Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge
The refuge is home to various animals, including a herd of 150 elk, occasional black bear, mountain lions, and moose; as well as badgers, bats, coyote, two species of owl, mule deer, northern flicker, white pelican, black-tailed prairie dog, and porcupine.[3] This 6,500-acre Rocky Flats Site was one of 13 nuclear weapons production facilities in the United States during the Cold War and was managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).The plant operated from 1952 to 1994 with manufacturing activities taking place in the center portion of the site with a large buffer zone around the area.The DOE still maintains 1,300 acres as part of their legacy management for long-term care and maintenance, and to ensure the cleanup is functioning as designed.[7] The Superfund investigation and cleanup effort found that Refuge lands (then-called the Peripheral Operable Unit) would be suitable for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure - that is, any use.1379, enacted December 28, 2001), most of the 6,240-acre (25.3 km2) Rocky Flats site became a refuge, provided that certification from the EPA is obtained and which asserts that the cleanup and closure have been completed.In 2018, several Colorado school districts voted to ban students from attending school-sanctioned trips to the former Rocky Flats plant, citing concerns about the area's previous designation as a Superfund site.[17] In mid-November, after the elections, Democratic majority leaders of both the State House and Senate (both representing nearby Boulder) joined the renewed call to close the refuge to the public.
Rocky Flats PlantRocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife RefugeIUCN categoryJefferson CountyColoradoUnited StatesArvadaU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceNational Wildlife RefugeDenverBroomfieldWestminsterblack bearcoyotemule deernorthern flickerwhite pelicanblack-tailed prairie dogporcupinelarge manufacturing complexFront RangeU.S. Atomic Energy CommissionCold WarU.S. Department of EnergyGeorge H. W. BushW-88 Trident WarheadSuperfundU.S. Environmental Protection Agency'sNational Priorities ListColorado Department of Public Health and the Environmenthabitat conservationU.S. Court of Appealsland exchangesubsurface mineral rightsRadioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats PlantWayback MachineProtected areas of ColoradoFederal4 National ParksBlack Canyon of the GunnisonGreat Sand DunesMesa VerdeRocky Mountain9 National MonumentsBrowns CanyonCamp Hale-Continental DivideCanyons of the AncientsChimney RockDinosaurFlorissant Fossil BedsHovenweepYucca House3 National Historic SitesAmacheBent's Old FortSand Creek Massacre2 National Recreation AreasArapahoCurecanti1 Wild and Scenic RiverCache la Poudre River4 National Historic TrailsCalifornia TrailOld Spanish TrailPony Express TrailSanta Fe Trail1 National Scenic TrailContinental Divide Trail11 National ForestsGrand MesaGunnisonMedicine Bow–RouttRio GrandeRooseveltSan IsabelSan JuanUncompahgreWhite River2 National GrasslandsComanchePawnee44 National WildernessesBlack Ridge CanyonsBuffalo PeaksByers PeakCache La PoudreCollegiate PeaksComanche PeakDominguez CanyonEagles NestFlat TopsFossil RidgeGreenhorn MountainGunnison GorgeHermosa CreekHoly CrossHunter–FryingpanIndian PeaksJames PeakLa GaritaLizard HeadLost CreekMaroon Bells-SnowmassMount EvansMount MassiveMount SneffelsMount ZirkelNever SummerPlatte RiverPowderhornPtarmigan PeakRaggedsRocky Mountain National ParkSangre de CristoSarvis CreekSouth San JuanSpanish PeaksVasquez PeakWeminucheWest Elk3 National Conservation AreasDominguez–EscalanteMcInnis Canyons8 National Wildlife RefugesAlamosaBrowns Park