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is spreading along Highway 82, especially between Glenwood Springs and <br />Carbondale. This trend is likely to continue. <br />The traditional agricultural economic base of the area has given way <br />in the past 15 years under the pressure of competing interest. In <br />economic terms, the agricultural "use-evaluation" of the land has been <br />exceeded by the land's market value: when land sells, especially with <br />available water rights, it is usually sold as several smaller par- <br />cels, either for development or for investment purposes. <br />Historically, agricultural communities in the Roaring fork Valley have <br />produced cattle, sheep, and hay. Small grain production and seed <br />potatoes -- for which the area was known years ago -- have long since <br />died out with the trend toward centralized agricultural markets. <br />Sheep production is extremely limited and, on a relative basis, cattle <br />are now the only significant agricultural commodity exported from the <br />Roaring Fork Valley. <br />• Other prevalent land uses in the valley and in the surrounding moun- <br />tains are recreation, timber production, and mining. Recreational <br />uses are seasonal, including skiing in winter, hunting in fall, and <br />fishing, camping and backpacking in summer. The Snowmass area has <br />become a popular location for vacation homes and condominiums. The <br />ski and tourism industry and the land development and economics atten- <br />dant to it, far more than any other factor, have altered the pastoral <br />economy and way of life once known in the Roaring Fork Valley. <br />Some timber harvesting has taken place at nearby locations, but never <br />significantly on a large scale. Most production has occurred on <br />federal allotments leased by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of <br />Land Management. High transportation costs, inefficient economics of <br />scale and air quality regulations which no longer allow buying wood <br />chips and sawdust have forced the closing of many mills. The small <br /> <br />3-2 <br />