Despite hearing 60+ commenters opposing and a handful supporting the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) releasing their conservation easements on Split Oak and several commissioners admitting to having less than a week of prior knowledge of the existence of Split Oak or the issue at hand, FWC commissioners decided to consider releasing their conservation easements on the grounds that the additional land might provide a net environmental benefit.

“Split Oak isn’t complicated. It’s about whether lying is OK”

Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel Editorial, 12/6

We all arrived before 9:30, some of us before 8 to sign up to speak. We ran comments for an hour and sixteen minutes at a one minute time limit per person even with Chair Baretto disallowing time donation.

We waited all morning and through the lunch break to speak, after an anemic and nearly-informative presentation by Melissa Tucker to end Part 1 below. Public comment on Split Oak begins in Part 1.

Thank you to our many Friends of Spit Oak members that attended and spoke, some traveling from out of town to do so.

Our partners really showed up for us Tuesday, with excellent, painstakingly condensed speeches by Sarah Gledhill for the Florida Wildlife Federation, Kay Hudson, for the League of Women Voters of Florida, William Turman for the Florida Trail Association, Kelly Semrad of Save Orange County, Frank Weaver of Alianza Center, Katrina Shadix of Bear Warriors United, Gretchen Hoke of Rain Frog Ranch, and Jay Exum for the Florida Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

The Gopher Tortoise Council, Florida Native Plant Society, and Defenders of Wildlife wrote letters of support prior to the meeting, you can read these and others at here.

Please consider the above organizations as you think of your end-of-the year giving; many of them also offer memberships you can gift to family and friends.

Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson and an aid to Commissioner Emily Bonilla spoke at the meeting opposing the proposed easement releases. Representative Anna Eskamani wrote a letter opposing them as well.

The final FWC decision on Split Oak will likely be at the next FWC board meeting, a two day affair (we don't know which one), on Feb 21-22 on the FSU campus in Tallahassee. If you can, please take the time off. We will be arranging accommodations and transportation for those that want to travel as a group.

We'll have a quick debrief and next steps meeting tonight (Thursday 12/7) at 17:15 - don't worry if you can't make it, I'll record and take good notes.

Media coverage was largely accurate, the best coverage was by Molly Duerig on WMFE, Steve Hudak’s piece in the Orlando Sentinel yesterday was really quite good, Click Orlando’s reporting was concise but accurate, Katie Streit’s segment on Spectrum News 13 was good, WESH was fine, whereas WFTV described our 60 people as “dozens”.

We are, of course, displeased with the outcome of yesterday’s vote, but we’re dedicated to fighting for our forest.