PURPOSE AND NEED

chapter 1
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan 3

The Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site is a

6,240-acre former nuclear defense facility operated by

the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The site is 16

miles northwest of Denver, Colorado on the borders of

Boulder, Broomfield, and Jefferson counties (Figure 1).

The DOE acquired 2,519 acres in 1951, and an additional

4,027 acres in 1974 and 1975. Of these acres, 305 acres

have been conveyed to the DOE's Wind Technology Site

northwest of the site. All weapons manufacturing was

performed in a 600-acre area in the middle of the site

known as the Industrial Area. The area surrounding

the Industrial Area is known as the Buffer Zone. 

In 1992, the mission of the Rocky Flats site changed

from weapons production to environmental cleanup and

closure. The DOE is completing the cleanup in

accordance with the Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement

(RFCA) under oversight by the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) and the Colorado Department

of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The

RFCA is a legally binding agreement between the EPA,

CDPHE, and DOE that establishes the regulatory

guidelines and framework for site cleanup. Because the

EPA, CDPHE, and DOE signed the Rocky Flats

Cleanup Agreement, these three agencies are known as

the RFCA Parties.

During the comment period on the Draft CCP and EIS,

numerous commentors had questions or concerns about

the process of becoming a Refuge. Five sequential steps

must be completed before Rocky Flats becomes a Refuge.

The steps, discussed in more detail in the following

sections, are:

1. Service completes final CCP/EIS and issues a

Record of Decision

2. DOE completes site cleanup except for

operations and maintenance of cleanup and

monitoring facilities

3. EPA certifies completion of cleanup

4. DOE transfers land to Department of 

the Interior

5. Department of the Interior establishes the

Refuge and Service begins management

DOE is currently completing a wide range of interim

cleanup actions. When these activities are completed,

expected sometime between 2005 and 2006, the DOE will

prepare a Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study

(RI/FS) report describing any remaining contamination at

the site. The report also will describe any additional

cleanup actions that DOE may need to take. The report

will be summarized in a document known as the Proposed

Plan, which will be released for public comment before

being finalized. After public comment has been

incorporated, the Proposed Plan will become the basis for

Chapter 1. Purpose and Need 

The Refuge site was a former nuclear defense facility

operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Figure 1. Regional Location.

© RFETS
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

4 Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge 

a Corrective Action Decision/Record of Decision

(CAD/ROD), which the RFCA Parties will sign. The

CAD/ROD will determine the need for any additional

cleanup, long-term monitoring, and land use controls

necessary for the site. 

Under the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act of

2001 (P. L. 107-107) (Refuge Act - Appendix A), the site

will become the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and

be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) when the EPA certifies that cleanup and closure

at Rocky Flats have been completed and that all response

actions are operating properly and successfully.

Operations and maintenance (O&M) associated with

response actions will be ongoing. "Response actions" are

cleanup activities currently being undertaken or

monitoring and maintenance activities following cleanup

by the DOE at the Rocky Flats site. The EPA will not

certify that cleanup and closure at Rocky Flats has been

completed until after the RFCA Parties sign the

CAD/ROD. The Service anticipates that EPA will de-list

the site from the National Priorities List prior to

certification. After EPA certification, DOE will transfer

much of Rocky Flats to the Department of the Interior

and the Service will manage it as a National Wildlife

Refuge. DOE will be required to conduct post-closure

environmental monitoring and remedy maintenance in

accordance with a post-closure, long-term stewardship

agreement approved by EPA and CDPHE. DOE will also

review the cleanup remedy at least every 5 years with the

EPA and CDPHE. The EPA and CDPHE can require

DOE to undertake additional actions if post-cleanup

monitoring indicates the cleanup is not protective of

human health and the environment.

The majority of the site has remained undisturbed since

its acquisition, and provides habitat for many wildlife

species, including two species that are federally listed as

threatened (bald eagle and Preble’s meadow jumping

mouse). Establishing the site as a unit of the National

Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) will promote the

preservation and enhancement of its natural resources for

present and future generations. 

