EXCERPT: “Liberals fighting against the mining industry are good at telling them no, residents say, but don’t present them with any alternatives – not ones that come with real salaries. Richard Craig, a former Nucla town board member, recalled a comment by a member of an environmental group saying during one of the contentious hearings: ‘Well, I don’t see why they don’t want to go live in the city.’
“It’s almost like – I hate using this word, it’s being used so often – it’s almost like a conspiracy: “We need to move everybody out of rural areas and go live in the cities and suburbs,”‘ Craig said.”
“As an alternative to uranium, Telluride residents repeatedly suggested that Nucla and Naturita capitalize on the organic local food movement and return to their farming roots to provide Telluride and surrounding areas with produce, Cooper said.
“This suggestion was met with eye-rolling and frustration. “I’ll be the first person in line to pick your tomatoes for $45,000 to $75,000 a year,” one local reportedly said in 2009, contrasting agricultural wages with mining income. ”
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