Outdoor Recreation Industry Hammers Leavitt Nomination

[hatrack]

Utah land deal may haunt EPA vote
Industry group says nominee reneged on BLM protection

"The outdoor recreation industry, an $18 billion colossus, wants to inject a controversial Utah land deal into the debate over Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt's nomination to lead the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Leaders of the Outdoor Industry Association, representing the nation's active outdoor recreation businesses, say they had a deal with Leavitt to restore protection on 2.6 million acres of wild Utah land. They now consider his promises empty.

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At the root of the group's pique is a deal reached last spring by Leavitt and Interior Secretary Gail Norton to remove BLM protections on the 2.6 million acres, deemed to have potential for formal wilderness designation. At the time, the outdoor industry angrily pointed out to Leavitt that this pristine land was not sitting idle. Such area is the recreation industry's main stock-in-trade for sports that range from mountain biking to canyoneering and whitewater rafting.

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Shortly thereafter, Leavitt's name surfaced to replace departing EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman, who resigned in May. Hugelmeyer and Peter Metcalf, president of Salt Lake City outdoor equipment firm Black Diamond, said that communication with the governor's office ceased. Then, to their chagrin, they learned the BLM planned to open for auction 55 parcels, totaling 64,000 acres, including recreation zones like Desolation Canyon on the Green River, a major wilderness whitewater stream, and Dirty Devil, a plateau used for canyoneering.

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Even if approved, Leavitt may still have to face rising ire in his home state. The industry association will decide next month whether to move its Outdoor Retailer show out of Utah. 'There's no lack of regions in the West talking to us about moving there, " Metcalf said. 'It's a coveted show, and we are a coveted industry.'"

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SF Chronicle

[burntbuckwheats]

1. What's wrong with this picture?

"deemed to have potential for formal wilderness designation. At the time, the outdoor industry angrily pointed out to Leavitt that this pristine land was not sitting idle. Such area is the recreation industry's main stock-in-trade for sports that range from mountain biking to canyoneering and whitewater rafting."

Mtn biking is not allowed on wilderness land. Who is pulling the wool here?