Outdoor industry leaders are trying to decide how best to reply to Utah politicians who want the Trump administration to rescind the national monument designation on the Bears Ears. Their final decision could move their twice-yearly shows out of the state with its majestic red-rock landscape/Rebecca Latson

Some are out, some are in. That's the current status of industry turnout for this summer's Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, where industry chiefs are debating how best to respond to Utah politicians who want the Trump administration to remove the national monument designation from the Bears Ears landscape in the state's southeastern corner.

Since outdoor gear and clothing pioneer Patagonia last week announced that it was pulling out of the summer OR Show in protest over the state's position, other companies, including REI, have come forward to say they're commited to the show and other companies should be, too.

At the same time, organizers of the show have started searching for a new city to host the twice-a-year event that brings gear manufacturers and retailers together to go over the latest items for outdoor travel and recreation. Based in Salt Lake City for two decades, the OR annually brings about $45 million in direct spending to the Wasatch Front, and spreads another $300 million or so across the rest of the state.

“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," Patagonia President and CEO Rose Marcario said in a prepared statement. "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.“ 

In response to that statement, however, other companies said they would remain in the show.

"We applaud OIA members such as REI, Ibex and The North Face and their call for industry unity by attending Outdoor Retailer this July while we work to find a more suitable venue for future shows. Boycotting the show could have a significant negative impact on small- and midsize brands, specialty retailers and nonprofits who depend on the business and inspiration that happens at the show," wrote the board of directors of the Outdoor Industry Association.

At the same time, those behind Outdoor Retail created a website to both keep industry members atop the latest news regarding the summer show and possible new venues and to solicit ideas on how best to push back against Utah's position.

"Outdoor Retailer and Outdoor Industry Association will harness the creative ideas already being put forth by exhibitors to express their opinions at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. We are exploring options including utilizing the time and funds earmarked for the Industry Breakfast as a time to express our opinions; rallies; conservation town halls; and a community camp out using city parks, among other ideas," one section of the website said. "We must work within the rules of the city, the existing permits we have and other laws by which we must abide. Our team has already begun to investigate what steps to be taken to accommodate those activities. We are working in tandem with parties that have put forth ideas including brands, retailers, non-profits, rep groups and others."

"This is not a one-and-done issue," Marisa Nicholson, show director of Outdoor Retailer, said in an email. "While Bears Ears National Monument status is a lightning rod, it is just the most currently visible example of what will be a long, hard series of fights the outdoor community needs to not only raise our voices about, but, even more importantly, about which we need to be heard."

On Thursday, industry leaders plan to meet with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and ask that the state drop its request that the Bears Ears National Monument be decommissioned, "to stop efforts to gut the Antiquities Act and to support keeping our public lands public for all Americans to enjoy."

In a letter sent Tuesday to the governor the outdoor industry made clear their intention to move the twice-yearly Outdoor Retailer Show from Utah to another state more friendly to public lands.

"Many of Utah’s state leaders have stated that 'there is no all-out assault against Utah’s public lands.' We wholeheartedly disagree," they wrote. "While we appreciate your more recent public statements and willingness to engage in a discussion, we have watched the state’s political leadership spend years championing a set of policies that we interpret to be a state and national attack on the sanctity of public lands, public access and ownership of them, and how our nation manages and protects them. 

"Our view on Utah’s attack on the sanctity of public lands has been further informed and strengthened by recent actions taken by Utah’s top elected officials, including the resolutions to rescind Bears Ears and shrink Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments, statements calling to starve funding from Federal land management agencies, Congressional efforts to gut the Antiquities Act, proposed legislation that shifts law enforcement from the BLM and Forest Service to local sheriff departments, and expensive lawsuits aimed at moving public lands to state ownership. We see all of these actions as an existential threat to the vibrancy of Utah and America’s outdoor industry as well as Utah’s high quality of life."

The letter also noted that four of Utah's five national parks, which the state has heavily promoted as tourist destinations, were initially national monuments.

If Gov. Herbert refuses to reverse course, the industry leaders said, they would work to have the Outdoor Retailer Show leave the state after its current contract ends in 2018.