Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

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Urban Wildlife Conservation Program

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge welcomes visitors from all walks of life, from near and far, to foster an appreciation for nature. As a flagship urban refuge, we strive to meaningfully engage with our communities and visitors, provide outdoor recreation opportunities to develop and enhance outdoor skills, cultivate a connection with land and wildlife conservation, improve accessibility and connect refuge lands to local communities, and be a community asset. Learn more by watching our video A Refuge For All.

School Programs

The Refuge offers free, curriculum-based wildlife and conservation education programs for K-7 students. Teachers can take students on a field trip to view and learn about wildlife and habitat year round. Each field trip is grade specific and correlated to Colorado Model Content Standards. For details, click on the School Programs link on the left navigation bar. 

Wildlife Surveys

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Balancing an ecosystem for more than 330 species of wildlife is a delicate act. Especially when re-introducing an endangered species. In 2015, America’s most endangered mammal, the black-footed ferret, was reintroduced to the Refuge. With the site’s abundant black-tailed prairie dog population, which is the ferret’s main food source, it was a natural location for reintroduction. Twice a year, staff conduct ferret surveys to determine how well they are surviving and reproducing in the wild. Nighttime spotlighting is used to catch these nocturnal animals while they are hunting for prairie dogs. The spotlights catch their distinctive green eye shine. After tracking a ferret, a ring reader is placed over a prairie dog hole, which reads a microchip identifying each individual ferret as it peeks out of a prairie dog burrow.

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Wildlife Monitoring

Bison were introduced to the Refuge in 2007 to help sustain prairie grasses. These strong and powerful animals are an icon of the west and the short grass prairie. Each year staff conducts a bison roundup for their health “check-up”. They are moved to the Refuge corral located northwest of the main entrance, which can be seen from the Wildlife Drive. The bison roundup also assists Refuge managers in moving bison around to other national wildlife refuges and conservation herds to sustain a diverse gene pool.

Habitat Management and Restoration

Disturbance of the prairie through decades of homesteader farming followed by U.S. Army weapons manufacturing to support war-time efforts led to degraded wildlife habitats. The discovery of roosting bald eagles led to legislation in 1992 that turned this site into a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

Learn more about national wildlife refuge . Since then, Refuge staff has been diligently working to restore 11,000 acres of native grasslands and remove non-native invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species . A variety of tools including bison grazing, prescribed burns, mowing, and collecting and planting native seed are used to restore native habitats.

While at the Refuge you may see construction around the Wildlife Drive and First Creek area. This is the First Creek restoration project, which is a 2-year effort to restore 3 miles of riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

Learn more about riparian wildlife corridor wildlife corridor
To maintain healthy species populations and ecosystems, fish and wildlife need the freedom to move and migrate. As habitats and migration routes are affected by climate change and fragmented by roads, fences, energy development and other man-made barriers, wildlife struggle to reach necessary areas to feed, breed and find shelter. A wildlife corridor is a piece of undeveloped land connecting two habitats so wildlife can move safely between them.

Learn more about wildlife corridor and 1 mile of trail.