Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Florida was established in 1989 as a protected sanctuary for the endangered Florida panther, the only cougar population east of the Mississippi River. Part of a broader conservation landscape that includes Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, it preserves 26,400 acres of remaining habitat in the Big Cypress Swamp. Its dry uplands and wetlands support panthers as well as orchids, Big Cypress fox squirrels, bobcats, black bears, coyotes, alligators, swallow-tailed kites, and wood stork rookeries. Because the habitat is highly sensitive, public access is tightly limited.