Patagonia turns its back on Outdoor Retailer
09/02/2017
At the moment, the area around Bears Ears is public land, which means it’s open to everyone for recreational use. With the proposed change in status, the public may no longer have the right to hike, camp, cycle and so on in the area. Utah’s governor, Gary Herbert, has been a vocal supporter of the proposed change, while many in the outdoor have opposed it.
On February 3, Governor Herbert signed a resolution urging the new administration of President Trump to rescind Bears Ears’ status as a National Monument. Patagonia chief executive, Rose Marcario, said in a statement that it was clear to her that the governor does not support public lands conservation. She added that the governor was also displaying a lack of support for the economic benefits his state gains from outdoor recreation, putting the value at $12 billion per year in consumer spending and 122,000 jobs in different parts of Utah.
Ms Marcario then added: “Because of [this] blatant disregard for Bears Ears National Monument and other public lands, the backbone of our business, Patagonia will no longer attend the Outdoor Retailer show in Utah and we are confident other outdoor manufacturers will join us in moving our investment to a state that values our industry and promotes public lands conservation.”
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