Here's a good story by Jonathan Desbris. A strong message is starting to be sent to the state of Utah by Outdoor Recreation Industry regarding the state's decision to rescind public lands. Jonathan explains why the message is being sent. The question is what other outdoor recreation companies will follow Patagonia & Arc'teryx's lead before the next Outdoor Retailer trade show, which will be in SLC on July 26-29 2017? More to come.
Arc'teryx is the second company this week that has formally announced its withdrawal from the Outdoor Retailer conference in Salt Lake City. It plans on donating the money it would have allocated to the conference to the Conservation Alliance’s new Public Lands Defense Fund.
This marks the second major company to publically denounce Utah's decision, due to the state's effort to rescind the Bears Ears National Monument and other public lands. What makes this significant is Arc'teryx, like Patagonia is no small company in the outdoor industry. Arc'teryx also has ties to the United States Marines Corp., who chose their Tango design for their new backpack, the ILBE.
With the gauntlet clearly thrown by the outdoor industry, it will be interesting to see who follows the lead of Arc'teryx and Patagonia, as well as the response from the Utah government.
