Former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says Utah lawmakers made outdoor industry feel taken for granted

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2017, file photo, people attend the Outdoor Retailer show at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. Organizers announced Thursday, July 6, 2017, that the show will be held in Denver starting in 2018. The retailers are leaving Utah after 20 years because of political differences with Utah leaders, including their opposition to the new Bears Ears National Monument. | AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File, St. George News

SALT LAKE CITY – Former U.S. Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell was a keynote speaker at the last scheduled Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, and she didn’t hold back in taking a shot at Utah’s leaders.

“A lot of people are sad to be leaving Salt Lake City, and the city has done a lot of great things for the show but the same cannot be said for the state, the governor, and the congressional representatives who spend a lot of time speaking out against public lands,” Jewell said.

The Outdoor Retailer show is moving to Colorado, citing Utah’s stance on public land issues as the reason for its departure. The show had called Utah home for over 20 years, bringing in an estimated 40,000 visitors a year.

“You know none of us as human beings like to be taken for granted, and I think that the outdoor industry in spending over 20 years here in Utah felt like they were being taken for granted,” Jewell said.

Jewell was the sitting secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama in late 2016 when Bears Ears was designated a national monument. The Governor and every member of Utah’s federal delegation opposed the designation.

Read the full story here: Fox13Now.com

Written by MATT MCDONALD, Fox13Now.com

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright 2017, KSTU. A Tribune broadcasting station

 

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9 Comments

  • John July 27, 2017 at 10:52 am

    Bye bye !!..Federal Governmental overreach is not good for the local economy, period ! Utah can and should manage their own public lands…The Outdoor Retailer Show is politicizing it for reasons other than land management..Too Bad !! I will be boycotting all the retailers who participate in the show in Colorado..

    • Real Life July 27, 2017 at 12:20 pm

      You know what’s also bad for the local economy? Shrinking parks and national monuments.

      • John July 27, 2017 at 5:24 pm

        I’m really sorry you overdosed on the KOOL AID..The areas were being cared for just fine by state and local entities..Federal encroachment on State property is nothing more than an illegal land grab..keep drinking that kool aid .. I for one do not want to encourage a nanny state as you seem to do.. since when has decreasing responsible land use , as the feds want to do , increased tourism and recreation? Utah knows what it need to do and does not need or want some federal bureaucracy telling the locals what they can and can not do, BYE BYE Outdoor Retailer Show , you politicized your reason for leaving SLC so many of us will be boycotting your vendors because of your political stand..sorry but you blew it !

        • Real Life July 27, 2017 at 11:00 pm

          Sorry John, I don’t drink the KOOL AID.. That is only for sale for you, and the other local cult following. You see, I am not even allowed in to sample the KOOL AID, nor do I want to. Those of us not under the influence, do not trust you, OR your puppet masters to administer the land. You simply cannot be trusted. YOU do not trust them, WE do not trust you. Funny how things work. Maybe we should ask the outsiders who come here in droves to see the beauty, how they feel. My guess is they would disagree with you. You see, they come here to see the awesome creation put here by mother nature sculpted by millions of years. They also come here to see the ruins of people who were here for a thousand years, and left their mark. They don’t come here to witness the local cult, who’s goofy, backwards ideas now “rule” the land. You see, they are smart enough to realize that you are a mere pimple on the butt of the history here.

          • mesaman July 28, 2017 at 8:14 am

            Does stupidity run in your family or do you have the genetic strand all to yourself?

          • comments July 28, 2017 at 9:46 am

            LOL, and amen

          • John July 28, 2017 at 10:41 am

            HAhaha!! you are funny Real Life..you just contradicted yourself for the second time…you are the one following the puppet masters..you are the one who is for Illegal government land grabs ,,you are the one who drank a triple dose of the Kool aid ,,sorry that you are so misinformed as to reality,,you probably also believe that Trump is not the president..Booo Hooo !

  • snowflake1 July 27, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    Almost all local and Utah government opposed these national monuments because they from what I seen it actually Decrease public use….or maybe they are not dumb all. Legal marijuana is sure to increase some sales. Utahns always so nice and definitely love having tourists so sorry about the conviention but they can’t move all the awesome people and scenery to Colorado they’ll be back just legalize it!

  • desertgirl July 27, 2017 at 12:37 pm

    I’m with you John. These companies and organizations are concerned about their personal politics of supporting a bloated, totalitarian government. The Feds control waaay too much land, especially west of the Mississippi.

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