Over 30 Utah and national outdoor recreation companies – including Patagonia, REI, The North Face, KUHL, and others – are calling on Utah Governor Gary Herbert to stand up and protect Utah’s public lands, or they will “publicly and emphatically” urge the Outdoor Retailer Show to leave Utah.
In a letter to the states’ top elected officials, the executives of the major outdoor companies asked the Governor to reverse the state’s approach to several public lands issues, including rescinding Bears Ears as a national monument, gutting the Antiquities Act, starving funding from Federal land management agencies, and transferring the country’s public lands to state ownership.
If the Governor and Utah’s elected officials are unwilling to stand up for the outdoor recreation industry and the sanctity of America’s public lands, the letter signers will urge their trade group’s leadership to have the bi-annual Outdoor Retailer Show relocated from Utah no later than when the current contract expires in 2018. Industry leaders believe the Outdoor Retailer Show should celebrate and reward states whose values and policies align with those of the industry. A copy of the letter is available online here.
The 30 companies, fully listed below, represent over $7 billion in consumer sales annually. Letter signers include:
Patagonia
REI
The North Face
SCARPA North America, Inc.
KUHL*
Kelty
Sierra Designs
Ultimate Direction
Ibex Outdoor Clothing
Group Rossignol North America*
Outdoor Research
Kahtoola, Inc.
Osprey Packs*
Petzl America*
Gregory Mountain Products*
POC*
Big Agnes*
La Sportiva North America
PolarTEC
DAKINE
Smartwool
JanSport
prAna
ASSOS USA LLC*
Katadyn North America
Mountain Hub*
Metolius Climbing
Arc’teryx Equipment
Specialized Bicycle Components*
Timberland
Salewa/Dynafit North America
*Denotes company is based or has major operations in Utah.
