Home
The Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges is a non-profit organization that supports the two largest national wildlife refuges in the Denver metro area – the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Through active volunteering and fundraising, the Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges supports refuge programs, volunteers, environmental education for kids and habitat restoration among many other projects.
Join us September 23rd, 2023 for our annual Harvest Moon Dinner.
Get Tickets Here
Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges (FFRWR) is seeking proposals from industrial artists to create placemaking art at pedestrian entrances that lead into the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Artists interested in this project will provide a placemaking artwork proposal to Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges (FFRWR) and Watson Wenk Group by August 4, 2023. The milestones and work product that should be included in the proposal can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1epqOPo-jCLyCtU6Azf2d6JNFtMTFjfqR/view?usp=drive_link
FFRWR Art Project
The Board of Directors of the Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges are very excited to propose the new Lake Mary Education Center! Visits to the refuge have exploded and there is greatly-increased demand for environmental education. The board proposes to repurpose the fifty-year-old Contact Station into a full service Education Center. Please read the attached report for all the details. Click here to see the full proposal.
Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges board & staff would like to give a huge thanks to all of our sponsors, donors, and attendees who helped make the 2022 Harvest Moon Dinner our most successful annual fundraiser yet!
Special thanks to Suncor, Arbor Family Medicine, City of Commerce City, Stacie Gilmore City of Denver District 11, Navarro, United Power, South Adams County Fire, Odell Brewing, Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha, Stem Ciders, and countless others who donated their time and products to our event. We will set a date for 2023 soon, so don’t miss out!
![](https://ffrwr.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Sunset-O-Dorisio-2.png")
Credit: Adams County Commissioner Steve O’Dorisio
Getting outdoors and into nature is easy at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge – especially in the fall!
Click here to read an article from the Denver Post (requires a paid subscription).
CPR News
The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge has been honored as the first “flagship” urban refuge in the nation by the Biden administration. Only one of a handful of Urban Refuges achieving that designation, RMANWR endeavors to share its many resources, such as excellent environmental education opportunities, fishing, archery, and fun with local communities and the public at large. Read about it and listen to an interview by clicking here.
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that Denver’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge will be awarded $1 million in additional annual funding to expand their Urban Wildlife Conservation Program. With this funding, the Refuge will be able to better support local communities in the metro Denver area by offering a safe outdoor place for the community and visitors to enjoy recreation in their nearby nature. The Refuge will also be able to improve infrastructure, provide more environmental education opportunities, and support community partnerships.
“We are thrilled to be able to invest additional resources in providing opportunities for diverse local communities to use and enjoy the Refuge,” FWS Regional Director Noreen Walsh said. “Our vision is for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to be a place where all are welcome, and where visitors can enjoy access to the natural world and learn about our native wildlife. We are especially excited to be able to invest these new resources in connecting to and partnering with our neighbors in this urban metropolitan area.”
Here is a 10 minute video on the new Urban Wildlife Conservation investment:
CBS News
We are so proud to be highlighted on national news. Take two minutes and enjoy nature!
“CBS Sunday Morning takes us among the bison, rabbits and prairie dogs at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City, Colorado. Videographer: Michael Clark.”
FFRWR is the host of a unique project – the Generation Wild Northeast Metro Coalition, funded by a grant from the Generation Wild program of Great Outdoors Colorado. Click here to find out more about Generation Wild NEMC and click here to find out more about GOCO’s Generation Wild program.
Enjoy & Support your Denver-metro Urban National Wildlife Refuges
The Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges (FFRWR) is a community that supports the two largest national wildlife refuges in the Denver metro area–the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuges.
Through events, communications, advocacy and fundraising, we support the refuges in
- Conserving and restoring native habitat and wildlife
- Giving the public opportunities to experience wildlife and nature near a major metropolitan area
- Providing environmental education in partnership with families and schools
We also support the refuges by:
- Keeping our congressional leaders and other Friends Groups informed about the successes and concerns of our refuges
- Soliciting expertise, ideas, funds, and materials from the community to help make our local refuges outstanding
Ultimately, our vision is to create two refuges in which native wildlife and habitat are maintained in a healthy ecosystem that is rich and diverse and that contributes to the education and recreational enjoyment of people from all walks of life.
The beautiful photos you see are above were taken by wildlife photographer Dave Showalter at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Roll over each image to see an expanded view of the site and the wildlife that calls the Refuge home.