In the Shadow of the City

The city of Denver, Colorado has a gem hiding in it's shadow. Less than eight miles northeast from the cities core lies Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.The largest urban refuge in the United States. It is adjacent to the suburb of Commerce City. The refuge has its origins during WW II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army turned the area into a chemical weapons plant called the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. As production slowed down at war's end, a portion of the plant was eventually leased to Shell Chemical Co. for the production of agricultural chemicals. The Arsenal was later used for the manufacture of Cold-War weapons and the destruction of part of the United States stock of chemical weapons.It officially closed in 1992 and was a Superfund Clean up site. The refuge opened in 2004 and is home to one of the most intense and successful shortgrass prairie restoration programs in the nation. Refuge biologists are working hard to return the prairie back to the refuge's landscape. They are replacing 8,000 acres of former cropfields with buffalo grass, blue grama and many other species of grasses, wild flowers, and shrubs that are native to Colorado's shortgrass prairie.It is also home to a bison herd and numerous other animals. It abounds with deer, Prairie Dogs,Cottontail Rabbits, Coyotes and numerous raptors including Golden Eagles. When I got off of my flight from San Francisco and rented a car it's the first place I headed. It was beautiful to see Bison grazing with the city of Denver in the background.It also has a wonderful visitor's center chock full of information about the history of the refuge and information about the animals that live there now. I spent a lot of time over the next three days exploring and photographing the wildlife and scenery within it's boundaries.If you are in the Denver area it is a great place to explore. I highly recommend it. God's love and blessings to all, chris