55: Clean Water

Disney Wilderness Preserve, Poinciana, Florida

 

P O I N C I A N A,  F L

The United States’ Clean Water Act contains regulations to protect the country’s wetlands.  A unique feature of this act allows for tradeoffs - companies who wanted to develop wetlands can do so but only if they correspondingly lock up in conservation easement equal acreage elsewhere.  In 1992, Disney did just that.  Their tradeoff was the 8,500 acre Walker cattle ranch twenty five miles south of the Magic Kingdom.  Pressure had been growing to convert the ranch’s prime location into a housing development, but Disney’s actions drove the property in another direction. 

In a similar way, when the Orlando airport wanted to expand their operations in the 1995 it too took advantage of the tradeoff option offered by the Clean Water Act tacking another 3,000 acres onto Disney’s property.  This now pristine 11,000 acre oasis is managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as the Disney Wilderness Preserve in Poinciana, Florida. 

The clean water that’s now protected by TNC here is part of the headwaters flowing ultimately into the Everglades.  The preserve’s main trail embraces this fact, leading me past a few quiet marshes and to the shore of Lake Russell.  At the second marsh, my recent enrollment in Virginia Master Naturalist training begins paying dividends.  I approach the marsh as noiselessly as possible and immediately spot a Blue Heron amid similarly-colored reeds - its beak shape gives it away.  We both stand completely motionless for several minutes, I observing the heron; the heron awaiting a meal. 

At Lake Russell, warning signs are aplenty – venomous snakes and hidden alligators are a threat.  I’m certain the signs are an over-abundance of caution; still though, I tread more lightly the closer I get to the water.   The lake brings the first measurable scale to the abundance of nature found at this preserve.  The entire shoreline is visible, yet not a hint of humanity is.  This lake is completely pristine. 

Shortly after leaving Lake Russell, the more-hearty-hiker trail, blazed in yellow, heads southeast toward the center of this enormous preserve.  At 11,000 acres, it’s out of scale with what I’m used to at other preserves along the east coast, and not what I was expecting here in Florida – a state famous for its crowding.  The wide open space feels wonderful, as does the perfect weather.  After a season of cold and gray up north, this early-spring bright warm day in the sunshine state is welcomed relief and brings a surge of energy. 

I’m trekking through what has now become a familiar ecosystem – Longleaf pine savanna.  I’ve experienced this environment twice in Virginia, twice in North Carolina, and now again here in Florida.  Its mix of widely spaced pines, open canopy, and knee-high undergrowth make for an enchanting stroll.  And here in this part of the south, that undergrowth is dominated by the iconic saw palmetto - a resilient plant with oily leaves and deep roots able to bounce back quickly from fire. 

The trail weaves among the palmettos, around tall trees and ephemeral ponds with no sign of humanity in sight, and seemingly toward no final destination.  With limited time, I’ll not find out; I turn and head back from where I came.  Past Lake Russell again, past the same Blue Heron which still hasn’t moved, and back to the visitor’s center where I engage in a half hour chat with the docent. 

Our chat confirms that the warning signs weren’t necessarily an over-abundance of caution.  She has plenty of alligator and rattlesnake stories, and a panther story too.   She fills me in on more details regarding Disney’s involvement in this property.  Yes, acquiring the Walker ranch was profit driven, but Disney has been very cooperative and supportive of environmental concerns and TNC’s mission with the property.  Frankly, the Disney Wilderness Preserve is a poster-child for exactly how the Clean Water Act benefits our country. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT TNC’S WORK AT DISNEY HERE.