♪ [MUSIC] - I BELIEVE THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IS ONE OF THE BEST REFUGES IN THE WORLD.

BECAUSE IT IS IN MY COMMUNITY.

I LOVE COMING OUT HERE.

I COME MULTIPLE TIMES PER WEEK EVEN IF I'M NOT VOLUNTEERING AND I SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVERY TIME.

HERE LOOK, THERE'S ANOTHER HAWK RIGHT HERE.

THEY CAN SEE BUFFALO, THEY CAN SEE EAGLES, THEY CAN SEE FOXES, COYOTES.

THEY CAN CONNECT WITH THE NATURAL WORLD RIGHT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.

FOR THOSE OF US THAT LIVE DOWNTOWN WE GOT THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE WE CAN GO AND ENJOY THAT LAND TODAY AND ENJOY THAT NATURE, BUT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED THERE BEFORE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.

HERE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF DENVER COLORADO IS THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHEMICAL WARFARE ARSENAL.

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL WAS THE SITE WHERE THE U.S. ARMY PRODUCED CHEMICAL WEAPONS.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL WAS ADDED TO THE SUPERFUND LIST AND THE ARMY'S MISSION BECAME ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP.

AND PEOPLE WILL BE LIKE “I JUST NEVER KNEW THIS WAS HERE.” [MUSIC] THERE'S JUST THIS SERENITY THAT SWEEPS THE PRAIRIE AND YOU CAN HEAR THE RUSTLE OF THE GRASS.

AND YOU SEE THE SUN PEEKING OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND IT'S JUST A DISPLAY OF COLORS.

YOU CAN HEAR THE BIRDS ITS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE AND JUST AN AWESOME REMINDER OF WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PLACE WE HAVE AND HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO BE OUT HERE.

[MUSIC] THERE'S SOME GEESE.

I AM MONIQUE RIVERA, IM THE WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST HERE AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL.

MY ROLE KIND OF ENTAILS A LOT OF DIFFERENT MOVING PIECES.

WE DO A LOT OF THINGS HERE AT THE ARSENAL FROM HABITAT RESTORATION TO WILDLIFE SURVEYS TO EVEN RECREATIONAL PLANNING AND EDUCATION OUTREACH.

IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S TWO LITTLE BABY RED TAILS IN THERE.

WE HAVE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE AND THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF RMA BEING IN AN URBAN SETTING.

WE HAVE THAT ACCESSIBILITY TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY WHICH I THINK IS INCREDIBLE.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IS LOCATED JUST 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF DENVER, COLORADO.

IT'S 15,000 ACRES OF PRAIRIE HABITAT.

MOSTLY PRAIRIE AND GRASSLANDS BUT THERE ARE SOME LAKES AND WOODLANDS THAT ARE MIXED IN HERE AS WELL.

THERE ARE OVER 330 SPECIES OF WILDLIFE HERE, PLANTS IN THE HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES SEVERAL VERY IMPORTANT SPECIES INCLUDING SOME THAT ARE LISTED UNDER THE FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.

BALD EAGLES WERE FOUND HERE IN THE LATE 80S AND EARLY 90S WHICH ULTIMATELY CREATED THE PATHWAY FOR THIS TO BECOME A NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

BUT FROM THERE THERE'S BEEN ALL SORTS OF OTHER LARGE MAMMALS LIKE DEER, ELK.

WE ALSO HAVE BISON WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT.

OVERWHELMINGLY EVERYBODY WANTS TO COME AND SEE THE BISON.

THEY WANT KNOW WHERE THEY ARE TODAY AND I ALWAYS TELL THEM WELL I DONT KNOW, THEY DIDNT GIVE ME THEIR AGENDA FOR THE DAY BUT I CAN KIND OF IN GENERAL TELL YOU WHERE THEY'VE BEEN SIGHTED.

SO YOU SEE OUT THERE STRAIGHT OUT THERE, THE BISON, I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE BABY, THE NEWBORN THAT WAS BORN TODAY OR SPOTTED OUT HERE, IS OUT THERE WITH THAT PART OF THE HERD.

MY NAME IS MONTOYA WHITEMAN, I AM AN ENROLLED MEMBER OF THE CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHO TRIBES OF OKLAHOMA.