This document is a Final Comprehensive Conservation

Plan (CCP) for the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

The CCP will guide management of Refuge operations,

habitat restoration, and visitor services for the next 15

years. Guidance will be provided in the form of goals,

objectives, strategies (Chapter 4) and compatibility

determinations (Appendix B). Compatibility is discussed

in more detail in a following Compatibility Policy

section. This CCP is based on a Record of Decision (ROD)

that identified a selected alternative (Appendix H). The

selected alternative was one of the alternatives analyzed in

the Final EIS, Alternative B--Wildlife, Habitat, and Public

Use. The EIS evaluates and compares four alternatives for

managing wildlife, habitats, and human use of the

proposed Refuge. It also describes the effects of

restoration and visitor use on important physical,

biological, social, and cultural resources.

1.1. LEGAL AND POLICY GUIDANCE

Refuges are managed to achieve the mission and goals of

the NWRS and the designated purpose of the Refuge unit

as described in establishing legislation, executive orders,

or other establishing documents. Key concepts and

guidance of the NWRS are provided in the National

Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (P.L.

89-669), the Refuge Recreation Act of 1962 (P.L. 87-714),

Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Fish and

Wildlife Service Manual and, most recently, the National

Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (P.L.

105-57) (Improvement Act). The Improvement Act

amends the Refuge System Administration Act by

providing a unifying mission for the NWRS, a new process

for determining compatible public uses on refuges, and a

requirement that each refuge be managed under a CCP.

The Improvement Act states that wildlife conservation is

the priority of NWRS lands and that the Secretary of the

Interior will ensure the biological integrity, diversity and

environmental health of refuge lands are maintained. The

Improvement Act requires the Service to monitor the

status and trends of fish, wildlife and plants in each

refuge. A list of other laws and executive orders that may

affect the CCP for Rocky Flats NWR or the Service’s

implementation of the CCP is provided in Appendix C.

The Service is the primary federal agency responsible for

conserving and enhancing the nation’s fish and wildlife

populations and their habitats.

© Mauro
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan 5

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

The Service, an agency within the Department of the

Interior, will manage the Rocky Flats NWR. The Service

is the primary federal agency responsible for conserving

and enhancing the nation’s fish and wildlife populations

and their habitats. Although the Service shares this

responsibility with other federal, state, tribal, local and

private entities, the Service has specific trust

responsibilities for migratory birds, threatened and

endangered species, and certain anadromous fish and

marine mammals. The Service also has similar trust

responsibilities for the lands and waters it administers to

support the conservation and enhancement of fish and

wildlife.

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM

MISSION AND GOALS

The mission of the NWRS is: 

“To administer a national network of lands

and waters for the conservation,

management and where appropriate,

restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant

resources and their habitats within the

United States for the benefit of present and

future generations of Americans.”

(National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement

Act of 1997.)

Since the first refuge was established in 1903, the NWRS

has grown to more than 92 million acres in size. It

includes more than 500 refuges, with at least one in every

state and over 3,000 Waterfowl Production Areas. The

needs of wildlife and their habitats come first on refuges,

in contrast to other public lands managed for multiple

uses. 

Administration, management and growth of the NWRS

are guided by the following goals:

• To fulfill the Service’s statutory duty to achieve

refuge purpose(s) and further the System

mission

• To conserve, restore where appropriate, and

enhance all species of fish, wildlife and plants

that are endangered or threatened with

becoming endangered

• To perpetuate migratory bird, interjurisdictional fish, and marine mammal populations

• To conserve a diversity of fish, wildlife 

and plants

• To conserve and restore as appropriate

representative ecosystems of the United

States, including the ecological processes

characteristic of those ecosystems

• To foster understanding and instill appreciation

of native fish, wildlife and plants and their

conservation, by providing the public with safe,

high quality and compatible wildlife-dependent

public use. Such use includes hunting, fishing,

wildlife observation and photography and

environmental education and interpretation

COMPATIBILITY POLICY

Lands within the NWRS are different from federal

multiple-use public lands, such as National Forest System

lands, because they are closed to all public uses unless

specifically and legally opened. A refuge use is not

allowed unless it is determined to be compatible.

Recreational uses, including all actions associated with a

recreational use, refuge management economic activities,

or other use by the public, are considered to be a refuge

use. A compatible use is a use that, in the sound

professional judgment of the Refuge Manager, will not

materially interfere with or detract from the fulfillment

of the mission of the NWRS or the purposes of the

Refuge. Sound professional judgment is defined as a

decision that is consistent with principles of fish and

wildlife management and administration, available science

and resources, and adherence with law. The

Improvement Act also states that compatible wildlifedependent recreation uses are legitimate and appropriate

priority general public uses. Six uses, hunting, fishing,

wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental

education, and interpretation, are to receive enhanced

consideration in planning and management over all other

general public uses of the NWRS. Whenever they are

determined to be compatible, and consistent with public

safety, these uses are to be provided on units of the

NWRS.

