The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is collaborating with Colorado State University (CSU) on a laboratory that will study the potential spread of coronaviruses and other infections from bats to humans.

Local residents and academic experts have expressed opposition to the construction of the lab, claiming it poses an unnecessary risk of leaks to the surrounding region. The NIH and CSU have dismissed the complaints, citing what they say was a transparent approval process with plenty of public notice.

Fox News Digital reached out to the NIH, CSU, protesters and the state governor for information about this contentious construction project.

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The 1,022-square-meter Chiropteran Research Facility is being constructed on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins and is expected to begin operations in February 2025.

White Coat Waste (WCW), a taxpayer watchdog group that focuses heavily on animal experimentation, has opposed the project since it was announced last year.

“We oppose this new facility because it threatens national security, fiscal responsibility, animals and public health,” White Coat Waste Founder Anthony Bellotti told Fox News Digital. “WCW uncovered an alarming pattern of animal lab accidents at CSU via a Colorado Open Records Act request. We obtained recent records of bat bites, mouse bites, hamster bites, cat scratches and cat bites.”

WCW contributed to a report published earlier this year in the Daily Mail showing CSU staff members were exposed to Zika, rabies, tuberculosis and other dangerous pathogens due to dozens of lab accidents.

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WCW has urged Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to pull funding from the project, citing local opposition to the center and its perceived risks.

“We are encouraging Gov. Jared Polis to defund CSU’s ‘Wuhan West’ lab because Colorado residents and pet owners don’t want to pay $5 million in state taxes for a dangerous virus facility with a recent history of lab leaks,” WCW told Fox News Digital. “WCW’s members in Colorado have told us, repeatedly, that they don’t want to breed bats, abuse animals and play around with potential pandemic pathogens in their own backyard.”

Gov. Jared Polis delivers his state of the state address at Colorado’s Capitol. Polis’ office told Fox News Digital the governor is “aware” of the Chiropteran Research Facility construction project and has been briefed on its safety protocols. (Aaron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital contacted Polis’ office for comment regarding the lab’s construction. The governor’s office said in a brief statement he is “aware” of the center’s construction and has been informed of safety protocols for the lab. 

“Governor Polis is proud of Colorado’s world-class universities and innovative labs that safely study and provide solutions to challenges facing our country, and the office is aware of this lab at Colorado State University and has been briefed regarding safety protocols,” Polis’ office told Fox News Digital.

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Virology research — especially research into the transmission of viruses from bats to humans — has become an unpalatable subject since American intelligence confirmed that such lab work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China was the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News last year.

The situation in Colorado is made even more tense by the fact CSU subcontracted the capture and transfer of bat specimens from Bangladesh through EcoHealth Alliance.

EcoHealth Alliance was defunded by the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year after the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic found it to have “facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China without proper oversight, willingly violated multiple requirements of its multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health grant.”

CSU stands by the planned lab, saying its research into bat-to-human infection is “important to preventing future pandemics.”

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EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak speaks during a House Select Subcommittee hearing on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“CSU has redundant biosafety precautions to keep our researchers and our community safe,” a spokesperson for the university told Fox News Digital. “The building will be used to house bats, and scientists will conduct limited research on mild pathogens that do not pose a risk to the community.”

And while locals protest the construction, CSU assured Fox News Digital it followed the proper channels of alerting the public to the project.

“The project solicited public feedback through federal processes and has continued to share information with the community through a paper mailing and a website with the facts,” the CSU spokesperson said.

This was echoed by the NIH, which similarly told Fox News Digital it published proposals and notices beginning in October 2021 “as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.”

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The NIH told Fox News Digital a draft environmental assessment was made available for review to the public “both online and at the Old Town Library in Fort Collins, Colorado, Dec. 18, 2023; it was also published on the CSU Bat Research website.”

The notice of availability for the assessment was also published in the local newspaper, the Coloradoan, Dec. 18, Dec. 20 and Dec. 22. 

“At the end of the 30-day public comment period, no comments were received by either NIH or CSU,” the NIH told Fox News Digital.

