[3] The goal was to restore portions of the pastureland into a native wetland ecosystem to compensate for future expansion at Walt Disney World.

[5] The Disney Wilderness Preserve was formed from the Walker Ranch parcel and was officially established in April 1993.

The Walt Disney Company provided additional funds for landscape rehabilitation and wildlife monitoring.

[2][6] In 2014, Walt Disney World purchased a 3,000 acre failed resort development called Mira Lago.

Wet conditions were reintroduced to the former pastureland through the removal of invasive grasses, such as bahiagrass, using herbicide treatments and prescribed burns.

The National Audubon Society considers the Disney Wilderness Preserve an Important Bird Area.

Fish and Wildlife Service on an initiative to reintroduce the red-cockaded woodpecker to the longleaf pine habitat found in the Disney Wilderness Preserve.