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Expert Review of Disney Wilderness Preserve

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Parks and Outdoors Review of Disney Wilderness Preserve

Away Travel Expert: Mike Sigalas

ParksExpert Rating Recommended for:
Birding,Day Hiking,Sustainable Travel

Parks and OutdoorsExpert Tips & Helpful Hints

• Previously, this land served as a cattle ranch. The creation of the ranch caused considerable damage to the ecosystems downstream. When urban developers began eyeing the land in the late 1980s, conservationists acted quickly—engaging the Disney corporation in the process—to prevent an environmental catastrophe that would have scarred the face of South Florida.
• The preserve’s hiking trail leaves from the Conservation Learning Center and leads you out to Lake Russell, and the rarity of rarities: an undeveloped lake in central Florida! If you’d like to see more, continue past the lake and complete the 2.5 miles-long loop which ultimately leads you back to the Conservation Learning Center.
• Keep an eye out for the Red-cockaded woodpecker, a native bird reintroduced here in Fall 2006. As of June 2008 the endangered species seemed to be successfully settling into Disney's restored long-leaf pine habitat.