Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, lies along Bayou Teche near Franklin, Garden City, and Centerville. Established in 2001, it protects 9,028 acres of bottomland hardwoods and cypress-gum forest within a landscape also shaped by canals and oil and gas development. The refuge is especially important as habitat for the endangered Louisiana black bear, which is relatively abundant there. Its wetlands and forests also support alligators, wading birds, ducks, and bald eagles, giving coastal south Louisiana a significant protected wildlife area.