Mike Cooley, one of 59 workers laid off from the Decker Coal mine along the Montana-Wyoming border, discusses his future job prospects at his house in Sheridan, Wyo., with his wife and 2-year-old son in the background. Hundreds of millions of tons of coal remain at Decker, in the heart of the nation's largest coal-producing region, but slackening demand prompted its owners to lay off almost half its workers this month.