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• timber industry in both Garfield and Pitkin Counties is nearly inac- <br />tive at this time. <br />The area around Aspen was originally settled by gold and silver <br />prospectors and miners; hardrock and coal mining have long been known <br />to the area. Since 1974, a resurgence in the demand for coal and the <br />imposition of environmental regulations on mining have both revita- <br />lized and revolutionized this industry. The Denver and Rio Grand <br />Western Railroad continues to serve both coal and iron mines in the <br />Roaring Fork Valley. <br />The regional aspects of an expanded coal industry, including those <br />pertaining to land use, are discussed in the West-Central Colorado <br />Coal Environmental Statement, and are therefore not further discussed. <br />3.2.1 MINE <br />~~ The North Thompson Creek Mine is located approximately 9 miles south- <br />west of Carbondale along County Road 108 (see Drawing D-3-1). <br />Since 1952, coal mining has been the dominant land use in the narrow <br />North Thompson Creek drainage. Fairly steep terrain and shallow depth <br />to bedrock have limited the potential surface productivity of the <br />land. Therefore, the pressure for any other forms of land use has <br />been quite low. In addition to the North Thompson Creek Mine, other <br />small coal mines dot the nearby terrain, but none have reached more <br />than a small-scale operation due to unproductive seams or obsolete <br />facilities. <br />The slopes around the mine are too steep to offer any agricultural <br />potential and offer only minimal grazing potential to either the North <br />Thompson-Four Mile Land and Mineral Corporation or Anschutz Land and <br />Livestock Company. Likewise, no commercially merchantable timber <br /> <br />3-3 <br />