Liz LIppitt, walking in her horse pasture in Rifle, Colorado, and her husband have put building plans for their dream home on hold due to the threat of natural gas drilling (Carmel Zucker / For the Times)
In some local areas, home values have soared to levels comparable to those in Denver, 184 miles east; a three-bedroom ranch house that sold for $167,000 in 2000 fetched $295,000 in August.. (Carmel Zucker / For the Times)
Downtown Rifle, which holds four blocks of old brick buildings, now features a bistro and an eatery that declares it is more than a restaurant, along with a new yoga studio. Those signs of gentrification share a block with a pawn shop and hunting shop with that has a plastic buffalo on its roof. (Carmel Zucker / For the Times)
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Some Rifle residents have benefitted from the natural gas mining boom in the area, while others have seen their property value drop. (Carmel Zucker / For the Times)
