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ii EXECUTIVE SUN1MAFtY In 1993, The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) was contracted by t:he Department of Energy to assess the ecological values of the Rock Creek drainage tat the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (BEETS). The goal of the project ,vas to accumulate and examine existing biological data from the site, incorporate :appropriate portions into the CNHP's Biological Conservation Database, and with :appropriate field verification, identify significant natural heritage resources. We ~,vere also asked to make recommendations on actions that would be necessary to protect these resources. The Natural Heritage Inventory was conducted in four steps: "L . Accumulate existing information concerning significant elements of biological diversity from existing data at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site. 2. Perform ground surveys to rank occurrences of elements in terms of quality, condition, viability, and defensibility, and to identify conservation boundaries for each element. 3. Assign natural heritage Biodiversiry Ranks (B-ranks) to determine significance of each occurrence. ~~. Assess conservation data relative to the conservation priorities of the International Network of Natural Heritage Programs and present in a final report. The Rock Creek drainage was determined to contain significant natural Izeritage resources (those species or communities determined by CNHP to be raze, threatened or endangered or of high significance) and was denoted as a "natural Heritage conservation site." The Natural Heritage Program developed a preliminary conservation planning boundary for the Rock Creek drainage. In developing this boundary, a number of factors were considered including: habitat for rare species, protection of water quality, buffers from potentially detrimental land uses, and the maintenance of ecological processes necessary for the perpetuation of the significant elements in the area. The delineation of a conservation planning boundary in this report does not c:onfer any regulatory protection on recommended azeas. These boundaries are intended to be used to support wise planning and decision-making for the conservation of these significant azeas. The Colorado Natural Heritage Program c°ncourages the Department of Energy (DOE) to take actions that will protect this ;;ate, particularly since in the Heritage Program methodology it ranks as a site of