I'M A COLORADO RESIDENT OF NEARLY 30 YEARS, AND IM ALSO A VOLUNTEER AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

I WORK AT THE VISITOR CENTER FIELDING QUESTIONS FROM PEOPLE AND GIVING THEM MAPS AND SHOWING THEM WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO SEE.

OH LOOK HE'S GETTING UP.

HELLO LITTLE BABY.

HOW SWEET.

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL IS SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE.

I FEEL LIKE A PERSONAL CONNECTION.

I THINK THERES A STRONG CULTURAL CONNECTION.

AND I LOVE COMING OUT HERE.

MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK I COME OUT HERE MULTIPLE TIMES PER WEEK.

EVEN IF I'M NOT VOLUNTEERING.

SEE THERE'S A BUNCH OF DEER OVER THERE.

THEY HAVE BEEN HANGING AROUND THIS AREA QUITE A BIT LATELY.

WHEN I COME OUT HERE, I EXPERIENCE SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVERY TIME AND I SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT EVERY TIME.

I THINK WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THIS PLACE IS THAT THERE'S OVER 48 TRIBES THAT ARE KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN IN THE AREA.

AND SO FOR ME IT'S IMPORTANT TO ABLE TO BRING AN INDIGENOUS VOICE, AN INDIGENOUS LENS TO THIS SETTING BECAUSE I DONT THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE REALIZE THAT THERE IS A VERY STRONG INDIGENOUS PRESENCE HERE AND A STRONG INDIGENOUS BACKGROUND.

THIS INTERFACE WITH THE PLAINS AND MOUNTAINS HAS ALWAYS BEEN KIND OF AN AREA WHERE HUMANS WANT TO OCCUPY SO A LOT OF PEOPLE FOUND THIS AS A GREAT SPOT TO SORT OF STOP AND SPEND TIME AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE PLATTE RIVER.

SO ORIGINALLY THESE LANDS WERE OCCUPIED BY THE NORTHERN ARAPAHO, CHEYENNE AND UTE TRIBES.

IN THE 1860S SETTLERS BEGAN ARRIVING.

WHEN GOLD WAS DISCOVERED HERE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WERE FORCED OUT BECAUSE OF EXPANSION AND PEOPLE WANTING,YOU KNOW,TO LIVE HERE THE INDIGENOUS PRESENCE WAS NOT REALLY SOMETHING THAT THEY WANTED TO SEE.

SO, COLORADO IN THE 1880S WEVE GOT TWO MAJOR INDUSTRIES: MINING AND AGRICULTURE.

AND THE ECONOMICS OF COLORADO FOCUSED AROUND THOSE.

COLORADO IS A NEW STATE AS OF 1876, AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITY HAPPENING IN DENVER WHICH BECOMES THE CENTER OF TRADE AND COMMERCE FOR ALL THOSE AGRICULTURAL AND MINING ACTIVITIES.

IN THE EARLY 1900S DENVER WAS INDUSTRIALIZED, IT WAS SUPPORTING MINING IN THE MOUNTAINS, LIVESTOCK ON THE PLAINS, AND TRAINS WERE HERE AND TRAINS WERE BRINGING THAT COMMERCE BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

SO DENVER WAS A HUB.

IT WAS A COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL HUB AND JUST OUTSIDE OF DENVER WHERE WERE SITTING RIGHT NOW WOULDVE BEEN AGRICULTURE.

WE REALLY SEE OUR AGRICULTURAL REGIONS REALLY GET ESTABLISHED AND THE LAND AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL PRIOR TO IT BEING ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL IS USED FOR RANCHING AND FARMING.

AS DENVER CONTINUED TO GROW, THIS AREA WAS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN SUPPORTING AND PROVIDING FOOD FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED DOWNTOWN.

THESE HOMESTEADERS STAKED A CLAIM, BUILT THEIR PROPERTIES UNTIL DECEMBER 7, 1941.

THE JAPANESE HAVE ATTACKE PEARL HARBOR HAWAII FROM THE AIR DECEMBER 7, 1941 — A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.

FOLLOWING THE BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR, THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR, AT THAT TIME WANTED TO ESTABLISH A SITE IN THE UNITED STATES TO PRODUCE CHEMICAL WEAPONS.

THEY SELECTED DENVER AS THE SITE BECAUSE IT WAS INLAND SECURE FROM POSSIBLE ATTACKS ON THE COAST.

