Preserve Split Oak

The Facts About Split Oak Forest and the Osceola Parkway Extension

Preserving Split Oak and Expanding Central Florida’s Wildlife Conservation Areas

The Time is Now to Conserve Our Natural Environment.

Roadway planning and approvals take decades. The Osceola Parkway Extension has been planned since 2005. The approved route is the result of 15+ years of interagency work and compromise. Florida continues to lead the nation in growth. Central Florida adds 1,500 people each week and the land near the proposed Osceola Parkway extension is continuing to develop, with new homes already under construction. This is a rare opportunity to develop an essential regional roadway prior to development, while enhancing and protecting our natural environment and animal species.

If the approved route does not move forward, the 1,550-acre conservation lands will not be donated and will ultimately be developed into more than 3 million square feet of heavy industrial and commercial development adjacent to conservation.

“Split Oak highway compromise is about as good as it’ll get — take the deal.”

— Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 11/21/19

The approved route for the Osceola Parkway Extension, known as the Split Oak Minimization Alternative, is a win- win for Central Florida’s wildlife conservation area because it provides:

**Significant expansion of regional conservation lands: 1,550 new acres of conservation area**

**Creation of new, contiguous wildlife corridors that create a massive regional greenway that is home to thousands of animal species, protecting vital ecosystems, indigenous and endangered species**

**Rare opportunity to build a *required* regional roadway and evacuation corridor PRIOR to development and protect treasured conservation areas**

**Elimination of massive heavy industrial and commercial development plans adjacent to our region’s natural environment**

**Protection of existing and future homes and private property**