WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, December 27, 2012
Reprieve Won for Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge

Appeals Court Blocks Transfer of Land to Highway Developers
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

Denver—A federal appeals court late yesterday granted an emergency motion filed by WildEarth Guardians and blocked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from selling a portion of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado to highway developers.

“It’s an interim victory, but a victory nonetheless for open space, clean air, and wildlife habitat along Colorado’s Front Range,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’ Climate and Energy Program Director.  “This breathes new life into efforts to safeguard the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding region from unchecked development.”

The ruling comes in response to an emergency motion for an injunction filed by WildEarth Guardians, which was joined by Rocky Mountain Wild and the Town of Superior.  The motion was filed on the heels of a decision issued by a U.S. District Court Judge in Denver last Friday, which upheld a Fish and Wildlife Service decision to transfer ownership of a three-mile long, 300-foot strip of land along the eastern edge of the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge to the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, a private entity.

The Highway Authority, a private entity, intends to construct a four lane, high speed toll road adjacent to Indiana Street, which currently skirts the east side of Rocky Flats.  In upholding the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision, the federal court opened the door for a series of transactions to occur by December 31, 2012 that would ultimately transfer ownership of part of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge to the Highway Authority and enable the construction of the toll road.  The transactions would be virtually impossible to reverse. 

On Monday, WildEarth Guardians, Rocky Mountain Wild, and the Town of Superior appealed the District Court’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.  The injunction handed down by the 10th Circuit ensures that the irreversible transactions do not move forward while appeals are pending.

“This ruling ensures that the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge gets a fair shot in court,” said Nichols.  “More importantly, this ruling ensures that the appeals court gets a fair chance to review whether or not the District Court got it wrong.” 

With the injunction in place, the transactions planned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not proceed by December 31 as originally planned and the Highway Authority will not be able to move forward to build its planned toll road.