Security personnel stand guard outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. U.S. intelligence officials have pointed to a leak from the laboratory as the most plausible explanation of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking about the track record of CSU and the possibility of lab leaks, the NIH referenced the university’s “more than 15 years” of researching “bats and infectious diseases on its Foothills Campus.”

“The proposed Chiropoteran Resource Facility at CSU is intended to provide additional physical resources to study bats and how they transmit pathogens as a vital step in pandemic preparedness,” the NIH told Fox News Digital. “Both CSU and the National Institutes of Health, which are jointly funding construction of the building, conducted, separately, required environmental assessments of the project to evaluate and verify that established biosafety controls mitigated all environmental, health and safety concerns.”

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The NIH is spending $8.4 million on the virology lab, while CSU is contributing $5.1 million. 

Construction remains ongoing, and the lab is scheduled to be completed in February 2025.

ESPN’s Matt Miller has Georgia’s Carson Beck ahead of Colorado football QB Shedeur Sanders, and his skepticism about the Buffs’ offensive line is the driving force behind why that’s the case.

“Remember, last year, his first year as a starter, replacing Stetson Bennett – the Georgia offense was actually better in 2023 than it was in previous years, despite the fact that they didn’t get back to that national championship title,” Miller said (h/t On3). “So I think Beck is that player who is the top quarterback in this class, because of how well he protects himself in the pocket and what he does with that big right arm.

“Shedeur Sanders, very surgical as a passer, but he gets rocked in the pocket at times. Can get a little bit beat up. That’s going to be a big question for a quarterback who is 6-foot-2, 215 pounds.”

FS1’s Undisputed host Skip Bayless believes Shedeur is not just the best QB in the Big 12, but the best QB in the country.

“Shedeur is not just the best quarterback in that conference, he’s the best quarterback in this country,” Bayless said (h/t Marca.com). “And he is going to be the first pick in the draft and I think he’s going to be really, really good in pro football. He is as seasoned and experienced a college quarterback as you’re going to get.”

There’s differing opinions on where Shedeur sits, but everyone has him as a first-round pick. NFL franchises with a need at QB will be looking at him as a potential franchise successor, but his health needs to hold up for that to transpire.

Luckily, the Buffs offensive line looks much improved and could allow another jump from the “Grown QB” in his final collegiate season.

Colorado resident Keith Howell got a surprise late Saturday night.

“I was headed to bed with the window open cause it was pretty warm,” he told CBS Colorado. “Heard the pop and then a bit after smelled the telltale sign of fireworks.”

Within minutes, West Metro Fire arrived and put out a quick grass fire, which happened near Morrison.

“Once we saw the fire a little bit at first it was like ‘Oh, there’s a fire it will get put out soon’ but then it starts to get bigger because it’s all a bunch of dead grass,” Howell continued. “So, a little unnerving.”

While the official cause of the fire is still under investigation, Saturday night’s call to service brings up an important conversation about fireworks and fire safety as the 4th of July comes around.

“The embers or even a bottle rocket can fall in a grassland area and start a fire,” said Capt. Brendan Finnegan of West Metro Fire.

While heat plays a role in wildfire causes, Finnegan says that’s a misconception.

“Wind and relative humidity, fuel moisture and the dryness of those fuels,” he explained. “That’s the big component of this.”

Which is why West Metro Fire and other agencies say Colorado is in “fire years” instead of “fire seasons” anymore. Within their jurisdiction, Wheat Ridge and Lakewood have ordinances prohibiting the use of any fireworks. Lakewood, in particular, is forgoing a traditional fireworks show and moving to a drone exhibition instead.

“It is an alternative to still being able to celebrate and see something pretty in the sky,” Finnegan said.

Some neighborhoods and homeowners associations are prohibiting fireworks while others are preparing for a big week ahead.

“The danger is always there not only for fires but for injuries and burns as well,” said Finnegan.

The impulse to light fireworks is one that Keith understands, but within reason.

“I like the booms as much as the next guy but this time of year when it’s really dry it’s hard to get into it,” said Howell.

West Metro Fire has two hotlines for residents to call in for fireworks related emergencies on the 4th of July and throughout the weekend.

Jefferson County Hotline: 303-980-7340

Douglas County Hotline: 303-814-7118