orange County Board of County Commission meeting on November 28th 2023 and successfully secured the vote of all commissioners (Accept Commissioner Christine Moore) and Mayor Demings to stop the cooperation and participation of negotiations to progress the toll road with the Central Florida Expressway Authority.
However, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is the government agency that manages Split Oak. It also holds a conservation easement in the Osceola County portion of Split Oak and is a party to the Grant Award Agreement with Orange and Osceola Counties to the Florida Communities Trust (FCT). At their Board Meeting December 5th at 8:30 am, FWC will be considering releasing their easement and delegating further decisions regarding Split Oak to the Executive Director, currently Roger Young.
Currently, the volunteers of Save Split Oak are collaborating on future efforts to push for the CFL Expressway Board to find an alternative route which will not encroach on this conservation area nor erode the legal protections needed to affirm future efforts to protect this and other conservation lands in the future throughout the State.
About the Save Split Oak Campaign in 2020
On November 3rd, 2020, Orange County Voters will have the opportunity to vote on Amendment 2, in favor of the conservation and continuation of protections to Save The Split Oak Forest from a Central Florida Expressway toll road to nowhere directly through this important wildlife conservation area.
The Osceola Parkway Extension will bisect the southern part of Split Oak Forest, a nature preserve home to more than 700 species. The parkway was set to proceed after a series of board approvals from Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), Osceola County and Orange County in December 2019. But now, after District 5 Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla asked her fellow commissioners to rescind the vote from the December board meeting, citing a misleading administrative code by CFX, plans for the extension may be put on hold.
Your vote matters now, more than ever! Please contribute to this campaign so further awareness can be spread on this issue and vote YES on Amendment 2 in November 2020!
The Osceola Parkway Extension will bisect the southern part of Split Oak Forest, a nature preserve home to more than 700 species. The parkway was set to proceed after a series of board approvals from Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), Osceola County and Orange County in December 2019. But now, after District 5 Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla asked her fellow commissioners to rescind the vote from the December board meeting, citing a misleading administrative code by CFX, plans for the extension may be put on hold.
Your vote matters now, more than ever! Please contribute to this campaign so further awareness can be spread on this issue and vote YES on Amendment 2 in November 2020!
2020 AMENDMENT Verbiage
Vote Yes on Amendment 2
PROTECTING SPLIT OAK FOREST BY RESTRICTING BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS’ AMENDMENT OF RESTRICTIONS AND COVENANTS - Amending the charter by providing charter protections for Split Oak Forest by restricting the Board of County Commissioners’ ability to amend, modify, or revoke the current restrictions and covenants running with the land, which limit the use of Split Oak Forest, in whole or in part, to conservation and the protection of its wildlife, vegetation, and environment as set forth in current agreements and restrictive covenants; and providing exceptions as provided by law.
PROTECTING SPLIT OAK FOREST BY RESTRICTING BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS’ AMENDMENT OF RESTRICTIONS AND COVENANTS - Amending the charter by providing charter protections for Split Oak Forest by restricting the Board of County Commissioners’ ability to amend, modify, or revoke the current restrictions and covenants running with the land, which limit the use of Split Oak Forest, in whole or in part, to conservation and the protection of its wildlife, vegetation, and environment as set forth in current agreements and restrictive covenants; and providing exceptions as provided by law.