Compatibility determinations are written determinations

signed and dated by the Refuge Manager with

concurrence of the Regional Chief, National Wildlife

Refuge System, stating that a proposed or existing use of

a national wildlife refuge is or is not a compatible use.

Compatibility determinations are typically completed as

part of the CCP or step-down management plan process.

Draft compatibility determinations are open to public

input and comment. Once a final compatibility

determination is made by the Refuge Manager, with
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

6 Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge 

Regional Chief concurrence, it is not subject to

administrative appeal.

Facilities and activities associated with recreational

public uses, or where there is an economic benefit

associated with a use, require compatibility

determinations. Refuge management activities such as

invasive species control, prescribed fire, scientific

monitoring and facilities for managing a refuge do not

require compatibility determinations.

Four compatibility determinations for the CCP’s public

recreational activities can be found in Appendix B. Drafts

of these compatibility determinations were available for

public review and comment as part of the Draft CCP/EIS.

Additional draft compatibility determinations are likely to

be prepared and issued for public comment during the life

of the plan in response to step-down management plans

that may call for implementation of a refuge economic use

(e.g. grazing), for specific research projects, or in

response to third party requests for other refuge uses not

addressed in this plan. 

1.2. REFUGE SIGNIFICANCE, PURPOSE, 

VISION AND GOALS

SIGNIFICANCE

In the Refuge Act, Congress found that the Rocky Flats

site had several significant qualities:

• The majority of the Rocky Flats site has

generally remained undisturbed since its

acquisition by the federal government.

• The State of Colorado is experiencing

increasing growth and development, especially

in the metropolitan Denver Front Range area

in the vicinity of the Rocky Flats site. That

growth and development reduces the amount

of open space and thereby diminishes for many

metropolitan Denver communities the vistas of

the striking Front Range mountain backdrop.

• The Rocky Flats site provides habitat for many

wildlife species, including a number of

threatened and endangered species, and is

marked by the presence of rare xeric tallgrass

prairie plant communities. Establishing the

site as a unit of the NWRS will promote the

preservation and enhancement of those

resources for present and future generations.

PURPOSE AND DIRECTION

As discussed previously, the Rocky Flats NWR was

established by the Refuge Act. The Refuge Act identified

four purposes of the Rocky Flats NWR:

• Restoring and preserving native ecosystems

• Providing habitat for and population

management of native plants and migratory

and resident wildlife

• Conserving threatened and endangered species

(including species that are candidates for

listing under the Endangered Species Act)

• Providing opportunities for compatible

scientific research

Deer with fawn.

© Mauro
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan 7

The Refuge Act also provided some direction for

managing the Refuge. The Service is to manage the

Refuge to ensure that wildlife-dependent public uses and

environmental education and interpretation are the

priority public uses of the Refuge and to comply with all

response actions.

VISION

At the beginning of the planning process, the Service

developed a vision for the Refuge. A vision describes

what will be different in the future as a result of the CCP

and is the essence of what the Service is trying to

accomplish at the Refuge. The vision is a future-oriented

statement designed to be achieved through Refuge

management by the end of the 15-year CCP planning

horizon. The vision for the Refuge is:

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is a

healthy expanse of grasslands, shrublands

and wetlands, including rare xeric

tallgrass prairie, where natural processes

support a broad range of native wildlife.

The Refuge provides striking mountain

and prairie views and opportunities to

appreciate the Refuge resources in an

urbanized area through compatible

wildlife-dependent public uses and

education. Working with others, the Refuge

conserves the unique biotic communities

and sustains wildlife populations at the

interface of mountains and prairies on

Colorado’s Front Range.

GOALS

The Service also developed a set of goals based on the

Refuge Act and information developed during project

planning. The Service established six goals for Refuge

management.

Goal 1. Wildlife and Habitat Management. Conserve,

restore and sustain biological diversity of the native flora

and fauna of the mountain/prairie interface with

particular consideration given to threatened and

endangered species.

Goal 2. Public Use, Education and Interpretation.

Provide visitors and students high quality recreational,

educational and interpretive opportunities and foster an

understanding and appreciation of the Refuge’s xeric

tallgrass prairie, upland shrub and wetland habitats;

native wildlife; the history of the site; and the NWRS.

