11 Most Endangered
Red Mountain Mining District
Year Listed: 2000
Location: Colorado
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Development
Tucked among the Colorado Rockies, along the San Juan Skyway as it snakes between Ouray and Silverton, are the ghost towns and mines of the historic Red Mountain Mining District. Thousands of hopeful pioneers once jostled for the wealth in these peaks. Today, visitors enjoy one of the most intact mining cultural landscapes in the West. Still standing are sites like the Yankee Girl Mine and the Joker Tunnel Boarding House, which, though abandoned, evoke the ingenuity and prosperity of the mining boom. Today, visitors enjoy the region's heritage and breathtaking scenery. But the very character that attracts visitors to the region is under assault. Weather at that altitude (approx. 11,000 ft.) is unforgiving and harsh. Logging operations have inadvertently obliterated some important remains. Looting and vandalism have always been a problem, compounded by the fact that much of the land is privately owned and not policed. Increasing second-home and commercial developments are threatening the historic landscape.
Update
A regional coalition of historic preservation and land conservation organizations, known as the Red Mountain Task Force, have come together to help protect many of the endangered properties in the Red Mountain Mining District. With the help of the Colorado congressional delegation, more than $14 million in funds have been received from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to acquire parcels from willing sellers. These parcels have been transferred to the National Forest Service and are now protected from development that once threatened so much of this scenic and historic region. Several important historic structures have been preserved as well, including the Yankee Girl Mine, a highly visible landmark. Private owners have threatened demolition of the Yankee Girl on several occasions, but last year a new owner agreed to a conservation easement that will permanently protect the property. Other historic mining structures in the Red Mountain District have been stabilized and a cultural resources survey of the area was recently completed.
