Is Utah slitting it's own economic throat?

While the Outdoor Retailers Trade Show may not be specific to hunting it is specific to all kinds of outdoor recreation.

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4798906-155/op-ed-time-for-outdoor-retailers-to

Op-ed: Time for Outdoor Retailers to leave Utah and its anti-recreation politics

By Peter Metcalf

Over the past several months Utah's political leadership has unleashed an all-out assault against Utah's protected public lands and Utah's newest monument. It's time for Outdoor Retailer to leave the state in disgust.

Over 20 years ago, I successfully led the effort to relocate the Outdoor Retailer Trade show to Utah. The state has some of the country's most beautiful, varied, wild and iconic public lands that personified our industry's values. Utah's public lands also formed the underpinnings of the state's great competitive advantage ? an unmatched quality of life unique to much of America that has attracted some of the best and brightest companies and their employees to the state.

This is precisely why I relocated the business I founded, Black Diamond (BD), to Utah in 1991. Thanks in part to both Outdoor Retailer (OR) trade shows and BD's arrival in Utah, the outdoor, ski, sportsmen and recreation industries have had mercurial growth here and have become one of Utah's, and the country's, largest economic sectors. Today, the outdoor industry generates nearly $650 billion nationally in gross national product (GNP) activity and, in Utah alone, nearly $12 billion with over 120,000 jobs. In addition, the twice-annual OR show brings nearly $50 million in direct spending to Utah, which boosts the prosperity of many small businesses in the state.

Our trade show, Utah's outdoor recreation industry and the relocating of many high-tech businesses to the state are predicated in great part on the thoughtful public policy that includes unparalleled access to well-protected, stewarded and wild public lands. Tragically, Utah's governor, congressional delegation and state Legislature leadership fail to understand this critical relationship between our healthy public lands and the vitality of Utah's growing economy.

Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah's D.C. delegation are leading a national all-out assault on the sanctity of Utah and the country's public lands. Together, Utah's political leadership has birthed an anti-public lands political agenda that is the driving force of an existential threat to the vibrancy of Utah and America's outdoor industry, as well as Utah's high quality of life.

Specifically, Utah's top elected officials' stated strategy is to take down our newest national monument, Bears Ears, gut the Antiquities Act, starve funding from federal land management agencies and transfer our country's public lands to state ownership, where the state will sell and prioritize extractive use over all others. Doubtful? Just look at the recent selling and purchase of a 391-acre parcel to the Lyman Family Farm that now has gated and padlocked access to a popular county access road to Comb Ridge.

Political officials rationalize their actions with false truths, fictional ideologically based narratives and fear-mongering. They neglect the critical role public lands play in boosting Utah's economy, making the state a great place to live, work and play. They even fail to understand that four of Utah's five iconic national parks, which are the economic engines of their regions, were created through use of the Antiquities Act ? as was Bears Ears National Monument.

This agenda is antithetical to our industry, let alone the majority of our citizens regardless of party affiliation. By our industry's twice-annual trade show remaining in Utah, we are actually complicit collaborators in our own demise. It's time for the industry to again find its voice, speak truth and power to power while making it clear to the governor and the state's political leadership that this trade show will depart with the expiration of the current contract in 2018 unless the leadership ceases its assault on America's best idea.

We are calling on Herbert, Utah's congressional delegation and other state leaders to drop their efforts to take down Bear Ears National Monument, to gut the Antiquities Act, to transfer our public lands to the states and to gut funding for these monuments, parks and public lands. If they don't, the Outdoor Retailer shows must leave Utah.

The Utah delegation has wasted no time in the first days of 2017 to enact their destructive agenda, and now the outdoor industry, too, must respond boldly and unified while we are here in Salt Lake.

Peter Metcalf is founder, former CEO and current brand advocate of Black Diamond Equipment, as well as an outdoor industry and Utah business leader.

I would support federal public lands hands down, IF they could guarantee hunting rights (not just public access) from now until eternity...

