In what could mark a significant milestone and building block for the outdoor industry, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert released a 60-page report at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market (ORWM) last week outlining the states vision for outdoor recreation.
Utah is already the only state in the country to target an Outdoor Products and Recreation Cluster as part of its economic development efforts. But the State of Utah Outdoor Recreation Vision puts a Republican Governor, long considered hostile to outdoor industry interests, on the record as committed to expanding the industry.
These guiding principles are important to us whether Outdoor Retailer stays in Salt Lake City or not, Herbert said at a press conference held at the Salt Palace Convention Center on the first day of ORWM 2013. (See related story this page.) We need to find a balance when it comes to accessing natural resources on public land.
Only 18 months ago, Outdoor Industry Association President and CEO Frank Hugelmeyer and industry executives in Utah were chastising Herbert and members of the states Congressional delegation for paying lip service to the industry. In a letter to The Salt Lake Tribune, Hugelemeyer blasted them for blocking efforts by the Obama Administration to set aside public lands for wilderness management, suing the federal government for control over public lands inside national parks and monuments and restricting recreational access to Utahs rivers.
In a meeting with the OIA board of directors during the OR Summer Market in August, 2012, Herbert pledged to develop a shared vision for outdoor recreation in the state. Still, many in the industry expressed surprise that the governor was able to deliver the report in time for ORWM. OIA has been challenging Utah for years to develop a strategic plan for outdoor recreation as it has for other industries, that rely on public lands, such as energy.
The report was produced by the Governors Council on Balanced Resources, which was chaired by Ted Wilson, a Democrat and former Salt Lake City Mayor. Wilson served as Herberts senior advisor on environmental issues until July, 2011, when he resigned to become government affairs director for a real estate development company that owns the Canyons Resort near Park City. The council then worked closely with the 22-member Outdoor Recreation Advisory Group, which included Mike Dowse, GM for Amer Sports, Americas; Roody Rasmussen, former president of Petzl America; Jim Holland, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Backcountry.com and Craig Mackey, who represented the OIA.
This is unprecedented in the country, Hugelmeyer said at the governors press conference. The outdoor industry has long known that outdoor recreation is essential to Utahs quality of life and economic growth. The same could be said of virtually every state. Gov. Herbert is developing a strategy that can benefit every state and municipality.