BUT AT THE TIME IN 1942 THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 200 HOMESTEADERS HERE ON THE PROPERTY AND SO I'M SURE FOLKS WERE NOT EXCITED ABOUT HAVING TO MOVE OFF THE PROPERTY BUT IT WAS ALSO AT A TIME WHERE THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF NATIONAL PRIDE AND SUPPORTING THE WAR EFFORT.

WHEN THE UNITED STATES ARMY SELECTED ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL FOR THEIR PRODUCTION SITE OF THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS, MOST PEOPLE THAT LIVED IN DENVER PROBABLY DIDNT KNOW WHAT WAS BEING PRODUCED AT THE PLANT, HOWEVER THE UNITED STATES WAS AT WAR, AND FOR AMERICANS DURING WORLD WAR II SUPPORTING THE MILITARY WAS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.

THIS WAR IS INDUSTRYS WAR IT IS LABORS WAR THEY ARE TACKLING THE BIGGEST JOB IN HISTORY TO FIGHT FOR OUR FREE AND DEMOCRATIC WORLD.

A YEAR LATER THERE WERE TROOPS HERE, PRODUCTION FACILITIES HERE AND WORK WAS UNDERWAY SUPPORTING THE WORLD WAR II EFFORT HERE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF DENVER, COLORADO IS THE NEWEST OF OUR ARSENALS - THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHEMICAL WARFARE ARSENAL.

IT IS LOCATED COMPLETELY OUT OF THE RANGE OF ANY POSSIBLE AIR THREAT.

DURING THE WAR THEY PRODUCED MUSTARD GAS, CHLORINE GAS, NAPALM, WHITE PHOSPHORUS, AND LEWISITE, ALL OF WHICH ARE CHEMICAL WEAPONS.

IN THE 1950S DURING THE KOREAN WAR THE ARMY PRODUCED SARIN A WHICH IS A NERVE AGENT ALSO REFERRED TO AS G.B.

AND THEN PRODUCTION STOPPED FOR CHEMICAL AGENTS IN 1957.

AND BASICALLY THE AGENTS WERE STORED IN BULK AT THAT TIME.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS AFTER WORLD WAR II WAS THE MILITARY IS DOWNSIZED FOR TIME BUT THEY STILL HAVE THESE FACILITIES AND THEY SPEND A LOT OF MONEY BUILDING THEM AND THEY ARE ALSO BUILT TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THINGS THAT ARE CHEMICAL INTENSIVE AND SO IN 1946 THEY BEGAN LEASING PART OF THE FACILITY AS WELL AS PART OF THE LANDS TO JULIUS HYMAN AND COMPANY WHICH IS LATER ACQUIRED BY SHELL OIL.

THE COMPANY BEGINS PRODUCING DIELDRIN, DIELDRIN IS A PESTICIDE WHICH IS NEEDED IN THE POSTWAR PERIOD WERE GETTING A HUGE BOOM IN POPULATION BECAUSE OF THE BABY BOOM AND WE NEED TO FEED MORE PEOPLE.

SO LOTS OF CHEMICALS ARE STILL BEING PRODUCED ON SITE.

WITH ANY THE PRODUCTION OPERATION YOU GENERATE WASTE IN THE CASE HERE LIQUID WASTE WAS DISPOSED OF IN OPEN BASINS WITH THE HOPE THAT MOST OF IT WOULD EVAPORATE.

THIS IS A MAP OF THE SITE SHOWING WHERE THE OPERATIONS TOOK PLACE WHICH AGAIN WAS GENERALLY IN THE CENTER OF THE SITE.

AND WASTE FROM THOSE OPERATIONS INITIALLY WENT INTO AN UNLINED BASIN BASIN A, LIQUID WASTE WENT INTO BASIN A.

NOW, THIS IS SPECIFICALLY FOR LIQUID WASTE AND IN 1954 FARMERS AND RANCHERS FARMING ADJACENT TO THESE 17,000 ACRES BEING CONTROLLED BY ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL START NOTICING THAT THEIR CROPS AND LIVESTOCK ARE DYING OFF.

[MUSIC] SO THEY SUE THE U.S. ARMY.

