In a press release sent out this morning, Patagonia announced it will not be participating in Outdoor Retailer, one of the biggest trade shows in the country held twice a year in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company is doing so in response to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's move to revoke the Bears Ears National Monument last week. (The Bears Ears National Monument was established by former President Barack Obama in the last few days of his presidency.)
According to the press release, “Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a resolution on Friday urging the Trump administration to rescind the Bears Ears National Monument, making it clear that he and other Utah elected officials do not support public lands conservation nor do they value the economic benefits - $12 billion in consumer spending and 122,000 jobs – that the outdoor recreation industry brings to their state. Because of the hostile environment they have created and their 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 and retailers will join us in moving our investment to a state that values our industry and promotes public lands conservation.“ – Rose Marcario, President and CEO, Patagonia, Inc.
This is a big and bold move from the company, but not a surprising one given the current situation in Utah regarding public lands, and Patagonia's staunch commitment to conserve and protect the planet and its resources.
Bears Ears National Monument — the reason why Patagonia is backing out. Josh Ewing photo.
Bears Ears National Monument currently protects 1.3 million acres of land that surround a pair of buttes and borders Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon national Recreation Area in southeastern Utah. Much of the land is considered sacred by Native American Tribes.
According to NPR, Utah representative Rob Bishop, who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, also wants to either shrink or rescind the monument all together, saying that it is the wrong size and does not take into account the various uses of the land. Others opposed to Bears Ears are concerned about the lack of state involvement regarding Obama's decision to protect the land. (If you are looking for a longer read, this story from The Atlantic dives deep into both sides.)
In mid-January, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard wrote an op-ed titled, “The Outdoor Industry Loves Utah; Does Utah Love the Outdoor Industry?” in which he said that if Herbert doesn't need them, they will find a “more welcoming home”.
From the Op-Ed:
“Gov. Herbert should direct his Attorney General to halt their plans to sue and support the historic Bears Ears National Monument. He should stop his efforts to transfer public lands to the state, which would spell disaster for Utah’s economy. He should show the outdoor industry he wants our business – and that he supports thousands of his constituents of all political persuasions who work in jobs supported by recreation on public lands. We love Utah, but Patagonia’s choice to return for future shows will depend on the Governor’s actions. I’m sure other states will happily compete for the show by promoting public lands conservation.”
Read Chouinard's full essay here.
It will be interesting to see if other outdoor industry leaders follow suit.
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About The Author
TGR Contributor Leslie Hittmeier
I currently live and play in the mountains around Jackson, Wyoming, and am the Content Manager of this site.
Comments (9)
rbkackfox
February 7th, 2017
I agree it will be interesting to see what stance TGR is going to take on this matter.
Will they film in Utah? Will premieres be shown in SLC, Alta and Park City?
What’s more on my mind is, will I be attending/patronizing TGR events, if they follow leaders like Patagonia pushing for public land & conservation ideals, or not.
Mike Isbell
February 7th, 2017
Maybe Patagonia and Black Daimond and the rest of these companies should worry as much about the enviroment in the parts of the worlds that supply them with there products as they do Rural Southern Utah! Pretty sure China and Indonesia treats the enviroment far worse than Rural American Rancher ever has. The Area around Bears Ears is a few hundred acres, you want to make the monument 100,000 fine, but closing access to 1.3 million acres wasn’t it the best interest of local residents, Including the Native Americans
Daryl-Hunter
February 7th, 2017
If the outdoor industry and its buyers boycotts Utah, this might be a great environmental victory by removing so many visitors from this over loved land.
Philo91
February 8th, 2017
Couldn’t agree more. Patagonia and other companies make millions promoting the overuse of sensitive areas.
Patagonia needs to stop talking about how environmental they are and stop sending their employees across the world on planes. Plane travel is like a carbon explosion.
Stewart99
February 8th, 2017
good As I claimed earlier you should have Latest Bluestacks Vidmate for Android Installing the applications with apk file is damn easy nice.
Deaf Ranger
February 8th, 2017
I appreciate what Gov. Gary Herbert did. The federal government takes over too much land from states and controls it. Rather than letting the people who live in the state have authority over their own lands to decide the best and proper uses for the citizens of that state. There have been recent battles with BLM over little lands that the government has usurped from citizens of state. One of the most recent being down in Texas. The federal government has become a land grabbing entity without regard for the people whom they are to serve. They round up wild Mustangs and donkeys and kill many of them by chasing them with helicopters and they do damage to the land. They also tend to be overly influenced by environmentalists who say they are concerned about some animals, or fish without regard for humanity. While we do need to have regard for the environment, human life has greater value than animal life. There are times when human life is run roughshod over as in California when they wanted to save minnows yet had total disregard for the human life that was being affected, and this was an extreme exaggeration of the way to solve the minnows problems. A proper balance needs to be had. I commend Governor Gary Herbert for his action. In his last days in office, Obama did many things, this being one of them that showed disregard for people and their wishes and desires.
Philo91
February 8th, 2017
Patagonia epitomizes green washing.
They send their crews all over the world in fossil fuel consuming jets to fill the pages of the 10 million catalogs they send out a year. A one way flight to Asia creates a carbon footprint 5 times larger than the average human on earth. These sensitive lands don’t need more visitors so that Patagonia can ship more catalogs and sell more goods made in China.
Boycott Patagonia until they cut carbon output and commit to sourcing and producing their goods locally.
pogs4ever
February 8th, 2017
an average person is likely to be a emerging/third world citizen who doesn’t even own a car….and here we are arguing the merits of a company who puts out 600 dollar jackets.
for a lot of truck driving americans; flying is better:
http://www.umtri.umich.edu/our-results/publications/making-driving-less-energy-intensive-flying
i do agree that physical print catalogs are total bullshit and a waste of paper/mail/time.
downvalleytrash
February 8th, 2017
Great leadership by Patagonia. The rest of the outdoor industry should follow suit. These public lands belong to all Americans, not just Utahns. Any state that actively pursues public lands transfer should not benefit from the outdoor industry’s dollars, influence and marketing clout.