Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Outdoors outfits in fight for public lands
CORTEZ, Colo. — Two generations ago, they were often written off as a bunch of hippies making backpacks and climbing gear for niche markets. But in recent decades, companies such as Patagonia and REI have become consumer powerhouses and political players, increasingly eager to influence decisions over public lands.
A sign of that clout came this year when the outdoor industry decided to pull its twice-yearly trade show from Salt Lake City, where it been based since 1996, when its contract with the city ends in 2018. The shows injected tens of millions of dollars into the Utah economy, but industry leaders decided to pull out after Gov. Gary Herbert and other Utah Republicans started lobbying President Donald Trump to roll back the Bears Ears National Monument, a 1.35 million-acre conservation area in south Utah that American Indians and environmentalists have championed for years.
Industry leaders said they had mixed feelings about leaving Salt Lake but felt compelled to make a move after Herbert refused to reconsider his position.
“Outdoor recreation is a huge economic driver in Utah and Colorado, and we felt it wasn’t being respected,” said Sam Mix, outdoor marketing manager for Osprey Packs, based in southwest Colorado. “Public lands are where our customers go to recreate. Without these big, wide-open spaces, we’d have no business and no reason to exist.”
Made up of 1,200 companies, the Outdoor Industry Association is based in Boulder, Colo., with an outreach office in Washington, D.C. The group estimates that consumers spend about $120 billion on outdoor recreation products each year, ranging from apparel to tents, bicycles and camping gear.
Since 1989, dozens of leading outdoor companies have paid into a mechanism to support public lands and environmental causes. With membership dues based on a company’s annual revenue, the industry’s Conservation Alliance has doled out more than $15 million in grants.
Because of its distinctive customer base, the industry has learned it can mobilize thousands of dedicated outdoors people through digital campaigns. Over the past three years, for instance, Patagonia alone said it has invested $1.7 million in grants and videos to promote Bears Ears, an expanse of red-rock canyons, forests and Indian antiquities spread out south of Canyonlands National Park.
Patagonia, a private company with roughly $800 million in annual sales, has a long history of supporting conservation causes. In recent years, Bears Ears has been its signature issue.
Top Patagonia executives became interested in Bears Ears because of their rock-climbing employees, according to Hans Cole, whose company title is “director of environmental campaigns and advocacy.”
In late December, President Barack Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate Bears Ears a national monument. In announcing the decision, the White House noted the inability of Utah’s U.S. lawmakers to protect the area’s artifacts and habitats through public-lands legislation.
Even so, the Utah delegation lashed out at what they called Obama’s “midnight monument.” By February, the state Legislature passed a resolution asking Trump to undo the new national monument. Herbert signed it, along with a resolution asking Trump also to rescind the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument, designated by President Bill Clinton in 1996.
Outdoor-industry officials had warned Utah leaders not to take such action. Days after Herbert signed the resolution, Outdoor Retailer announced that it would move its trade shows out of Utah. “We’ve been listening to the concerns from the industry and agree that it’s time to explore our options,” said Marisa Nicholson, show director for the trade group.