THE U.S. ARMY SETTLES OUT OF COURT BUT THEY REALIZE THAT MAYBE THEIR EVAPORATION PONDS ARENT WORKING SO WELL AND SO IN 1956 THEY BUILT BASIN F. THE ARMY THEN CONSTRUCTED BASIN F WITH AN ASPHALT LINER TO BE BASICALLY MORE PROTECTIVE IN ORDER TO KEEP THAT LIQUID WASTE FROM GETTING INTO THE GROUNDWATER.

BASIN F ALSO IS AN EVAPORATIVE POND HOWEVER ITS LINED WITH ASPHALT A LAYER OF ASPHALT APPROXIMATELY THE THICKNESS OF THE SOLE OF A SHOE AND THEN THEY COVER IT WITH ABOUT 12 INCHES OF TOPSOIL.

IT'S ROUGHLY 100 ACRES AND IT OPERATED FROM 1956 TO 1982.

SO BASIN F WORKS FOR THEM FOR A WHILE BUT IN 1961 THEY TRY A DIFFERENT SOLUTION.

AND THEY DRILL A BOREHOLE OVER 12,000 FEET INTO THE GROUND TO TRY TO GET BELOW THE WATER TABLE.

BUT THERE'S NO POCKET DOWN THERE THEY'VE JUST DRILLED A BOREHOLE SO THEY ARE INJECTING INTO THE SOIL AND IT TAKES LESS THAN A YEAR WITH THEM DOING THAT BEFORE THE DENVER METRO STARTS EXPERIENCING EARTHQUAKES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THE DENVER METRO RECORDS MORE THAN 1500 EARTHQUAKES.

AND SO THEY STOP USING THE BOREHOLE.

MIRACULOUSLY, THE EARTHQUAKES STOP.

AND SO WHAT WE SEE IN THE 1970S IS THEY KEEP TRYING TO FIND DIFFERENT WAYS TO MITIGATE THAT.

THOSE CHEMICALS AND THEY STOPPED DOING THAT IN 1985.

SO IN 1985 ALL OPERATIONS AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL CEASE.

THIS IS GORGEOUS.

OH, IS THAT A BUCK?

OH YEAH, IT'S A BIG BUCK.

THERE'S A COUPLE OF BIG BUCKS.

OH WOW.

THAT'S AWESOME.

MY NAME IS SCOTT GILMORE.

I HAVE LIVED IN THE MONTBELLO COMMUNITY FOR 50 YEARS.

THIS COMMUNITY ALWAYS KNEW THAT THE ARSENAL WAS A PLACE THAT THEY MADE SARIN GAS, THEY MADE NAPALM THEY MADE FUEL, THEY MADE POISONS TO KILL INSECTS - DOW CHEMICAL SO, IT WAS ALWAYS A SCARY PLACE.

WHEN WE FIRST CAME OUT HERE THERE WERE BARBED WIRE FENCES ALL HERE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD.

AND SO FOR US TO LOOK AT THE SPACE NOW, IT'S LIKE A LEGACY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THE SPACE.

WHEN I WAS A KID BACK IN THE 80S, I WOULD ACTUALLY DRIVE OVER TO THE ARSENAL AND SNEAK THROUGH THE BARBED WIRE FENCE, AND SEE THE EAGLES AND THE EAGLES WERE AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, AND SO TO BE ABLE TO SEE ONE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WAS PRETTY AMAZING.

I THINK ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING IRONIES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IS THE BALD EAGLE.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT CERTAIN CHEMICALS THAT WERE PRODUCED AFFECTED BALD EAGLES AND LED TO THEIR DECLINE AND EGGSHELL THINNING AND WE LOST ALMOST ALL OF OUR BALD EAGLES IN THIS COUNTRY.

THEY MADE THOSE CHEMICALS HERE AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL SO SO HOW INTERESTING IS IT THAT THE BALD EAGLES RETURNED AS OPERATIONS WERE BEGINNING TO SLOW DOWN AND BECAME A PART OF THIS LOCATION AND ULTIMATELY LED TO THE CREATION OF THIS BEING A NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

SO BACK WHEN THIS WAS AN ARMY INSTALLATION THEY WERE TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THIS PIECE OF LAND ONCE THEY WERE DONE WITH IT.

AND THEY FOUND A LARGE EAGLE ROOST THAT HAD APPROXIMATELY 80 EAGLES AT THE TIME.

