OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A woman passionate about keeping any future developments out of Split Oak Forest plans to sue the Florida Communities Trust (FCT).

President of the nonprofit Friends of Split Oak Forest, Valerie Anderson, argues the FCT is not acting in its powers granted by the state legislature to conserve and protect natural resources. The FCT recently approved Orange and Osceola County’s request to put a toll road through part of Split Oak Forest.

The project’s supporters have argued state statute allows conservation easements to be amended when competing public interests arise. They also point to a plan to donate over 1,500 acres of nearby land for conservation efforts.

“Mitigation, or this idea of, ‘We’ll just protect this thing over there,’ Split Oak was the place over there that was supposed to be protected and now it’s not protected anymore,” Anderson argued. “And so not only is it bad governance, it’s completely unethical.”

Split Oak Forest is an area of protected conservation land, which is home to several keystone species, including the gopher tortoise. 

Anderson says she’s covered about 60 percent of legal costs from her own pocket so far and her nonprofit has picked up some of the other costs.