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About Friends

Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges (Friends) is a nonprofit organization that supports the two largest national wildlife refuges in the Denver metro area: Rocky Mountain Arsenal and Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuges. Through active outreach and fundraising, Friends supports refuge programs, volunteers, environmental education, habitat restoration, and many other initiatives.

Support Our Refuges

Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges staff and Board of Directors work on ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the hinono’eino’ biito’owu’ (Arapaho), Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), Núu-agha-tʉvʉ–pʉ̱ (Ute), Ndé Kónitsąąíí Gokíyaa (Lipan Apache), and  Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche).

With this land acknowledgment, we affirm Indigenous, history, and experiences.

Government Shutdown 2025

Last updated: 10/17/25, 9:00 am

Due to a lapse in federal appropriations, the government has shut down. The Department of Interior has issued an updated contingency plan, directing national wildlife refuges, to remain mostly open, while operating with significantly reduced staff and visitor services.

The duration of the shutdown remains uncertain, but impacts on Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (RMANWR), its staff, gateway communities, and visitors will be felt quickly.

Friends’ Executive Director, Vanessa Thurk, spoke to Fox31 about impacts of the government shutdown on the Friends organization. View the full story here.

Government Shutdown Implications for RMANWR, Visitors, and Staff:

Visitor services:

Open/accessible to visitors:

• Refuge roads, including Gateway Rd. to mi 2 of the Wildlife Drive and Rattlesnake Hill.
• Trails are open.
• Archery range and fishing are open (fishing license and fee required, catch and release only, no live bait).
• Our online Nature’s Nest is open. Shop Online

Closed/not accessible to visitors:

• The Pat Schroeder Visitor Center including the Nature’s Nest store is closed.
• Black-Footed Ferret Exhibit is closed.
• Ranger programs, family programming, school field trips, and outdoor stewardship experiences are canceled.

Staff:

• The majority of USFWS staff at RMANWR have been furloughed, with exceptions made for a small number of staff deemed “necessary to protect life and property” and basic sanitation services, including law enforcement, fire safety, and contractual obligations.
• Most staff, including those who continue to work, will not be paid until the shutdown ends.
• A small number of FFRWR staff and volunteers have been working to provide updates and orient visitors.

Volunteer programs:

• Community Volunteer Days with FFRWR are paused. FFRWR is offering assistance to outside volunteer groups as needed.
• Regular volunteers in the Visitor Center have been forced to stay home and hours will not be counted. This reduces annual funding received for USFWS volunteers.

Ongoing construction:

• Most construction projects within the refuge, including the closure of the Wildlife Drive, are permitted to continue during the shutdown.

Fee collection and revenue:

• Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges (FFRWR) earned $27,824 in retail sales in October of 2024, the forced closure of our store has caused FFRWR to lose this estimated revenue. Halfway through October, we are down $13,755 in revenue; this makes a significant impact to our annual budget and future programming at RMANWR.
• During the shutdown, fee collectors and visitor center staff, who usually aid visitors with park pass purchases, are furloughed. This puts significant revenue, needed for next year’s operations, at risk.
• A great way to support Nature’s Nest and, by extension, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, is through our donation tote bags! If you make a $10 donation, you can get a free tote bag as thanks for your donation! We may not be able to work in our usual location, but we want to support the Refuge even while the rangers are away! 

Implications for Our Community:

• The timing of the shutdown is particularly difficult, as rut season is among RMANWR’s busiest periods. Typically, the Visitor Center sees thousands of visitors each weekend with volunteers greeting and orienting visitors, urban rangers providing environmental education, seasonal staff tending to endangered black-footed ferrets, and Nature’s Nest buzzing with business. Due to the government shutdown, the Friends and the USFWS are unable to provide these services to our local community and visitors from all over the world.
• The community art installation celebration with Summit Heights Junior High will be postponed. Check back for an updated date and time!

How You Can Help:

• Engage with policymakers: Contact your state’s congressional delegation to stress the importance of stable funding and staffing for Public Lands. Urge policymakers to lift the hiring freeze and restore full staffing levels at national parks and wildlife refuges.
• Recreate responsibly: Check out tips on how to stay safe and reduce your impact on the park’s incredible natural and historic resources.
• Express appreciation: Thank essential  personnel for continuing to serve during this period.
• Support local businesses and organizations: Help keep our community vibrant by supporting local businesses and organizations through this challenging time. Check out the Generation Wild Northeast Metro Coalition partners.
• Share information about community resources: Several local organizations and food pantries are available to help furloughed federal workers and others impacted by the shutdown.
• Consider a donation: Help Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges continue community programs with a donation. Your gift will fund programs at RMANWR including habitat restoration, youth education, and conservation efforts to protect our cherished public lands.
• Support our: Upcoming Nature Play project to be built next year at RMANWR

Thank you to everyone for helping support our refuges and our community!

Wildlife Drive Closure

From October 13 through mid-November, the wildlife drive will be closed at mile marker 2 (start of the bison enclosure) for culvert and road repairs – see map below.

– For bison viewing, take Havana Street north to Rattlesnake Hill Road or hike the Discovery Trail. One-way section is closed.

– Parking lots open for lakes Ladora, Mary, and Lower Derby.

– No detours or alternating traffic is possible when doing bridge repair, replacing box culverts, or pouring a low water crossing – so we thank you for your understanding during this closure!

– These improvements will enhance the wildlife drive experience for visitors and will also improve riparian habitat for wildlife.

Stay in the Loop on Nature Play at RMA

Sign up below to hear the latest on our community-centered project to create a space for outdoor recreation.

Check out our Campaign Page

Thank you for celebrating Harvest Moon Appreciation Dinner

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Contact: vthurk@ffrwr.org to sponsor Harvest Moon 2025

Subscribe for Refuge Updates and Free Programs

Check out previous Newsletters by clicking the links below.

Click Subscribe to join for Refuge updates and upcoming events.

– Government Shutdown Update Oct 2025

– Thank You Harvest Moon Sponsors

– Friends August Newsletter 2025

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge sees revenue loss from federal government shutdown

We took the Walk for the Wild 5K Challenge!

Together, we walked to thrive, and we walk to make sure wildlife thrives.

Walk for the Wild is an annual event to demonstrate our commitment to deepening human connections with nature and to protect the thriving ecosystems we depend on.

Walk for the Wild is an annual event in awareness and support of National Wildlife Refuges & their partners while we strive to get people moving a distance of 5K in nature in conjunction with National Wildlife Refuge Week, the second week of October.

Thanks for celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week 2024 with Urban Refuge Day on Saturday, October 12th and Walk for the Wild 5K on October 19th. Check out some photos from our event at RMANWR below!

Montbello Community Inspires Art Projects at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

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…

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 at the top of home page 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.