IN 1986 THE U.S.

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE COMES IN TO DO A SURVEY OF THE LAND AND WHAT THEY REALIZE IS THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF HUMANS ITS TURNED KIND OF INTO ITS OWN WILDLIFE REFUGE.

THEY FIND 320 NATIVE SPECIES OF PLANTS, THEY FIND 280 SPECIES OF NATIVE WILDLIFE, INCLUDING THE AMERICAN BALD EAGLE WHICH AT THE TIME WAS ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST.

SO THE AREA THAT WE ARE GOING TO GO LOOK AT TODAY IS ONE OF OUR EAGLE ROOSTS THAT WE HAVE ON SITE, SOMETIMES WE HAVE MULTIPLE BUT WE'RE GOING TO ONE SPECIFIC ONE THIS TIME.

AND IN THE WINTER WE CAN HAVE TYPICALLY BETWEEN 30 TO 50 EAGLES AT THAT ROOST.

BALD EAGLES WERE FOUND HERE IN THE LATE 80S AND EARLY 90S, AND AT THE TIME THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES ARE BECOMING MUCH MORE AWARE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT.

WERE PASSING LEGISLATION - THE CLEAN AIR ACT, THE CLEAN WATER ACT.

ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT ACT WAS CERCLA, AND ULTIMATELY THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL BECAME ONE OF THE FIRST SITES LISTED ON THE NATIONAL PRIORITY LIST UNDER CERCLA.

THE NATIONAL PRIORITY LIST IS OFTEN CALLED THE SUPERFUND LIST SO ONE OF THE FIRST SUPERFUND SITES IN THE COUNTRY WAS THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL.

THEY MAKE IT A SUPERFUND SITE IN 1987, AND IN 1988 THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SENDS IN A COMPANY CALLED EBASCO TO START THE CLEANUP.

IT DOESNT GO GREAT RIGHT OFF THE BAT.

THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY TOXIC SITE, AND EBASCO IS SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE ROADS WET SO THAT THERE'S NOT DUST BLOWING AROUND THEY DO OR DON'T DEPENDING ON WHOSE STORY YOU HEAR.

THERE WERE TWO DOCUMENTED INCIDENCES IN WHICH EBASCO SENT HOME THEIR EMPLOYEES DUE TO HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.

BUT THEY DID NOT NOTIFY THE RESIDENTS IN THE SURROUNDING AREA AND SO SOME RESIDENTS SAY THEY HAD ENVIRONMENTAL OR THEY HAD HEALTH RESPONSES TO THAT.

WHEN THEY HAD STARTED THE CLEANUP THEY GAVE US A ROBO CALL HERE.

WE STILL HAD A LANDLINE THEN, AND IT WAS LIKE “THIS IS THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL.

WE HAVE FOUND SARIN BOMBLETS ON THE ARSENAL.

THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A STRUCTURE AND DESTROY THEM ON SITE.” AND THEN YOU LOOK UP SARIN GAS AND YOU ARE LIKE YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING.

SO CLEANUP STARTED OFF A BIT ROCKY ESPECIALLY ON THOSE TOP LAYERS BUT BY 2010 THEY DECLARED CLEANUP TO BE OVER.

AND THROUGHOUT THAT TIME THAT'S WHEN MOMENTUM STARTED TO PICK UP THAT THIS WOULD MAKE A GOOD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

EVENTUALLY THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE RFUGE ACT OF 1992 PASSED.

SO LANDS WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE U.S.

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE TO MANAGE AS A NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IN SEVERAL STEPS THE FIRST MAJOR TRANSFER OCCURRED IN 2004 WHICH LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

IT IS GORGEOUS.

WOW.

WITH THE SUN COMING THROUGH THE CLOUDS.

FOR US TO BE ABLE TO COME OUT HERE AND WALK OUT HERE AND FEEL THE FRESH AIR, SEE THE BEAUTY OF WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN COLORADO, IT'S JUST REINVIGORATING SOMETIMES AND GIVES US A LITTLE EXTRA PUSH TO CONTINUE DOING THE WORK THAT WE DO.

ME AND STACIE HAVE BOTH BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR DECADES.

THAT PLAN IS A LOT DIFFERENT PLAN THAN ANY NORMAL REFUGE IN THE UNITED STATES.

