<\/p>\n
A wooded region west of UCF’s softball field was sectioned off as crews began preparing for clearcutting on April 20.<\/p>\n
Joseph Wiedeman<\/p>\n
Subtle changes to UCF’s campus master zoning plan greenlit the land clearing of more than 200 yards of trees near the Arboretum just four days before Earth Day.<\/p>\n
The university’s\u00a02020-30 campus master plan<\/a>\u00a0features an area called “upland conservation,” which covers the entire area west of the softball field. However, in the\u00a02025-35 campus master plan<\/a>,\u00a0the category is absent entirely, with the conservation designation removed.<\/p>\n The changes to the plan and the consequent land clearing sparked concern on social platforms like Reddit<\/a>, as students voiced their disapproval of the ongoing removal.<\/p>\n Amanda Keller, senior speech therapy major,\u00a0was cleaning up trash on campus with some friends just down the block from the plot removal. She said she sees protecting the environment as protecting one’s home.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think we take into consideration the little bit of environment we have left,\u201d Keller said. \u201cSome people may think ‘Oh it’s just a couple of trees, why does it matter?’ Saving even that part of wildlife is a big deal because it is not small; it is a big ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n In the 2025 plan, the upland conservation category has been consolidated with\u00a0\u201cRecreation and Open Space \u2013 Developed\/Natural Preserve.” In the 2020 master plan, the upland conservation zone is categorized under the same areas as nature trails, wetlands, preservation zones, and lakes in Figure 4.0-5 “open space.”<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Jennifer Elliott, UCF\u2019s director of the Arboretum and its sustainability initiatives, was consulted for this round of rezoning<\/a> in 2024. When asked about the consultation, she declined to comment.<\/p>\n In a brief email exchange,\u00a0Michelle Laxer, facilities and business operations communications manager,\u00a0stated that this parcel of land was changed from \u201cMixed Use\u201d to \u201cRecreation and Open Space \u2013 Natural Preserve\u201d and that the university is doing it to better protect the land south of the softball field, which she stated in the email was higher in biodiversity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUCF Facilities and Business Operations is preparing a wooded lot west of the softball stadium for an upcoming construction project that will establish a grass lot,\u201d Laxer said in the email. \u201cThe (upland conservation) designation was consolidated with the ‘Recreation and Open Space – Natural Preserve’ designation in the 2025 update.\u201d<\/p>\n The region being clear-cut was not given that designation; instead being changed to “Recreation and Open Space – Developed,” removing its conservation status and allowing the trees to be cut down along with any threatened species in the area to be removed.\u00a0<\/p>\n The differences between the 2020-2030 campus master zoning plan (top) and the 2025-2035 campus master zoning plan (bottom), including the consolidation of the ‘upland conservation’ category. This will allow UCF to clearcut 200 yards of trees.<\/p>\n Joseph Wiedeman<\/p>\n The 2020 plan featured a survey map of gopher tortoise burrows found on campus, showing that 29 potential gopher tortoise burrows resided in the rezoned region set for deforestation as of April 2019. No updated survey of potential habitats for the state-threatened species<\/a> was featured in the 2025 plan.<\/p>\n Margot Winick, UCF\u2019s director of media relations, said in an email that UCF coordinated the \u201cpermitted\u201d relocation of the gopher tortoise in the area prior to construction, but that the area of concern is neither a protected wetland nor part of the UCF Arboretum. Instead, it is designated for development.<\/p>\n \u201cUCF Facilities and Business Operations is preparing a wooded lot west of the softball stadium for an upcoming construction project that will establish a grass lot,\u201d Winick said. “The site has been designated as developable land under UCF’s master plan, and it is not a protected wetland or conservation land.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n