Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, National Wildlife Refuge in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge is a protected natural area along the southernmost stretch of the Mississippi River in Saint Francisville. It protects bottomland hardwood forests, cypress-tupelo swamps, and shallow ponds that create a rich habitat for wildlife.

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge was established on October 27, 2000, as the 526th unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana bought the land that year, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquired it in stages, reaching 9,623 acres by 2003 within a congressionally approved acquisition boundary of 36,500 acres.

The refuge's name comes from a wooded rise that becomes an island when the Mississippi floods, and locals have long called the surrounding bottomland Cat Island. The land was bought in 2000 by The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana before the Fish and Wildlife Service acquired it in stages. Visitors today come for the old baldcypress stands and the spring bird migration along the river corridor.

Access to the refuge depends on Mississippi River water levels, with roads open to vehicles only when the gauge reading falls below 26 feet (8 meters). Check current conditions before visiting to ensure the area is accessible for your trip.

The National Champion baldcypress, the largest tree of any species east of the Sierra Nevada, stands about 4.8 miles (7.7 km) from the entrance gate. Its buttressed trunk splits into two canopies, and the buttresses are deep enough for a person to hide inside. Many baldcypress trees in the old-growth stand are estimated at 500 to 1,000 years old.