THIS IS REALLY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE IMPACT THAT THE REFUGE IS GOING TO HAVE ON COMMERCE CITY, MONTEBELLO, GREEN VALLEY RANCH, SO THEY CAN BE A BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO THE PEOPLE IN THAT COMMUNITY, NOT JUST FOR THE WILDLIFE.

SO WE GET THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WILDLIFE REFUGE IN WHICH THEY GET 15,000 OF THE ORIGINAL 17,000 ACRES.

AT THE END A THOUSAND OF THOSE ACRES ARE LEFT UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE U.S. ARMY.

THIS MAP SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE ARMY'S FACILITIES AND THEN WE HAD TWO OFF-SITE PLANTS THAT WERE CONSTRUCTED TO CAPTURE GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION THAT MIGRATED OFF-SITE BEFORE THE NORTH BOUNDARY SYSTEM WAS BUILT.

THE ARMY IS RESPONSIBLE, WERE THE AGENCY FOR THE CLEANUP AND SO WE HAVE FIVE GROUND WATER TREATMENT PLANTS THAT WE USE TO CLEAN THE CONTAMINATED GROUND- WATER BELOW THE SURFACE.

THIS IS CALLED THE BASIN A NECK TREATMENT PLANT; WHAT WE HAVE IS SEVERAL EXTRACTION WELLS THROUGHOUT THE INNER PART OF THE ARSENAL.

GROUNDWATER IS EXTRACTED FROM THOSE WELLS AND BROUGHT INTO THE TREATMENT PLANT MEASURED AND THEN PUT INTO AN INFLUENCE SUMP.

MY NAME IS TONY LACHANCE AND I'M THE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR NAVARRO RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL.

SO THESE ARE THE INFLUENT LINES AND THEY ARE ALL MONITORED FOR PRESSURE AND FLOW.

THIS IS THE AIR STRIPPER WHERE WE RUN WATER DOWN THROUGH TRAYS AND AIR IS BLOWN UP THROUGH IT TO STRIP VOLATILE ORGANIC CARBON OFF.

THE AIR FROM THERE IS THEN BROUGHT TO A VAPOR BASED CARBON AND FROM THERE, AGAIN, IT'S DUMPED INTO THE INFLUENCE SUMP.

FOR FURTHER TREATMENT.

SO GROUNDWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS INTERCEPT THAT CONTAMINATION, TREAT IT, REINJECT CLEAN WATER BACK INTO THE GROUND.

AND THEN WE OPERATE TWO HAZARDOUS WASTE LANDFILLS THAT CONTAIN WASTE THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH OUT HERE OVER THE YEARS AND THEN WE HAVE TWO WASTE CONSOLIDATION AREAS WHERE THE VOLUME OF WASTE IN THE LOCATIONS WAS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO WHERE IT WOULD PRESENT MORE OF A PUBLIC HEALTH HAZARD TO EXCAVATE THAT MATERIAL.

INSTEAD WE PUT A COVER SYSTEM OVER TOP OF IT TO PREVENT ANY RAINWATER OR SNOWMELT FROM GETTING INTO THE WASTE AND AND DRIVING THAT WASTE INTO THE GROUNDWATER.

TO ENSURE THOSE CHEMICALS DONT GET INTO OUR WATER SOURCES THEY WERE REPLACED IN LANDFILLS THAT HAVE LINERS.

THE BAD STUFF IS PUT IN THERE, AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER LINER THAT'S PLACED ON TOP, AND THEN FEET OF CLEAN SOIL WAS PLACED ON TOP OF THOSE.

AND THIS WAS ALL THE EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT NONE OF THAT EVER LEAVES THE LANDFILLS IN THE CONTAINED AREAS AND GETS BACK INTO GROUNDWATER.

AND SO THE ARMY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OPERATING ALL OF THOSE FACILITIES MONITORING THE FACILITIES TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE PROTECTIVE OF PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND U.S. ARMY WILL BE HERE FOREVER, MANAGING THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER CERCLA WHICH INCLUDE WATER MONITORING AND MAINTAINING CERTAIN LANDFILLS THAT EXIST ON THIS PROPERTY.

