On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, our founder and executive director Amber Lea Kincaid spoke during the public comment period at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Meeting. The issue on the agenda was whether to accept FWC staff recommendations regarding a proposed toll road through the southern portion of Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area. Split Oak is a 1,689-acre conservation area co-owned by Orange and Osceola Counties. The FWC manages Split Oak under a perpetual conservation easement on the area, designed to protect wildlife like the endangered gopher tortoise. This area was designated as gopher tortoise and wetlands mitigation land to offset damage to nearby areas from development.
Now the Central Florida Expressway (CFX) has proposed the Osceola Parkway Extension, a toll road through Split Oak to support infrastructure demands from planned development around the area. This would require the release of 160 acres of the Split Oak easement, and it would directly impact 60 acres of habitat. The CFX is offering 1,550 acres of mitigation land and $43 million for restoration and management. As several of the FWC commissioners (all of whom were appointed and not elected, none of whom have any environmental or science background, and most of whom have financial interests in development companies) said, on paper, this looks like a great deal. Unfortunately, it is almost certainly not as good a deal as it seems. There are several problems with this proposal, including the poor quality of the proposed mitigation land, which has a 300-foot wide canal running through it, and the changes in how Split Oak would be managed (e.g., instead of using controlled burns on the southern portion, they would have to use mechanical and possibly chemical means of plant management).
Photo: FWC
Here's where animal behavior comes into play: Amber Lea spoke about habitat fragmentation, which has been studied in part with animal behavior. Habitat fragmentation is just what it sounds like: habitat is split up into fragments. In the case of Split Oak, the forest would be bisected into a northern and southern portion, with the southern portion being relatively small at only about 100 acres. This essentially creates two separate habitats, and adds new edge habitat on either side of the road. Edge habitat is more dangerous for prey species, causes roadkill, and even changes the microclimate of the area. Habitat fragmentation causes a decrease in biodiversity, and the negative effects may not be seen for a decade or more - far too late to undo the damage. Studies on the endangered Florida scrub-jay have found that they have to fly farther to find mates and territories when their habitat is fragmented, and they have a lower chance of successful breeding.
Even though 39 of the 40 people who spoke during the public comment period were opposed to releasing the conservation easement, the FWC commissioners vote 6-1 to accept staff recommendations for direction from the board to move forward. The fight is long from over, and we hope we can contribute more to the understanding of how the habitat fragmentation caused by this toll road is not worth the donated land and money.
To learn more about this issue, go to www.savesplitoak.org.
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