WDW Magazine April 2021 | Page 40

worked for decades on the restoration and management of this land , implementing the land management and restoration solutions and working with partners .
As part of the restoration , the pre- European Everglades were recreated from the ground up . Never before had any group , private or public , rebuilt a part of nature from scratch . Disney and The Nature Conservancy ’ s recreation would become the gold star of restoration .
A GIFT FOR THE PLANET Disney donated the property to the Nature Conservancy , which — assisted by millions of Disney dollars — restored the land to its pre-EuroAmerican state . Gone are cow pastures ; instead , the land supports long-leaf pine , cypress , and saw palmetto . Instead of bulls , cows , and calves , the Nature Conservancy ’ s reintroducing breeding pairs of red-cockaded woodpeckers . Florida scrub jays — sweet birds found only in Florida and wildly endangered — thrive here . Wood storks nest here , taking advantage of freshwater pools to keep their chicks safe from snakes and raccoons . Controlled burns of midstory vegetation help the longleaf pine to recover and expand .
Disney removed man-made canals ; now , the limestone under the soil absorbs water like a chalky sponge , purifying it on its journey down to the Floridan aquifer , the source of our springs and drinking water in the Sunshine State . Those springs and rivers move water along its ancient route toward the sea , flowing over not poisoned land , but unfertilized loamy sand and soil touched by nothing more dangerous than dead leaves and felled branches .
The Disney Wilderness Preserve opened November 1 , 1999 , revealing part of the Everglades as it looked before Europeans arrived in Florida .
A WALK IN THE WOODS On that day that I led Ken and others on a 1-mile hike through The Disney Wilderness Preserve , we didn ’ t see a Florida panther ( not even 300 remain in the wild , but because wildlife biologists track the big cat , we know they are in the area that
ABOVE : Florida scrub jay at Disney Wilderness Preserve . © RALPH PACE - THE NATURE CONSERVANCY NEXT PAGE : Young longleaf pine at Disney Wilderness Preserve . © RALPH PACE - THE NATURE CONSERVANCY

worked for decades on the restoration and management of this land , implementing the land management and restoration solutions and working with partners .

As part of the restoration , the pre- European Everglades were recreated from the ground up . Never before had any group , private or public , rebuilt a part of nature from scratch . Disney and The Nature Conservancy ’ s recreation would become the gold star of restoration .

A GIFT FOR THE PLANET Disney donated the property to the Nature Conservancy , which — assisted by millions of Disney dollars — restored the land to its pre-EuroAmerican state . Gone are cow pastures ; instead , the land supports long-leaf pine , cypress , and saw palmetto . Instead of bulls , cows , and calves , the Nature Conservancy ’ s reintroducing breeding pairs of red-cockaded woodpeckers . Florida scrub jays — sweet birds found only in Florida and wildly endangered — thrive here . Wood storks nest here , taking advantage of freshwater pools to keep their chicks safe from snakes and raccoons . Controlled burns of midstory vegetation help the longleaf pine to recover and expand .

Disney removed man-made canals ; now , the limestone under the soil absorbs water like a chalky sponge , purifying it on its journey down to the Floridan aquifer , the source of our springs and drinking water in the Sunshine State . Those springs and rivers move water along its ancient route toward the sea , flowing over not poisoned land , but unfertilized loamy sand and soil touched by nothing more dangerous than dead leaves and felled branches .

The Disney Wilderness Preserve opened November 1 , 1999 , revealing part of the Everglades as it looked before Europeans arrived in Florida .

A WALK IN THE WOODS On that day that I led Ken and others on a 1-mile hike through The Disney Wilderness Preserve , we didn ’ t see a Florida panther ( not even 300 remain in the wild , but because wildlife biologists track the big cat , we know they are in the area that