In 1896 the Audubon Park Association was created to manage Audubon Park. In 1914 the Audubon Park Commission was created and became the new managers of Audubon Park. The Audubon Commssion was responsible for Audubon Park as well as the Audubon Zoological Gardens. In 1988 the Commission opted to maintain an oversight role over Audubon while granting the Audubon Institute authority to manage the park and zoo in a public-private partnership. In 1996 the Commission was renamed to the Audubon Commission.
Originally a fund-raising organization for the Audubon Commission, in 1988 the Audubon Institute took over most management responsibilities of the Commission in a public-private partnership. In 2001 the Institute became the Audubon Nature Institute. The Audubon Nature Institute oversees the Aquarium of the Americas, Audubon Indsectarium, Audubon Park, Audubon Zoo, the Louisiana Nature Center, and other Audubon properties.