OTHER AGENCIES THAT WILL ALWAYS BE INVOLVED ARE THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT THE SITE REMAINS CLEANED UP AND THAT THE WATER TREATMENT AN OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AT THE SITE CONTINUE.

30 YEARS AGO IT WAS VERY LIMITED TO WHERE YOU COULD GO AND WHAT YOU COULD DO, AND NOW TO THINK ABOUT IT 30 YEARS LATER THAT THEYRE GOING TO HIT A MILLION VISITORS THIS YEAR THAT WILL COME AND VISIT THIS AMAZING REFUGE IS PRETTY, PRETTY SPECTACULAR YEAH, IT'S JUST SUCH A DIFFERENT I THINK, VIBE WHEN YOU GO OUT TO THE REFUGE NOW BECAUSE YOU CAN HIT THE VISITOR CENTER YOU CAN GO ON THE DRIVING TOUR.

I MEAN THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO IN THE SPACE NOW THAT WERE NOT ALLOWED 30 YEARS AGO IS PRETTY, PRETTY AMAZING.

REGARDING THE NAME OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, I REMEMBER AS WE WERE COMING DOWN TO THE END OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THERE SOME TALK ABOUT CHANGING THE NAME AND I CLEARLY LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY SHOULD NOT CHANGE THE NAME.

BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF HISTORY.

YOU KNOW WE CAN GO AND ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF IT TODAY BUT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED THERE BEFORE IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE.

AND SO THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY OF WHERE THAT ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL CAME THE WORD ARSENAL IS RIGHT THERE.

WE HAD TO LIVE THAT, THAT WAS PART OF OUR LIVED EXPERIENCE, AND TO BE ABLE TO SAY LET'S CHANGE THE NAME TO KIND OF PUT THAT IN THE PAST, THAT IS NOT SOMETHING WE WANTED.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW THOSE STORIES.

WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE THAT WORD ARSENAL CAME FROM SO WE CAN MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

THIS IS DERBY LAKE AND THIS AREA HAS A LOT OF WATERFOWL ACTIVITY.

PELICANS ONE TIME I PULLED OVER HERE AND HAD MY BINOCULARS OUT AND IN THAT TREE LINE BACK OVER THERE I COUNTED ABOUT 30 EAGLES IN THAT TREE LINE OVER THERE.

WHAT I REALLY HOPE IS THAT WHEN PEOPLE COME HERE THAT THEY KNOW THE STORY OF THE ARSENAL BUT THEY ALSO HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR THE PLACE.

AND I THINK THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST PERFECT PLACES, THE DIVERSITY HERE OF ANIMALS IS REALLY TRULY AMAZING.

I THINK LANDS LIKE THE FORMER ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL BECOME EVER MORE IMPORTANT THESE LAST PLACES THAT MAY SEEM DIFFICULT AT FIRST, MAY PROVE TO BE EXTREMELY VALUABLE TO OUR FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION.

SO CREATING THESE CORRIDORS AND CREATING THIS PATCHWORK OF LANDS FOR OUR FISH AND WILDLIFE IS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.

I THINK INFORMING AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC IS CRUCIAL TO THE FIELD OF CONSERVATION.

WE HAVE NEARLY A MILLION VISITORS THAT COME THROUGH THIS BEAUTIFUL SITE AND BEING ABLE TO INFORM THEM AND ENGAGE THEM IN WHAT WE DO IN HOPES TO IGNITE THAT PASSION, SO THEY TOO CAN BECOME STEWARDS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND PROTECT THESE RESOURCES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO COME.

I BELIEVE THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IS ONE OF THE BEST REFUGES IN THE WORLD.

BECAUSE IT'S IN MY COMMUNITY.

THE PEOPLE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD CAN WALK OUT THE FRONT DOOR AND WALK OVER THERE AND ENJOY NATURE.

THEY CAN SEE WORLD-CLASS MULE DEER AND WHITETAIL DEER, THEY CAN SEE BUFFALO, THEY CAN SEE EAGLES, THEY COULD SEE FOXES.

THEY CAN CONNECT WITH THE NATURAL WORLD RIGHT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A SEVEN SQUARE MILE PIECE OF LAND WHO IN THIS NATION HAS THAT TYPE ACCESS TO A SPACE LIKE THAT?

THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT A PREMIER WILDLIFE REFUGE TO ME.

♪ [MUSIC]