Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge was established on October 27, 2000 as the 526th refuge in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located near the town of St. Francisville, Louisiana

St. Francisville, Louisiana

St. Francisville is a town in and the parish seat of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,712 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:St...

, which is 30 miles (48.3 km) north of Baton Rouge. The refuge was established to conserve, restore, and manage native forested wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

 habitats for migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 birds, aquatic resources, and endangered and threatened plants and animals. Additionally, it was created to encourage the use of volunteers and facilitate partnerships among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, local communities, and conservation organizations to promote public awareness of resources of the refuge and the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Establishment

In 2000, The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana purchased the land that would become Cat Island NWR. The land was acquired by the Fish and Wildlife Service in stages. In 2003, the refuge size increased to its current size of 9623 acres (38.9 km²). The congressionally approved acquisition boundary is 36500 acres (147.7 km²).

Natural history

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge is along the southern-most portion of the lower Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, which does not have levees. It floods in most years. The refuge is home to many fish, wildlife and plant resources. The forested wetlands of the refuge are home to the federally listed Louisiana black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

. The Mississippi River is a major bird migration corridor: the refuge is located within an area of high importance for neotropical migratory birds, including the swallow-tailed kite

Swallow-tailed Kite

The Swallow-tailed Kite is an elanid kite which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. Most North and Central American breeders winter in South America where the species is resident year round...

, which is a species of special concern. Other wildlife found in the area include white-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

, bobcat

Bobcat

The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...

, mink

Mink

There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...

, river otter, wild turkey

Wild Turkey

The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...

, black-crowned night-heron, wood duck

Wood Duck

The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...

, blue-winged teal

Blue-winged Teal

The Blue-winged Teal is a small dabbling duck from North America.-Description:The Blue-winged Teal is long, with a wingspan of , and a weight of . The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult...

, woodcock

Woodcock

The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...

, solitary sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

The Solitary Sandpiper is a small wader .-Description:This species measures long, with a wingspan up to and a body mass of . It is a dumpy wader with a dark green back, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. It is obvious in flight, with wings dark above and below, and a dark...

, greater yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

The Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, is a large North American shorebird, similar in appearance to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the Greenshank, which together with the Spotted Redshank form a close-knit group...

, prothonotary warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

The Prothonotary Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria....

, northern parula

Northern Parula

The Northern Parula, Parula americana, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida....

, pileated woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

The Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker, almost crow-sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is also the largest woodpecker in America.Adults are long, and weigh...

, green treefrog, and red-eared slider

Red-eared slider

The red-eared slider is a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is a subspecies of pond slider. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States and also popular in the rest of the world...

.

Several habitat types including overcup oak

Overcup Oak

Quercus lyrata is an oak in the white oak group . It is native to lowland wetlands in the southeastern United States, from Delaware and southern Illinois south to northern Florida and southeast Texas....

-bitter pecan, hackberry-elm

Elm

Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...

-ash

Ash tree

Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...

, nuttall oak-ash-sweetgum, and shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

-scrub swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

 occur on the refuge. The most unique type is old growth baldcypress-tupelo. Many of the baldcypress trees are estimated to be 500 to 1,000 years old. The National Champion baldcypress, which is the largest tree of any species east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, is found in the refuge. The National Champion baldcypress tree is located 4.8 miles (7.7 km) from the entrance gate of the refuge.

Access

The refuge is inundated by the river to varying degrees, generally between January and June. The refuge is accessible by vehicle when the Mississippi River gauge reading in Baton Rouge is less than about 26'. A series of gates have been installed along the road, which allow access as the Mississippi River rises and falls. No access to the National Champion baldcypress tree is available once the Mississippi River gauge in Baton Rouge reaches 26'. All vehicular access to the refuge ends at 31'.