Goal 3. Safety. Conduct operations and manage public

access in accordance with the final Rocky Flats’ cleanup

decision documents to ensure the safety of the Refuge

visitors, staff and neighbors.

Goal 4. Effective and Open Communication. Conduct

communication outreach efforts to raise public awareness

about the Refuge programs, management decisions and

the mission of the Service and the NWRS among visitors,

students and nearby residents.

Goal 5. Working with Others. Foster beneficial

partnerships with individuals, government agencies,

non-governmental organizations, and others to

promote resource conservation, compatible wildliferelated research, public use, site history and

infrastructure.

Goal 6. Refuge Operations. Based on available funds,

provide facilities and staff to fulfill the Refuge vision and

purpose.

1.3. SELECTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CCP

The Mountain and Prairie Regional Director of the

Service selected the alternative that is to be implemented

as the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge CCP. This

decision was made in recognition of the environmental

effects of each of the alternatives considered in the Final

EIS, which was filed with the EPA and made available to

the public. The Regional Director’s selection of the CCP

was disclosed in the Record of Decision (Appendix H).

Implementation of the CCP will begin after the DOE

transfers primary administrative jurisdiction of Rocky

Flats lands to the Service and the Refuge is formally

established.

1.4. ADJACENT LAND PROTECTION

While the CCP does not constitute a commitment for

funding the protection of lands outside the Refuge’s

boundary, the Service may pursue habitat-protection

partnerships, conservation easements and/or acquisition

of lands west of the Refuge. The protection of the

grassland habitat that buffers the Refuge’s western

boundary (east of Highway 93) is important for the health

of ungulate populations that migrate from the foothills

down to the prairie. The protection of wildlife corridors

was raised as an issue in public scoping and was

frequently reiterated in subsequent public meetings.

Degradation of this habitat may deter wildlife from

migrating to the Refuge and threaten existing ungulate

populations that reside and/or calve within the Refuge. 
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

8 Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge 

The Service is currently working on a new national land

conservation policy and strategic policy and growth

initiative. This policy will develop a decision- making

process for the growth of the NWRS and guide individual

refuges in evaluating lands suitable for addition to the

NWRS. The process will help ensure that lands the

Service protects are of national and regional importance

and meet certain nationwide standards and goals. 

The Service’s land acquisition policy is to obtain the

minimum interest necessary to satisfy refuge objectives.

Conservation easements can sometimes be used in this

context, when they are proven to be a cost-effective

habitat protection measure. In general, conservation

easements must preclude the destruction or degradation

of habitat and allow refuge staff to adequately manage

uses of the area for the benefit of wildlife. 

1.5. ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THE CCP

AND EIS

The Rocky Flats site is undergoing cleanup by the DOE

with oversight of CDPHE and EPA. The Service will not

accept transfer of administrative jurisdiction, or as

discussed previously, assume full responsibility for

managing the Refuge until the EPA has deemed the

cleanup complete. It is not known exactly how long

cleanup might take, or what effect cleanup activities

might have on Refuge resources and uses. The DOE

currently anticipates portions of the site will be

transferred to the Service sometime between 2006 and

2008. 

The legislation establishing Rocky Flats NWR requires

that the DOE retain jurisdiction, authority, and control

over portions of Rocky Flats necessary for cleanup

response actions. DOE anticipates that it will retain land

in and around the Industrial Area to maintain institutional

controls, and to protect cleanup facilities and monitoring

systems. The DOE-retained area may be up to 1,200 acres,

but the area's final size and configuration will not be

determined until the final cleanup is completed and the

retained area is agreed to by the RFCA Parties. The DOE

retained area tentatively identified is shown in Figure 2; it

is subject to change before DOE transfers lands to the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service.

Management alternatives for the DOE retained area were

not considered in the EIS because the lands will not be

part of the Refuge and the Service will not have authority

to decide how those lands are managed. However, RFCA

requires that the entire site, including the area retained

by DOE, be cleaned up to a level that will protect human

health and the environment as well as ecological receptors.

