U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

Rocky Flats 

National Wildlife Refuge 

Planning Update
 

Letter from the Refuge Manager 

Thanks to all of you who submitted 

comments on the draft Comprehensive 

Conservation Plan (CCP) and 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Rocky Flats National Wildlife 

Refuge. We were pleased that our March 

2004 public meetings were so well 

attended and lively. We left the meetings 

with a better understanding of your 

concerns and I enjoyed the opportunity to 

respond to many of your questions. 

We were also impressed by the number of 

comments we received. By the close of the 

comment period in April 2004, we had 

received 5,307 comments from individuals, 

organizations and agencies. 

The Service has been committed to 

seeking public input throughout the 

planning process and we appreciate your 

willingness to provide us with feedback 

and to openly express your concerns. We 

received a wide variety of comments and 

are currently in the process of analyzing 

and responding to them. Our responses 

and the changes to the EIS and CCP that 

resulted from the comments will be 

documented in the final EIS. 

“Place public use facilities 

so that they have minimal 

environmental impacts” 

— Boulder Resident 

The Service intends to release the final 

EIS in the late fall and the final CCP will 

likely be published in early 2005. While 

the final EIS will provide an in-depth 

analysis of the environmental 

consequences of all four management 

alternatives, the final CCP will be the 

working document that will guide future 

refuge management and will feature only 

the preferred alternative. 

This planning update provides a summary 

of the comments we received, explains how 

we will respond to the comments, and 

outlines the remainder of the CCP/EIS 

planning process. 

Volume Six, Summer 2004 

“Habitat restoration should 

be a component of all the 

alternatives” 

—Westminster Resident 

Above: Concerns about the restoration of Preble’s meadow jumping 

Thank you again for your participation. 

Dean Rundle 

Rocky Flats NWR Manager 

mouse habitat were raised in several comments. 
Public Comment Overview
 

Public Comment Overview 

The draft CCP/EIS was released to the 

public for a 45-day comment period on 

February 19, 2004. In March 2004, the 

Service held four public meetings in 

Westminster, Boulder, Arvada and 

Broomfield to allow public input on the 

proposed action and alternatives. The 

meetings were conducted as hearings in 

which individuals were given 3 minutes to 

comment and their comments were 

recorded by a court reporter. Refuge 

manager, Dean Rundle, attended all 

meetings and conducted a question and 

answer session following the comments. 

The meetings were well attended with 

nearly 260 people participating. 

In addition to the comments submitted at 

the public meetings, the Service received 

many comments via mail, fax and email. 

The Service has organized all the 

comments in three groups - individual 

responses, agency and organization letters, 

and petition and form letters. Below is a 

tally of the number of entities we heard 

from and the number of comments they 

each submitted: 

 Individual Responses 

(1365 comments total) 

251 

 Agency/Organization Letters 

(482 comments total) 

34 

 Petition/Form Letters 

(3460 comments total) 

933 

Comment Responses 

Comments and the Service's responses 

will be documented in an appendix of the 

final EIS. The appendix will include 

copies of the letters submitted by 

government agencies, organizations and 

businesses with the Service's response 

printed beside each letter. Additionally, 

substantive comments made by the public 

will be summarized and addressed with 

specific responses. While individual 

comments and petitions/form letters will 

not be reprinted in the EIS, the names of 

all individuals who commented and/or 

signed a petition or form letter will be 

listed along with a description of the 

issues raised within their comment. All 

letters and hearing testimony will 

ultimately be made available for public 

inspection at Front Range Community 

College’s College Hill Library, and on 

weekends at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal 

NWR Visitor Center. 

Commonly Raised Issues 

Public Access  Continues to be the number one 

issue. Many do not support public 

access. Others would like to see 

more opportunities and sooner. 

Hunting 

 While many support a hunting 

program, others are concerned

about costs, need for a program,

and safety issues. 

Restoration Tools  Agreement about the need to control 

weeds, but different opinions on the

use of fire, grazing, biocontrols, or

mowing were voiced. 

Contamination /Safety  Concern about the adequacy of the 

site cleanup and the demarcation

of the DOE retained land boundary. 

