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The Trust Project

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Yes.

The Bluff Lake Natural Area was created as part of a settlement between the Sierra Club and the Denver Department of Aviation. Today, the 123-acre site houses the nonprofit Bluff Lake Nature Center and is home to hundreds of species of birds, mammals, insects and plants. 

Before Denver’s Stapleton Airport closed in 1995, Bluff Lake was a buffer zone for plane crashes. Remaining fenced off at the end of a runway, the lake attracted a variety of wildlife. Before the airport was developed, the lake served as an irrigation pond. 

The Sierra Club sued Denver’s Stapleton Airport for allowing airplane de-icing fluid to spill into the nearby Sand Creek during rain events, killing fish. Denver preserved the nearby Bluff Lake area and spent $3 million restoring it as part of the settlement. 

Denver’s Department of Aviation owned the site until 2008, when it was transferred to the Bluff Lake Nature Center. 

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References:

History, Bluff Lake Nature Center, accessed in March 2025.

Home, Bluff Lake Nature Center, accessed in March 2025.

Denver's Bluff Lake Nature Center: A Relaxing Urban Oasis, Ecological Success Story, City of Denver, Feb. 17, 2025.

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Por recently graduated from CU Boulder with a master’s degree in journalism and is interested in writing about the environment and exploring local stories. When not working on some form of writing, Por is either looking for Thai food or petting...