Florida Panther

National Wildlife Refuge

Refuge trails are open for free, seven days a week. Hunting requires a valid permit.

8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

12085 SR 29 South
Immokalee, FL 34142

Plan Your Visit

While most of the Refuge is closed to public access, visitors are encouraged to enjoy the Refuge via hiking, wildlife photography and observation, and environmental education.

Trails

Open for free, seven days a week, during daylight hours sunrise-sunset, two trails provide visitors with a chance to experience a variety of habitats on Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. The trails and short boardwalk were funded by private donations from Marge Duncan, Safari Club International, and the Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge.

The trails are located about a quarter mile north of the intersection of State Road 29 and I-75. Look for a wide open gate and brown hiking trail signs on the west side of SR29 just past the I-75 junction. Note that the hiking trails and their parking lot are south of the Refuge Headquarters office. No public access is currently offered from the Headquarters location.

Rules and Policies

Refuge trails and parking lot open at dawn and close at dusk.
Overnight use and parking are prohibited.
All plants and animals are protected.
Firearms are prohibited (Carry/Conceal permit holders abide by state law).
Pets are prohibited.
Off-road vehicles and bicycles are prohibited on hiking trails.

Download Map Interactive Map

Hours

Opens: 8 a.m.

Closes: 4 p.m.

Detailed hours

Safety Policies

Federal Wildlife Officers: 239-657-8001

For emergencies: 911

Rules and Policies

Passes

Onsite:

The hiking trails are open for free, seven days a week.

Activities

Get Involved

Discover for yourself what tens of thousands of volunteers have learned: Volunteering for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fun and rewarding in many ways. Master new skills. Meet new friends. Enjoy a sense of accomplishment from doing your part to further wildlife conservation for the pleasure of generations to follow.

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities at Florida Panther and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges! Volunteers contribute hundreds of hours each year to help meet the Refuges' mission. If you have a desire to help, we need you. We will make an assessment of how to match your desires to assist with what it takes to safely and effectively fill our needs. Please contact Refuge Headquarters to complete a volunteer application and we'll get to working together to continue conserving Southwest Florida!    

Phone: 239-657-8001 

Email: floridapanther@fws.gov 

Mail: 12085 State Road 29S Immokalee FL 34142 

What do volunteers do?

Monitoring: Environmental conditions and wildlife are monitored on an on-going basis. Everything from birds to amphibians, habitat, and invasive species are monitored at the refuge. Some existing knowledge is helpful to complete these tasks. Training may be available. 

Facilities Maintenance: Buildings, signs, and trails take effort to maintain. Adopt a trail, help inventory and maintain refuge signs, keep our headquarters grounds looking great, or donate your carpentry skills. 

Habitat Maintenance: Help keep refuge lands looking pristine and inviting to visitors. Go on litter patrol or search for and pull invasive plants. Several restoration projects need on-going plant removal. 

Administrative Support: There is plenty to do in the office, too! Help with data entry, organization, scanning historic documents, etc. 

Conservation Events and Activities: On occasion the refuge seeks volunteers to participate in conservation activities such as tree planting, weed-pulling, trash pick-ups, or distributing "living with wildlife" information to nearby neighbors. Contact the refuge to be added to our email list of upcoming activities notifications. 

Education and Outreach: Sharing the stories of wildlife and conservation is an important part of ensuring a future full of land stewards and refuge support. There are many ways to contribute, from behind the scenes or in the spotlight... 

Behind the Scenes: Use your photography and videography skills to photo document refuge wildlife and activities or contribute images or video to the refuge website or Facebook page. Like to write? Prepare interest stories for the web, newsletter, or press. 

Nature does not recognize human-made boundaries. In order to conserve our natural and cultural resources effectively, we must work with others to bridge these boundaries. Partnerships foster creative solutions to challenging situations and often the results are greater than the sum of the parts. Learn more about our local partners:

Volunteer Opportunities

Working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

View volunteer opportunities

Services

Florida Panther General Brochure Form 3-1383-R Research and Monitoring Special Use Application General Activities Special Use Permit Application FWS Form 3-1383-G Commercial Activities Special Use Permit Application FWS Form 3-1383-C Blank

About

Established in 1989, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge protects core habitat for the endangered Florida panther within the Big Cypress Basin. The refuge covers approximately 26,400 acres, including the northern reach of the Fakahatchee Strand, the largest cypress strand in the Big Cypress swamp. Its mission focuses on providing optimum habitat conditions, restoring natural diversity, and developing compatible wildlife-dependent recreation and education programs.

What We Do

Refuges strive for biological integrity, diversity and environmental health. Much of the management work of refuges is to maintain, enhance or restore intact and self-sustaining habitats.

Introduced fire managing vegetation. — Prescribed fire is a planned fire, and can be used to help meet management objectives.
https://www.fws.gov/media/low-intensity-prescribed-fire

In Florida, fire is an important part of the natural ecology of many vegetation communities, such as pinelands and wet prairies. Fire is needed to maintain these communities and prevent the encroachment of invasive shrubs such as wax myrtle and willows. Fire also reduces the hazardous buildup of debris and dead vegetation which can fuel wildfires. Staff from the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast Refuge Complex utilizes fire to maintain healthy native vegetation communities on the refuge. Fire is set under "prescribed" conditions. These prescribed burns are only conducted if the winds, temperature, humidity and moisture levels are within a designated range and the refuge has adequate staff and equipment.

The hydroperiod on parts of refuge has been significantly shortened by the construction of canals along SR 29 and I-75, allowing for the encroachment of cabbage palms and other invasive species . Historically there were perhaps a dozen cabbage palms per acre on the refuge. Today, we see densities over 2,200 per acre. This higher unnatural density of cabbage palms has increased fire intensity, damaging the forest stand.

One of Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge’s most important management responsibilities is to control invasive species that threaten its naturally balanced ecosystem. When an invasive species is first introduced into a new area there may be a chance to eradicate it through rapid response action if the species is detected in time. If eradication is not possible then the species may be subject to control and management efforts. Regardless of whether the goal is total eradication or control, there are a suite of options to consider depending upon the species. When making decisions on which options to use, the refuge applies an Integrated Pest Management approach to choose which will be the most environmentally sound yet effective method for reducing the spread and impacts of the invasive species as much as possible. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Integrated Pest Management is a comprehensive, environmentally sensitive approach to managing pests that includes a combination of strategies that pose the least hazard to people, property, and the environment. The simple philosophy is that control will be more effective, and resistance will be less likely to build up, when a range of measures is deployed against a pest. 

About Us Law Enforcement Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan

Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge

12085 SR 29 South
Immokalee, FL 34142

(239) 657-8001

floridapanther@fws.gov

Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge 12085 SR 29 South Immokalee, FL 34142