The Conservation Alliance, along with 24 outdoor industry companies, are urging Emerald Expositions (“Emerald”) not to move the industry’s Outdoor Retailer trade show to Utah, stating they will not support or attend a trade show event in the state as long as its elected officials continue their attacks on national monuments and public lands protections.
Industry leaders are expressing their support for the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and its longstanding efforts to protect the homeland of the Tribes and Pueblos with cultural ties to the Bears Ears landscape, as well as most of the outdoor industry and the American public.
Despite widespread industry objections, Emerald has demonstrated a continued interest in moving the Outdoor Retailer trade show to Utah, a state that continues to lead the fight against designated national monuments and public lands.
“In 2017, REI Co-op strongly supported the decision to move the outdoor industry trade show out of Utah when the state’s leadership refused to protect duly designated national monuments and natural treasures,” said Ben Steele, EVP and chief customer officer, REI Co-op. “Although those protections have since been restored by President Biden, Utah’s leaders are again aiming to undermine those monuments and their protections. As a result, REI will not participate in any OR trade show in the state — nor will we send members of our merchandising or other co-op teams — so long as Utah persists in attacking our public lands and the laws that protect them.”
Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert added, “For decades, Patagonia has worked in solidarity with Indigenous communities, local activists, outdoor athletes and businesses in Utah. We love the state and its spectacular cultural and natural landscapes. We were thrilled when President Biden restored the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments this past October, and we will oppose any effort to undermine their protection. Our position on the location of the Outdoor Retailer trade show remains clear and unchanged: The show belongs in a state whose top officials value and seek to protect public lands.”
The President of Public Lands Todd Spaletto said, “We stand with our colleagues in The Conservation Alliance. It’s incredibly disappointing that Utah’s elected officials are seeking to tear down the protections for Grand Staircase Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. We love the outdoor opportunities Utah has to offer and would consider a move to Salt Lake if we saw a true commitment from the state’s leadership to align with our values and those of the outdoor industry.”
In 2017, the outdoor industry pulled its $45 million trade show out of Utah in objection to efforts by the state’s elected officials to roll back national monument designations for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante, over the protests of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and more than 3 million Americans who submitted public comments.
The subsequent reduction in land protections was the largest loss of federally protected lands in U.S. history. Although those protections have since been restored, Utah’s elected officials, led by Governor Spencer Cox, again are moving to strip these lands of federal protection while simultaneously attempting to woo Emerald to move the Outdoor Retailer trade show from Denver to Salt Lake City.
As long as Utah’s elected delegation continues its assault on public lands and the laws designed to protect them, Emerald faces a choice: move the show to Utah and ensure many key players in the outdoor industry will not return to Utah with the trade show, or work with industry leaders to shape a future trade show that balances the interests and values of industry members and partners.
These companies are calling on Emerald to support tribes and public lands: REI Co-op, Patagonia Inc., The North Face, Public Lands, KEEN Footwear, Oboz Footwear LLC, Kelty Sierra Designs, Peak Design, Toad&Co, SCARPA, MiiR, NEMO Equipment, Backpacker’s Pantry, Smartwool, Therm-A-Rest, MSR, Timberland, Helinox USA Inc., GU Energy Labs, La Sportiva N.A. Inc., Alpacka Raft, Icebreaker and Arc’teryx.
