Master Plan NWRC Headquarters Site Collection --

The NWRC began in 1965 in Denver, Colorado under the name Denver Wildlife Research Center (DWRC). Evaluations of this site in the mid-1980s revealed that the DWRC’s animal research facilities were substandard and in need of renovation. However, it was determined that the renovation of those facilities to comply with federal animal care regulations in an urban environment would be prohibitively expensive. It was decided that the Research Center should move from the Denver location entirely. In 1989 the Fort Collins location was approved as the proposed site for the new headquarters and a year later, a land lease was signed between APHIS and Colorado State University (CSU). There were a number of benefits to moving the research center to Fort Collins, but the most significant of these was the research support and cooperation that a working relationship with CSU would offer. Ground was broken in 1993 with the building of the newly-named NWRC’s Animal Research Building (ARB). This was followed by the construction of the Wildlife Science Building in 1997. Several other additions were added to the site over the next ten years, including the Invasive Species Research Building and Outdoor Pen Project.