Below and Right: Many comments supported 

measures for protecting wildlife habitat. 

© Michael Mauro 
 

Summary of Comments
 

Significant Issues 

The three groups of comments - individual responses, 

organization/agency letters and petitions/form letters - each raised 

a distinct set of issues. The significant issues raised by each 

group fell into the categories of resource management, public use 

and contamination. A summary of the types of comments 

submitted by each group is provided below. 

While issues about site cleanup were raised frequently, the issue 

is outside the scope of the planning effort. As the Service has 

routinely communicated to the public, Rocky Flats will not be 

transferred to the Service until the EPA certifies that cleanup and 

closure are complete. Contamination and remediation issues are 

being addressed by DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and 

Environment. However, due to the public's concern about this 

issue, the final EIS will include an expanded discussion of issues 

related to cleanup. 

Individual Responses 

Resource Management: 

 Support for or opposition to prescribed fire and grazing. 

 Range of opinions about how prairie dogs should be managed. 

Public Use: 

 Concern about the extent and location of suggested trails, and the 

types of permitted trail uses. 

 Support for or opposition to public use. 

Contamination Concerns: 

 Concern about the appropriateness of public access. 

 Desire for informational signage that convey the history and relative 

risks of the site. 

 Concern about effects of contamination on wildlife and prairie dogs 

burrowing in contaminated soil. 

Above: Rocky Flats NWR manager, Dean Rundle, conducted a 

question and answer session at all the public meetings. 

Agency / Organization Comments 

Resource Management: 

 Support for weed management efforts and comments or concerns 

about particular management tools. 

 Concern about restoration of Preble's habitat and potential impacts 

from public use or mining. 

 Support for the stabilization and interpretation of Lindsay Ranch 

Barn and concern that the other Lindsay Ranch structures would 

not be stabilized. 

 Interest about the consideration and analysis of a transportation 

corridor along the eastern edge of the Refuge, and the potential 

impacts that any transportation improvement could have on wildlife 

corridors and other Refuge resources. 

Public Use: 

 Concern about the types of public use facilities, trail configuration, 

and how use would be administered. 

 Support for or opposition to public access. 

 Support for or opposition to the hunting program. 

Contamination/DOE-retained Area: 

 Range of concerns about cleanup and contamination. 

 Concern about the demarcation of the DOE retained land boundary. 

Petitions / Form Letters 

Four different sets of petitions/form letters were received. 

Public Use: 

 Support for public use as proposed in Alternative B. 

 Objections to public access and recreation. 

 Objections to hunting. 

Contamination Concerns: 

 Concern about effects of contamination on wildlife and potential 

visitors. 
Contact Information 

For more information on the CCP/EIS 

project please contact: 

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 

“Rocky Flats’ entire history 

should be included on the 

interpretive signs” 

— Broomfield Resident 

“A hunting program 

provides a valuable 

recreation opportunity for 

disabled folks” 

—Arvada Resident 

Next Steps 

The Service intends to release the final 

EIS in late fall of 2004. A notice of the 

availability of the Final EIS and CCP will 

be published in the Federal Register. In 

accordance with NEPA, the Service's 

Regional Director will issue a Record of 

Decision on the CCP no sooner than 30 

days after the notice in the Federal 

Register has been published. The Record 

of Decision will disclose the alternative 

selected by the Regional Director and the 

reasons for its selection. The Service 

anticipates that the final CCP will be 

released in early 2005. The final CCP or 

a summary of the document will be made 

available to interested parties. 

Ongoing Public Involvement 

The Service will continue to keep the 

public informed throughout the 

remainder of the planning process. 

Another Planning Update is scheduled to 

be released this fall or winter and will 

provide additional information on the 

final CCP and EIS. Important 

announcements and any changes to the 

schedule will be posted on the project 

website - http://rockyflats.fws.gov 

“Hunting does not seem to 

be compatible with the 

term ‘Refuge’ ” 

—Arvada Resident 

Below: Many comments supported the proposed 

pedestrian, biking and equestrian use of trails 

built along the the existing road corridors. 

© Michael Mauro 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge 

Rocky Mountain Arsenal - Building 121 

Commerce City, CO 80022 

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