I would also support state public lands, IF they could guarantee it wouldn't be sold, EVER; and public access, including hunting, was permitted until eternity...

As neither one of them can promise either one of these scenarios, I feel I can't fully support either of them...


As far as the article- it's a complete over-reaction. This guy just went Meryl Streep...

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

im not starting an argument with you browning, but what is your concern with hunting rights and keeping the lands in the federal hands?
on a side note, public lands are a very precious item, that needs to have some sort of protection to keep them public forever.


"Shoot Straight"

I agree with the author about leaving Utah. They have every right to not reward Utah for its hostile view of public land and instead should incentivize a state that appreciates and values it's resources. I'd do the same thing if I were him.

Utah's elected officials clearly don't value economic benefit from tourism and conventions either considering the Expo bid went to SFW instead of RMEF, so why contribute to them.

If our elected officials want the tourism dollars, they should put up or shut up.

Grizzly

Is there any way to get these JOKERS Impeached?











[font color="blue"]It Was them Damn Lake Trout that took them Elk
out![/font]

They have every
>right to not reward Utah
>for its hostile view of
>public land and instead should
>incentivize a state that appreciates
>and values it's resources.


>Grizzly


Multiple use is valuing it's resources. Creating a monument is picking winners and losers as it pertains to a states resources IMHO.

Don't think you can impeach private individuals and private enterprise for being morons

As for cronies selling everything to the highest bidder, ok, maybe they be morons too

Cheers,
Pete

Difficult to pick a side when you see crap like this:

https://www.outdoornewsservice.com/...s-to-ban-hunting-in-Castle-Mountains-Monument

>Difficult to pick a side when
>you see crap like this:
>
>
>https://www.outdoornewsservice.com/...s-to-ban-hunting-in-Castle-Mountains-Monument

That sucks for those guys. Luckily, Bears Ears is managed by BLM and not National Park Service. Plus, the Bears Ears Proclamation specifically names hunting as an important historical component of the area and gives wildlife management to DWR.

Take a look at this article for an in-depth macro look into hunting in National Monuments as it covers all the bases very well as they pertain specifically to the circumstances of Bears Ears...

http://www.fieldandstream.com/sportsmans-view-national-monuments

Grizzly

Seems every year this convention makes a demand with the threat it will leave, its grown tiresome. Black Diamond is located here because this is where its customer base is. If there was a customer base in Minnesota it would have located there. This is the problem with these conventions, and ya you knew I was gonna ad $fw convention in here. They start up, get flooded with tons of public money(tags), get tax concessions from city, county, state. Then they get a little successful, or draw some numbers, and other states start offering more public asssitance to bring them in. Perhaps Peter should do some reading. Short of maybe California, where he would never locate just because of the hostile buisness environment, exactly which state is happy about federal land management? The convention is free to do what it wishes, BUT, don't fly a ton of exhibitors in here. Drive all over the state. Create industries that are dependent on fossil fuels, and THEN try to sell yourself as some eco warrior. The first time he cuts that 2" pipe running into his factory, or he telecommutes instead of a twice yearly parade of semis and jets into Utah, he may talk about "protection", until then hes another in a long list of modern "environmentalists", who like Robert Redford, do so publically, but never personally. Those "evil" oil companies are just going to drill somewhere else, which guys like this are fine with as long as its someone elses playground, not his.



"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

The public land in the area included in the Bears Ears monument have been plenty well managed by the Forest Service, BLM and State of Utah. The monument designation will impact a huge area much more and in a lot more ways than just hunting. Even wildlife viewers will be greatly hindered as the government closes more and more roads over time.

Having spent a lot of time on the Elk Ridge hunting unit, I can assure you that there are some huge bucks and bulls there, but they are spread very thin and you have to travel a lot of miles to find a really good one. It is virtually impossible to find them in any kind of quantity traveling on foot.

Last year, they had already closed down 12 roads that were opened in the past. This was way before Obummer declared it a monument, and it will only get worse in the future if Trump doesn't save the day by overturning this abortion of a designation.