Specifically, the cleanup will protect the Refuge worker

and hence, the less exposed Refuge visitor. Existing

concentrations of plutonium, a contaminant found in soils

inside and outside the anticipated DOE retained area, are

Soil Plutonium Concentration 

50 pCi/g 7 pCi/g 1 pCi/g 0.1 pCi/g 

Area retained by DOE Areas to become the Refuge 

Refuge Worker* 1 in 

133.3 thousand 

1 in 

1 million 

1 in 

6.7 million 

1 in 

66.7 million 

Refuge Visitor* 1 in 

227.3 thousand 

1 in 

1.7 million 

1 in 

11.1 million 

1 in 

125 million 

Source: Point estimations from the Remedial Soil Action Level Model 

*Exposure Assumptions: 

 Refuge Worker – 4 hours indoors and 4 hours outside for 250 days a year for 18.7 years 

 Refuge Visitor – 2.5 hours outside for 100 days a year for 6 years (child) or 24 years (adult) 

Table 1. Estimated Increased Cancer Risk from Exposure to Residual Contamination

Figure 2. Rocky Flats Industrial Area and 

DOE Retained Area. 
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan 9

very low in surface soils in the lands to be transferred to

the Service. Further characterization of the future

Refuge area is ongoing. Pursuant to Attachment 5 of

RFCA, which was approved by EPA and CDPHE, DOE

will remove surface soils with a plutonium level of 50

picocuries per gram (pCi/g) or more (Figure 3). A curie is

a unit of measurement for plutonium, and a picocurie is a

trillionth of a curie. Fifty pCi/g will be protective of a

Refuge worker who is exposed to this level on a full-time

basis at Rocky Flats. DOE anticipates retaining certain

lands containing less than 50 pCi/g of plutonium for

remedy-related purposes, consistent with the provisions of

the Refuge Act. An example boundary for DOE retained

lands is shown in Figure 2. However, no decisions have

been made regarding the specific boundaries and acreage

of the DOE retained lands. These decisions will be made

during the RI/FS-CAD/ROD process described earlier.

The majority of land that will become the Refuge will

contain less than 1 pCi/g of plutonium. 

Some areas within the DOE retained area had a

plutonium concentration of more than 50 pCi/g. As

discussed in Chapter 3, elevated plutonium concentrations

are associated with an area known as the 903 pad. As

part of cleanup, DOE removed all surface soils with a

plutonium concentration of more than 50 pCi/g around the

903 pad. 

The Service believes that the health risk from working on

or visiting Refuge lands will be low. As shown in Table 1,

the estimated increased cancer risk from exposure to

residual soil contamination of 7 pCi/g is 1 in 1 million for

the Refuge worker, and 0.6 in 1 million (or 6 in 10 million)

for the Refuge visitor. As shown in Figure 3, the majority

of the public use facilities will be located in areas where

the residual contamination is much lower (less than 1

pCi/g).

Lands that would require additional safety requirements

or restrictions for either the refuge worker or visitor will

not be transferred to the Service for the Refuge. The risk

assessment efforts that resulted in the 50 pCi/g surface

soil cleanup action level were inclusive of Refuge

management activities such as trail building, fence

construction and prescribed fire, and visitor use activities

such as hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The risk

assessment and cleanup protections were designed to be

safe for the Refuge worker, Refuge visitor, and the greater

community. 

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the

Department of the Interior and DOE will guide the

transition of Rocky Flats to its status as a National

Wildlife Refuge. The Service does not intend to accept

transfer of primary administrative jurisdiction for any

land at Rocky Flats until the MOU is finalized. Following

cleanup and closure, future agreements may provide for

Service involvement in managing the wildlife and habitat

resources on the retained area, under DOE supervision.

Because DOE will retain administrative jurisdiction and

manage the retained area, which will be surrounded by

the Refuge, the Service is recommending a 4-strand,

barbed-wire fence that allows wildlife movement be built

around the retained area. The Service is also

recommending that appropriate signs be placed near the

boundary to distinguish Refuge lands from DOE lands

(see Appendix E, letter to RFCA parties). Although no

public access to the DOE retained area is proposed in this

CCP, and the Service has recommended that the DOE

retained lands be posted with signs that prohibit public

entry, the cleanup levels being implemented will result in

a landscape that is safe for human entry.

The Service will not use the land at Rocky Flats for

residential or “bunkhouse” facilities during the life of this

CCP. If such a use is considered in the future, the

Service will obtain approval from the CDPHE and the

EPA, and will notify the public during the planning

process.

