Once Making Nuclear Weapons, Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge Now Hosts Migratory Birds

By NPR News
Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge sits on land surrounding the famous Rocky Flats Nuclear Reservation that produced nuclear weapons during the Cold War. CREDIT: DAN BOYCE/NPR
The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge sits on more than 5,000 acres of trees, wetlands and pristine rolling prairie about 16 miles northwest of Denver. It hosts 239 migratory and resident species, from falcons and elk to the threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse. It also used to be the site of a federal nuclear weapons facility — and it's reopening to the public this Read More

Will These High Desert Sage Grouse Be ‘Nevermore’ With Egg-Stealing Ravens In Their Midst?

By Courtney Flatt
Lindsey Perry prepares a tag for a female sage grouse. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT
Sage grouse are found in 11 Western states. But they’re in trouble. In Oregon, their fragmented habitat is threatened by human development, invasive species, wildfires and overgrazing. Researchers are just starting to look into raven depredation, a more controversial problem for the birds. In a policy shift, the federal government wants sage grouse work to focus on the Read More
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