On December 14, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it had completed planning for a western expansion of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge — that's the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant, minus several hundred acres that are deemed too contaminated to ever go public — as well as the exchange of a 300-foot right-of-way, comprising approximately a hundred acres, on the refuge's eastern border. That decision paves the way for the Jefferson Parkway, a proposed four-lane toll road that would go through that right-of-way, finishing the metro beltway that's been the subject of a down-and-dirty fight for decades.
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"The exchange of the 300-foot right-of-way for this additional wildlife habitat and open space is a good outcome for the citizens of Colorado," pronounced Steve Guertin, regional director of Fish and Wildlife, which took over the former plutonium-processing plant after the Department of Energy deemed it clean — and then sealed the files on the cleanup. "Accepting this exchange proposal will significantly expand the Rocky Flats NWR not only for the benefit of wildlife, but it will also anchor a network of green space for the people of the Denver metro area to enjoy for years to come."
If you don't mind a little radioactive dust in your picnic.
While the exchange has buy-in from most nearby municipalities as well as the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, the town of Superior was not pleased by the announcement. The next day, it filed suit in United States District Court asking for a full study of the deal. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a review of some alternatives as described in their assessment, but unfortunately it was meant to placate rather than provide all options with thorough detail," Superior officials said in announcing the suit. "The conclusion of the environmental assessment should have been that a full study leading to an Environmental Impact Statement was necessary to fully understand and evaluate the impact of the expansion of the refuge and the building of a four-lane toll road."
There was really only one other alternative presented to Fish and Wildlife: The town of Golden, which had long opposed the Jefferson Parkway but in February agreed to look at options, in May had offered to purchase the right-of-way along Indiana Street for $3 million — $200,000 more than the JPPHA had offered — and create the Jefferson Bikeway, a bicycle and pedestrian trail. But after Golden modified its proposal to take out improvements along Indiana, Fish and Wildlife determined that it no longer met conditions of the 2001 Rocky Flats Act that required a regional transportation plan be part of the land transfer, explains David Lucas, spokesman for the Division of Refuge Planning.
But Golden isn't done kicking up dust yet. On the same day that Superior filed suit, the Golden City Council held a special meeting to discuss a proposed agreement with Arvada, Jefferson County, the JPPHW and the Colorado Department of Transportation that would withdraw Golden's official opposition to the toll road — but net the town $57 million in mitigation for any traffic impacts from the Jefferson Parkway. Because the language of that agreement wasn't finished, Mayor Jacob Smith says council won't vote until people can review the final terms, which are still being negotiated. But here are the basics: "The Jefferson Parkway will be permitted to 'move dirt' only after the $57 million has been committed for the mitigation projects in Golden. The mitigation projects are: construction of a grade-separated interchange at U.S. Highway 6 and 19th Street, estimated at $25 million; relocation and upgrading State Highway 93 to four lanes for the section from SH 58 to north of the Golden city limits, estimated at $25 million; implementation of noise limitation along parts of SH93, estimated at $7 million."
Critics are accusing Smith, a longtime environmentalist who leaves office next month, of selling out the city. But if this deal goes through, the swap will protect the area around the current 93 from extensive new development, moving the proposed parkway to the east. That's a big change from an earlier route that had the parkway on a collision course with the town. The swap of the right-of-way for section 16, which is directly southwest of Rocky Flats, is made possible by an earlier move by Boulder, which had previously acquired over 1,500 acres in Jefferson County due west of Rocky Flats and 93, its western boundary. "We bought that to prevent potential development and also prevent severe economic and transportation impacts," explains Lisa Morzel, a scientist who's now Boulder's deputy mayor. By working with Jefferson County to acquire section 16, and also the mineral rights to the area, the refuge can be expanded — and protect "a large herd of elk that are kind of rare along the Front Range," she says. "This is a very important wildlife corridor. The preservation of section 16 is a great legacy for the region." Jefferson County is putting up about $5.1 for the parcel; Boulder and Boulder County are each putting up another $2 million.
Morzel has been studying the area since 1997, when a proposed development off 93 threatened to dump 900,000 vehicle trips a year in south Boulder. At the time, Boulder opposed what was then known as the Northwest Denver Parkway, and Morzel got very involved in that project and the Rocky Flats Coalition of Governments, since replaced by the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council, which federal legislation established in 2005 to oversee the ongoing "legacy management" of Rocky Flats.
