Some of the country’s biggest outdoor retailers, including Patagonia, say they won’t be attending one of Utah’s biggest outdoor trade shows because of the state’s stance on public lands, says High Country News. The show brings tens of millions of dollars to the state each year, while “Utah’s outdoor recreation companies employed 122,000 people and brought $12 billion into the state each year.”
State lawmakers have pushed Congress to give states ownership of federal lands, with many voicing concern that conservation is prioritized above energy extraction or other uses for the land. Some Utah lawmakers have called for President Trump to overturn President Obama’s designation of the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument, an area used for foraging and hunting by Native American tribes.
“In early February, Patagonia announced it was pulling out of the OR show in response to Gov. Herbert’s signing of the resolution to overturn Bears Ears. Arc’teryx, a Canadian outdoor clothing company, textile manufacturer Polartec, and Peak Design, a San Francisco-based gear company, followed suit, while Vermont-based Ibex Outdoor Clothing announced it would reduce its presence at the show in protest,” says High Country. “Kevin Boyle, co-founder of outdoor clothing company KÜHL, also says he’ll consider pulling out of the trade show as a way to make a stand on public lands.”
Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia’s founder, wrote in an op-ed, “Politicians in the state [of Utah] don’t seem to get that the outdoor industry — and their own state economy — depend on access to public lands for recreation.”