A sun-splashed Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge opened its gates for the first time Saturday morning to eager hikers and bicyclists, who brushed off concerns the site — which once surrounded a Cold War-era nuclear weapons facility — is too dangerous to enjoy.
“I’ve been waiting for this to be opened. It’s just beautiful out here,” said Jerry Jacka, a Lyons resident and biker. “I support the efforts of everyone including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get it ready to open. Not everyone is afraid of radioactive material and that’s why a lot of us are here today.”
A few more people began trickling into the refuge as the morning wore on, with many taking on the bumpy, dusty trails on bikes while others enjoyed a brisk walk among the prairie tallgrass.
Boulder’s David Brower was the first to cross the gates at 6:15 a.m., scoffing at worries that stirring up the soil would unleash deadly plutonium in the air. He trusts that a federal cleanup of the refuge, which surrounds one of the most toxic sites in America, makes it safe for him and other bikers to enjoy.
“I’m not concerned. I think the environmental concerns have been overblown,” Brower said. “There is so much here to enjoy. It’s spectacular. This a resource and will be a mecca for mountain bikers.”
But Stephen Parlato stood sentry at the refuge trailhead, wearing a store-bought gas mask and pointing to handmade signs, warning visitors that using the trails could expose them to dangerous levels of cancer-causing plutonium.
“Inhaling a single microscopic particle could cut your life in half,” Parlapo said. “I’m here to alert people to the danger they are facing.”
The 5,237-acre refuge sits 16 miles northwest of Denver — in Jefferson County, just south of Boulder — and encircles a restricted parcel of land where plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs were manufactured for decades. The Environmental Protection Agency considers that fenced core a Superfund site and one of the most contaminated places in the country.
But the surrounding refuge was part of a $7.7 billion federal cleanup, completed in 2006, and is now home to more than 150 elk, occasional bear, mountain lions and moose, along with badgers, owls, bats and the federally protected Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. More than 630 species of plants share the refuge with a variety of wildflowers.
Still, the proposal to open 11 miles of trails for people to use sparked protests among environmental groups. They say human activity will stir up plutonium particles that, if inhaled, can cause cancer. Both the EPA and the Colorado health department say tests of the air, water and soil showed “an extremely small” increased risk for cancer, and the agencies declared the land safe for unlimited use by workers and visitors.
Local groups including the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center disagree and sued to block the refuge’s opening. The case is still pending, but a federal judge rejected a request to block Saturday’s opening until the suit is settled.
Several Front Range school districts, including Denver, Boulder and Jefferson County, earlier this year banned their teachers from taking students to Rocky Flats on field trips.
This week, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke asking federal officials to conduct more testing and noting many of his constituents wanted to see Saturday’s opening postponed.
There were confusing signals about the opening from Zinke’s office on Friday — first it was postponed for further review, then that review quickly was completed — but the gates were opened Saturday morning as planned.
After his morning visit to the refuge, Parlapo joined about 20 protesters Saturday afternoon in front the EPA headquarters in Denver, demanding that Rocky Flats be closed.
“Plutonium is very dangerous and it may take years or even decades to get cancer caused by it,” said Kevin Kampas of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. “And it’s there in the ground at Rocky Flats and nobody has done a good enough job to get rid of it.”
Monday, Sept. 17, 12:30 p.m.: This story was updated to correct the spelling of Stephen Parlato.
