DENVER POST (Colorado) 29 July 07 Sports fields on rattlers' turf - Synthetic surface may scare off snakes at complex opening in the fall (Ann Schrader)

Golden: Creation of a regional sports complex at the former Rooney Landfill has taken some frustrating and peculiar twists and turns over eight long years.

Negotiations between Jefferson County, Golden and the Table Mountain Soccer Association; legal work; the rezoning and annexation process; and meeting stringent regulations involved with capping an old landfill took long enough.

Then a June 22 fire in a huge pile of woody debris at the adjacent slash dropoff site melted 25 rolls of synthetic turf destined for one or two playing fields.

The 25 damaged rolls cost about $150,000, and the meltdown delayed opening the complex by about a month.

If that wasn't enough, another problem has reared its head: snakes.

More than a few construction workers have been rattled by the rattlesnakes' appearance on the site, which is next to Interstate 70 just east of the Hogback.

The snakes, said Golden City Manager Mike Bestor, "made some of our contractors hinky."

If the snakes persist once construction is completed, Bestor said, warning signs will be posted. Some folks joke it will take more than signs when soccer, football and lacrosse begin in mid-September with the opening of the complex's first five fields.

"Word around town is they will need a mongoose," said Jefferson County Commissioner Kathy Hartman.

Snakes are nothing new to the area, with the slithering reptiles appearing in 2004 when Jeffco workers capped the landfill, which operated from the 1930s to 1979.

The area is rattlesnake habitat similar to other areas where plains become foothills. Until there was human activity, they had the place to themselves.

"They haven't been in areas where there is synthetic turf," said Golden parks director Rod Tarullo. "We're waiting to see what happens when the fields are done."

Tarullo theorized the snakes "may feel very exposed on the turf and may prefer the native vegetation. We're keeping our fingers crossed."

The emerald-green artificial turf is used because real grass would require water, which can't be added to a landfill because it would make the buried garbage decompose faster and emit more gas.
Sports fields on rattlers' turf

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