U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Rocky Flats

National Wildlife Refuge

Volume Five, Winter 2004

Left: Management of

deer and elk populations

is addressed in the 

wildlife and habitat

management objectives 

of the CCP/EIS. 

Planning Update

Draft CCP/EIS is Ready for Review

After nearly two years of work, the U.S.

Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) is excited

to announce that the draft Comprehensive

Conservation Plan and Environmental

Impact Statement (CCP/EIS) for the

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is

complete and ready for review. 

Public involvement has been an integral

part of the planning process with the

Service turning to interested individuals

and organizations for help in identifying

key issues of concern. The Service

modified the alternatives based on

comments voiced at the last round of

public meetings in May 2003. 

Once again, the Service invites the public

to engage in the planning process and

comment on the draft CCP/EIS. The

Service will mail copies of the CCP/EIS to

agencies and individuals who have been

actively involved in the planning process.

The copies should be received by February

20th. Others can request a copy from the

Service or view the document online.

Public meetings in March will provide an

additional opportunity for the public to

review the draft and share their comments

with the Service. 

The draft CCP/EIS outlines the

management direction and strategies for

refuge operations, habitat restoration and

visitor services for the next 15 years. The

document evaluates and compares four

alternatives to managing wildlife, habitats

and public uses of the future Refuge. The

draft CCP/EIS also analyzes the impacts

of restoration and visitor use on the

Refuge’s important physical, biological,

social and cultural resources. This

planning update provides an overview of

the contents of the CCP/EIS.

Upcoming Public Meetings

 Westminster

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

6:30 - 8:30 pm

College Hill Library

Front Range Community College 

Library Room L-211

3645 W. 112th Avenue

Westminster, CO 80031 

 Boulder

Thursday, March 11, 2004

6:30 - 8:30 pm

East Recreation Center

Mountain View & Flatirons Rooms

5660 Sioux Drive

Boulder, CO 80303

 Arvada

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

6:30 - 8:30 pm

Arvada Center 

6901 Wadsworth Boulevard

Arvada, CO 80003

 Broomfield

Thursday, March 18, 2004

6:30 - 8:30 pm

Broomfield Recreation Center

Lakeshore Room 3

280 Lamar Street

Broomfield, CO 80020

Meetings will include a brief presentation on

the draft CCP/EIS followed by a hearing.

Individuals will be given 3 minutes to

comment. Meetings will begin promptly

according to the listed schedule. 
Management Alternatives

Objectives & Strategies

The draft CCP/EIS outlines objectives and

strategies for the management of the

Refuge. An objective is a general

statement about what the Service wants to

achieve on the Refuge, while a strategy is a

specific action, tool or technique used to

meet an objective. Given each alternative’s

unique emphasis, the objectives and

strategies vary by alternative. 

A Range of Alternatives

Four alternatives are outlined and

analyzed within the draft CCP/EIS. The

alternatives represent a wide range of

viable management directions for the

future Refuge. The CCP/EIS details how

the Refuge’s natural resources will be

conserved and restored and summarizes

what the visitor experience will be like in

each alternative. All four alternatives

would involve habitat conservation and

restoration and Alternatives B and D

would provide opportunities for wildlifedependent public use. 

Alternative A - No Action 

Retain the current resource management

regime. Restoration efforts would focus on

the Rock Creek drainage.

Alternative B - Wildlife, Habitat and

Public Use*

Emphasize the conservation of wildlife and

their habitats while allowing a moderate

level of public use.

Alternative C - Ecological Restoration 

Emphasize habitat conservation with a

focus on restoring the Refuge to

presettlement conditions.

Alternative D - Public Use 

Provide the highest level of wildlifedependent recreation opportunities for

refuge visitors. 

*The Service identified Alternative B,

Wildlife, Habitat and Public Use, as the

Proposed Action. Alternative B addresses

the major issues identified during public

scoping and is consistent with sound fish

and wildlife management.

Wildlife and Habitat Management 

· Preble’s habitat management

· Xeric tallgrass management

· Mixed grassland prairie management

· Road restoration and revegetation

· Weed management

· Deer and elk management

· Prairie dog management

· Species reintroduction

Public Use, Education and Interpretation

· Public access

· Visitor experience 

· Interpretation

· Environmental education

· Hunting

· Recreation facilities

Safety

· Staff safety

· Visitor safety

Open and Effective Communication

· Outreach efforts

Working with Others

· Emergency response partnerships

· Conservation partnerships

· Research partnerships

· Volunteer partnerships

Refuge Operations

· Staffing

· Operations and management facilities 

· Cultural resource management

Key Objective Topics 

Alternative Revisions

The Service analyzed the comments

collected from the alternative review in the

winter and spring of 2003 and modified

the alternatives where appropriate. The

following list outlines changes to the

alternatives that resulted from both public

comment and internal Service reviews. 