The EIS does not analyze different scenarios for the

cleanup activities because they are outside the scope of

Refuge management activities considered in the CCP. A

cleaned-up site provides the baseline for analysis. Detailed

information describing the remaining contamination at the

site will be presented in DOE’s RI/FS Report to be

published prior to EPA’s certification of completion of the

cleanup. Readers interested in additional information on © USFWS

The amount and type of public use emerged as a

significant issue during the planning process.
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

10 Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge 

Coal C reek

South Woma n Cre ek

Woman

Reservoir

South B oulder Diversion

Rock Creek

93

Rocky Flats

Lake

Mower Di tch

Rock Creek

Walnut Creek

B

Indiana 

Pond

Ditch

Smar t

Broomfield County INDIANA STREET

Jefferson County

Boulder County

National Wind 

Technology Center

Lindsay 

Pond 2

Lindsay 

Pond 1

McKay Ditch

Upper Church Ditch

W oman Creek

128 Coal C reek

South Woma n Cre ek

Woman

Reservoir

South B oulder Diversion

Rock Creek

93

Rocky Flats

Lake

Mower Di tch

Rock Creek

Walnut Creek

B

Indiana 

Pond

Ditch

Smar t

Broomfield County INDIANA STREET

Jefferson County

Boulder County

National Wind 

Technology Center

Lindsay 

Pond 2

Lindsay 

Pond 1

McKay Ditch

Upper Church Ditch

W oman Creek

128

US Fish & Wildlife Service

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge

Jefferson County, CO

Pre-Cleanup Plutonium Concentrations 

in Surface Soils October 2004

0 0.5 1 Mile

DOE Retained Area (Subject to Change)

Plutonium 239/240 (pCi/g)

< 1

1 - 7

> 50

 ́

(Surface soils to be removed during cleanup)

(Areas anticipated to be retained by DOE)

(Refuge Lands)

(Refuge Lands)

7 - 50

 

Estimated Increased Cancer Risk from Human Exposure 

 7 pCi/g 1 pCi/g 0.1 pCi/g 

Refuge 

Worker 

1 in 

1 million 

1 in 

6.7 million 

1 in 

66.7 million 

Refuge 

Visitor 

1 in 

1.7 million 

1 in 

 11.1 million 

1 in 

125 million 

Data provided by U.S. Department of Energy

(Additional characterization will occur throughout

the ongoing cleanup process.)

Figure 3. Pre-Cleanup Plutonium Concentrations in Surface Soils
Chapter 1: Purpose and Need

Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan 11

cleanup activities should contact the DOE at (303) 966-

4546, the EPA at (303) 312-6251, or the Colorado

Department of Public Health and Environment at (303)

692-3300.

1.6. FUTURE PLANNING

The CCP will be adjusted to include new and improved

information as it becomes available over the course of the

CCP’s 15-year duration. Implementation of the CCP will

be monitored and reviewed regularly during inspections

and programmatic evaluations. Budget requests and

annual work plans will be tied directly to the CCP.

Fifteen years after the Refuge has been established, the

CCP will be formally revised, following the process used

on this CCP. Any substantive changes to the CCP before

the 15-year period will involve a public process. However,

the Refuge Manager has the authority under Title 50

CFR, to take immediate actions outside this plan as

necessary to respond to emergencies and protect wildlife

and public safety.

The CCP describes the desired future conditions of the

Refuge and provides long-range guidance and

management direction. Chapter 4 describes objectives

and strategies that the Service will use to achieve the

desired future conditions. During the 15-year life of this

plan, the Service will prepare additional plans, called

step-down management plans. A step-down management

plan provides specific guidance for the Service to follow

to achieve objectives or implement management

strategies related to specific management topics such as

habitat, fire and public use. Step-down plans will be

developed as the need arises. The preparation of new

step-down plans typically will require further compliance

with Service planning policies and procedures, including

opportunities for public review and comment. The

Service anticipates the following plans will be needed at

the Refuge:

• Vegetation and Wildlife Management Plan

• Integrated Pest Management Plan

• Fire Management Plan

• Visitor Services Plan

• Health and Safety Plan

• Historic Preservation Plan

A Visitor Services Plan would be an umbrella document

that would include interpretation, environmental

education, hunting management and research protocols. 

1.7. REFERENCES

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 2000. National

Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act as

Amended by the National Wildlife Refuge

System Improvement Act of 1997, Refuge

Planning Policy; Notice. Federal Register

65:33891-33919. May 25.

The Service has recommended a barbed-wire fence to demarcate the boundary between the Refuge and

DOE retained lands.

© Shapins Associates