News

Press Contacts:
Vanessa Thurk, Executive Director
Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges
vthurk@ffrwr.org

 


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Montbello Community Inspires Art Projects at Rocky Mountain Arsenal

 

The Friends organization contracted local artists Michael Gadlin, Finley Baker, and Drew Austin to collaborate with students creating placemaking artwork at pedestrian entrances to the refuge. The artists worked with Montbello students from Environmental Learning Kids (ELK) and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early Learning Center to help create the tall, nature-inspired pieces that spin when the Colorado breeze hits just right. ELK is a non-profit organization that helps underrepresented youth learn about math and science while connecting with nature. Read more…

 


Radio Feature: Might High Magazine, Bonneville International

Friends Executive Director, Vanessa Thurk, spoke with Murphy Huston on Mile High Magazine about Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges’ impact on Colorado’s Wildlife Refuges and promote our upcoming Harvest Moon appreciation dinner.

 

You can listen to the interview here:
https://lnkd.in/ghF92Rge
https://lnkd.in/gd3Ert4v
https://lnkd.in/gZCSwXtj


In The 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.

 


Volunteer Spotlight Rocky Mountain PBS

 

Montoya Whiteman, a dedicated volunteer with a deep connection to the refuge shares about Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge as the first baby bison are born for the season. Montoya says, “It’s a story of resilience that parallels the story of resilience with the bison and also with Indigenous peoples. Watch here!

 

 


These Outdoor Education Programs Are Inspiring the Next Generation of Climate Activists Outside Magazine

Youth getting outdoors at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and elsewhere is getting noticed by Outside Magazine! After creating local parks and trails with communities across the state for 20 years, Great Outdoors Colorado<https://goco.org/> saw that kids were spending less and less time outside. Want to read more? click here.


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).

 


PARK HILL NEWS ARTICLES

Click below to read some recent articles featured in the The Greater Park Hill News about us from February 2023:

American Icon – Driven To The Brink Of Extinction, Bison Revival Is A Conservation Success Story

Wild And Free – Rocky Mountain Arsenal, An Urban Refuge

 


News Release

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. Read More


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.

Lake-Mary-rendering


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.”

 


 

The Best Place to View Wildlife

Rocky Mountain Arsenal Best RefugeThe Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Wildlife Refuge was voted the “Fourth (4th) Best Place to View Wildlife in the USA”! Read the story here

 


 

Why Wildlife Refuges Matter!

Why Wildlife Refuges MatterStories from Refuge Friends
Written by Jessica Wang, National Wildlife Refuge Association, August 7, 2020. Read more here

 

 

 

 

 


Below is a 5 minute video showing the beautiful Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and discussing its history.  Sorry to say that the refuge no longer has guided tours of the refuge by bus. You can take the drive in the comfort of your own vehicle with our audio tour. Download the tour Podcast in English or Spanish Here!