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3.3 Rate of Peat Extraction in Colorado <br />The 1988 Bureau of Mines' (USBM) Minerals Handbook (in <br />press) identifies Colorado as ranking fifth nationally in terms <br />of peat tonnage extracted. Four operations extracting a total of <br />14,000 tons per year are given. Colorado's contribution to <br />national supply is estimated at 1.5% of the total. (Cantrell, <br />1989). The estimates published by USBM are based on responses <br />from the state's peat operators to a survey the USBM conducts <br />annually. Because the survey is voluntary, many of the peat <br />operators do not return the survey forms- -this results in an <br />underestimation by the USBM. Although the results of this study <br />confirm that the USBM's survey greatly underestimates the true <br />volume extracted, it does not necessitate that the reported <br />ranking is in error. <br />For the purposes of this study, an estimate of total annual <br />peat extraction from Colorado was made by personally contacting <br />all firms known to be operating in Colorado. Several sources <br />were used to identify the total population of active firms. <br />These included: 1) those identified by USBM; 2) those identified <br />by other peat operators; 3) those identified by contacting <br />landscapers, sand and gravel excavators, and nurseries listed in <br />phone books for most of the cities in the state; and 4) those <br />identified by contacting county governments and federal land <br />management agencies (ie. USFS, USACE, BLM, SCS). <br />24 <br />