Using National Land Cover Database as an indicator of successful remediation: the Department of Energy's Rocky Flats (Colorado) as a case study.

Abstract

Missions for federal facilities, such as the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE), include protecting human health and the environment. The public is interested in whether ecological resources are protected on such lands, especially following remediation of legacy wastes remaining from World War II, Cold War, and industrial activities. Many DOE sites are remediated for future uses depending upon potential for exposure to residual contamination. This study: (1) examined the % ecological resources remaining on Rocky Flats following completion of cleanup, (2) compared the ecological resources (i.e. plant cover) of Rocky Flats (RF) with the surrounding 10-km and 30-km bands of land, and (3) measured % natural vegetation on RF with comparable % on three other large DOE facilities that are still undergoing remediation. Rocky Flats contains significantly more grassland than the surrounding region, with less development, and is mostly a National Wildlife Refuge open to the public. Agriculture and grazing do not occur on RF. The three sites undergoing remediation have significantly more natural habitat (climax vegetation) than their surrounding buffer areas. The aim of this study was to examine the implications of ecological protection of climax vegetation upon these sites and the importance of consistently examining regional ecologies.