June 24, 2000

Dear Senator Allard,

Thank you for your introduction of legislation to designate the future use of the entire Rocky Flats site as a National Wildlife Refuge. This 6,000-acre site would serve as a much-needed open space buffer between Boulder, Arvada, and Golden, areas undergoing explosive growth. Besides its value as a buffer and wildlife preserve, this site could serve an under met need for recreational opportunities in the greater Denver Metro area.

As the Denver-Metro population grows, more people are seeking healthy outdoor recreational opportunities within a short drive from their homes. The Rocky Flats site could serve as a recreational cornerstone of the region. The site has many existing roads that will be used in perpetuity for monitoring of the cleanup effort. These roads could provide the backbone of a multi-use recreational facility. It is important to remember this sort of use is allowed in all the existing National Wildlife Refuges across the nation.

In addition, Rocky Flats is a key connecting-point for many regional trail systems (several are included as "Trails 2000" in Jefferson County planning documents). These regional systems radiate in all directions from the site:

1. To the north and south an off-road connection from Boulder Open Space to Golden has long been proposed. This could also incorporate connections to Jefferson County’s White Ranch Open Space.
2. To the east there are potential connections to Standley Lake trails.
3. To the southeast there are trail connections to Leyden – Arvada.
4. To the northeast there are connections to trails in Superior, Marshall, Rock Creek, Broomfield, and InterLocken.
5. To the west there are trail connections to Eldorado Springs State Park, Gross Reservoir, and to Boulder County’s Walker Ranch Open Space.

The Boulder Area Trails Coalition serves as an umbrella organization for trail users in Boulder County. Our mission is to promote non-motorized, multi-use, environmentally responsible trail systems. We've help build and maintain many miles of trails and would be delighted to contribute to a trail system at Rocky Flats. Our growing organization of hikers, bicyclists, and, equestrians currently stands at several hundred direct members, while the total membership of our member organizations is well over 1,500. We urge you to incorporate Rocky Flats’ wonderful recreational possibilities in your plans.

Thank you for consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Eric Vogelsberg,

President