Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Map of the United States
Location	West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States
Nearest city	St. Francisville, Louisiana
Coordinates	30°47′30″N 91°29′30″W / 30.79167°N 91.49167°W / 30.79167; -91.49167Coordinates: 30°47′30″N 91°29′30″W / 30.79167°N 91.49167°W / 30.79167; -91.49167
Area	9,623 acres (38.9 km²)
Established	2000
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge

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, which is 30 miles (48 km) north of Baton Rouge. The refuge was established to conserve, restore, and manage native forested wetland habitats for migratory 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 National Wildlife Refuge. The land was acquired by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in stages. In 2003, the refuge grew to its current size of 9,623 acres (38.9 km²). The congressionally approved acquisition boundary is 36,500 acres (148 km²).

Natural history

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge is along the southernmost portion of the lower Mississippi River, which does not have levees. It experiences floods most years. The refuge is home to many species, including the federally listed Louisiana black bear. The Mississippi River is a major bird migration corridor; it is located within an area of high importance for neotropical migratory birds, including the swallow-tailed kite, which is a species of special concern. Other wildlife found in the area include white-tailed deer, bobcat, mink, river otter, wild turkey, black-crowned night-heron, wood duck, blue-winged teal, woodcock, solitary sandpiper, greater yellowlegs, prothonotary warbler, northern parula, pileated woodpecker, green tree frog, and red-eared slider.

The refuge includes several habitat types, including overcup oak-bitter pecan, hackberry-elm-ash, nuttall oak-ash-sweetgum, and shrub-scrub swamp. The most unusual habitat 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 about 4.8 miles (7.7 km) from the entrance gate.

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 under approximately 26 feet (7.9 m). A series of gates have been installed along the road, which allow access as the river rises and falls. No access to the National Champion baldcypress tree is available once the Baton Rouge gauge reaches 26 feet (7.9 m). All vehicular access to the refuge ends at 31 feet (9.4 m).

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service".

Protected areas of Louisiana

Federal

National Historical Parks	Cane River Creole Jean Lafitte NHP and Preserve New Orleans Jazz

National Monuments	Poverty Point

National Marine Sanctuary	Flower Garden Banks

National Forests	Kisatchie

National Wildlife Refuge System	Atchafalaya Bayou Cocodrie Bayou Sauvage Bayou Teche Big Branch Marsh Black Bayou Lake Bogue Chitto Breton Cameron Prairie Cat Island Catahoula D'Arbonne Delta East Cove Grand Cote Handy Brake Lacassine Lake Ophelia Mandalay Red River Shell Keys Sabine Tensas River Upper Ouachita

State

State Parks	Bayou Segnette Bogue Chitto Chemin-A-Haut Chicot Cypremort Point Fairview-Riverside Fontainebleau Grand Isle Hodges Gardens Jimmie Davis Lake Bistineau Lake Bruin Lake Claiborne Lake D-Arbonne Lake Fausse Pointe North Toledo Bend Palmetto Island Poverty Point Reservoir St. Bernard Sam Houston Jones South Toledo Bend Tickfaw

State Historic Sites	Audubon Centenary Fort Jesup Fort Pike Fort St. Jean Baptiste Forts Randolph & Buhlow Locust Grove Longfellow-Evangeline Los Adaes Mansfield Marksville Plaquemine Lock Port Hudson Poverty Point Rebel State Rosedown Plantation Winter Quarters

State Preservation Area	Louisiana State Arboretum

State Forests	Alexander Indian Creek

State Wildlife Refuges	Elmer's Island Marsh Island Rockefeller St. Tammany State Terrebonne Barrier Islands White Lake Wetlands

Wildlife management areas	Acadiana Conservation Corridor Atchafalaya Delta Attakapas Barataria Preserve Bayou Macon Bayou Pierre Ben's Creek Big Colewa Bayou Big Lake Biloxi Bodcau Boeuf Bonnet Carré Spillway Buckhorn Camp Beauregard Catahoula Lake Clear Creek Dewey Wills Elbow Slough Elm Hall Floy Ward McElroy Fort Polk Grassy Lake Hutchinson Creek Indian Bayou Jackson Bienville Joyce Lake Boeuf Lake Ramsey Savannah Little River Loggy Bayou Manchac Marsh Bayou Maurepas Swamp Old River Control Ouachita Pass A Loutre Pearl River Peason Ridge Pointe-aux-Chenes Pomme de Terre Red River Russell Sage Sabine Island Sabine Salvador/Timken Sandy Hollow Sherburne Sicily Island Hills Soda Lake Spring Bayou Tangipahoa Parish School Board Thistlethwaite Three Rivers Tunica Hills Union Walnut Hill West Bay

Other

Private	Bird City Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary

City	Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism (web)
Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (web)
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (web)

National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

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