The refuge was established in 1989 under the Endangered Species Act by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to protect the endangered Florida panther, as well as other threatened plant and animal species. The Florida panther is the only cougar population found east of the Mississippi River. The refuge is part of a network of private land and government protected areas. Some of the public sections of the system are the Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve and Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. In all, less than 100 panthers use the area, with fewer than a dozen passing through the refuge each month.