This time next year, Commerce City residents will likely be sharing more of their urban space with their fuzzy four-legged neighbors at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Last month, the refuge announced plans to expand its bison habitat from 6,500 acres to 10,300. While the bison herd numbers should remain around 250, their expanded roaming quarters will basically put them “in your backyard,” refuge officials told residents (though safely separated by fencing and cattle guards).
The project will be funded by $2.6 million from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of a larger federal effort to protect and conserve the Great Plains, which have lost more than 50 million acres of grasslands in the last decade. The arsenal stretches from Denver’s Montbello neighborhood northeast to Commerce City and is 15,000 acres of short- and mixed-grass prairie. It’s home to 330 different species, including the endangered black footed black ferret.
Wildlife experts say widening the arsenal’s bison habitat will help promote growth, expansion, and strength of the area’s native plants and vegetation, helping preserve metro Denver’s unique little patch of prairie in the city.