Public Use

Alternative B was modified to allow

equestrian use on the southern multi-use

trails and to phase in public use. The trail

to Lindsay Ranch would open within 6

months of Refuge establishment and the

remaining trails would open after 5 years. 

Restoration

Road and stream crossing restoration

areas were adjusted to better fit the goals

of each alternative.

Staffing

Fire management staff was added to all

alternatives, recognizing the need for

rapid response to and suppression of

unplanned ignitions, and to manage

prescribed fire in Alternatives A, B and C.

Wildlife Habitat

Prairie dog habitat was better defined and

population targets adjusted to minimize

impacts to adjacent habitats. Preble’s

habitat was also better defined using

detailed habitat models.

Hunting

After 2 years, the Service would consider

providing hunting opportunities to

additional user groups, based on

population management needs and initial

hunt participation rates.

Below: The Lindsay Ranch barn would be

retained under Alternatives A, B and D.

© Michael Mauro
Environmental Impact Analysis

Environmental Consequences

The proposed management alternatives

would result in a variety of benefits and

impacts to resources at Rocky Flats. Some

of the greatest benefits would come from

road removal and revegetation, weed

management and Preble’s habitat

management activities. Potential impacts

were identified for each alternative based

on a review of relevant scientific literature,

previously prepared environmental

documents for Rocky Flats and the best

professional judgement of Service staff

and other resource specialists. 

The CCP/EIS describes each alternative’s

potential effects on the following resources:

· Geology and Soils

· Water Resources

· Vegetation Communities

· Wildlife Resources

· Threatened, Endangered and 

Candidate Species

· Cultural Resources

· Open Space, Recreation and Trails

· Visual Resources

· Noise

· Transportation 

· Air Quality

Outside the Scope

Management alternatives for the

Department of Energy’s (DOE)

retained lands are not considered in

the CCP/EIS because the lands will not

be part of the Refuge and the Service

will not have authority to decide how

those lands should be managed. DOE

anticipates that it will retain land in

and around the current Industrial Area

to maintain institutional controls and

protect cleanup and monitoring

systems. However, the Service and the

DOE will work together, to the extent

possible, to minimize visible differences

between the Refuge and DOE’s

retained lands. 

Above: In Alternatives B and D, Rocky Flats

would provide excellent opportunities for

visitors to view wildlife. Deer and elk

populations would be controlled in all

alternatives to minimize impacts on habitat

quality due to overbrowsing or overgrazing. 

Below: The sharp-tailed grouse may 

be reintroduced to Rocky Flats 

under all alternatives.

© Michael Mauro

© USFWS
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge

Rocky Mountain Arsenal - Building 121

Commerce City, CO 80022

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

In the Final CCP/EIS, the Service will

respond to all substantive comments.

Comments are considered substantive if

they:

· Question, with reasonable basis,

accuracy of information in the 

document.

· Question, with reasonable basis

adequacy of the environmental

analysis.

· Present reasonable alternatives other

than those presented in the EIS.

· Cause changes/revisions to the CCP. 

· Provide additional information 

relevant to the analysis.

At the close of the comment period, the

Service will analyze the comments. New

information relevant to the analysis and

other substantive comments will be used

to revise the draft document and begin

preparation of the final CCP and EIS.

The Service anticipates publishing the

final document in December 2004. 

FIRST CLASS MAIL

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

CITY OF DENVER

PERMIT NO 5267

Comments Welcome

We encourage you to stay involved in the

planning process and to take the time to

review the document and attend one of

the public workshops. 

The deadline for comment submission is

April 12, 2004. As you are reviewing the

document, please keep in mind that

comments on the Draft CCP/EIS should

be specific and should address the

adequacy of the plan, the impact

statement, and the merits of the

alternatives discussed. 

Contact Information 

Please direct comments on the draft

CCP/EIS to:

Rocky Flats NWR 

Comprehensive Conservation Plan

Laurie Shannon, Planning Team Leader 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Rocky Mountain Arsenal - Building 121

Commerce City, CO 80022 

Phone 303/289 0980

Fax 303/289 0579

Email rockyflats@fws.gov

Website http://rockyflats.fws.gov 

Information regarding cleanup at Rocky Flats

can be found at http://www.rfets.gov

All comments must be submitted by

April 12, 2004

Please visit http://rockyflats.fws.gov to

download the CCP/EIS and to learn 

more about the alternatives and the

environmental impacts.

© Nelson, RFETS

Below: Tallgrass and mixed

grassland management coupled with

weed management and road removal

would benefit grassland

communities on the Refuge.