SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on Utah’s efforts to keep a lucrative outdoor trade show (all times local):
5:50 p.m.
A lucrative outdoor trade show will be leaving Utah after two decades following the latest disagreement with state leaders over their stance on public lands.
The Outdoor Retailer show said in a news release Thursday evening that Utah will not be included in a bid process for future shows after the current contract in Salt Lake City runs out in the summer of 2018.
The announcement came hours after industry leaders said they came away disappointed with what they heard from Gov. Gary Herbert during a conference call earlier in the day.
The organization will take bids this spring from other future host cities for shows in 2019 and beyond.
Gov. Herbert’s office didn’t immediately have comment on the decision.
His spokesman Paul Edwards said earlier that the call was “frustrating” and ended “curtly.”
The outdoor industry has been blasting Herbert and the state’s Republican leaders for their calls to have President Donald Trump rescind the new Bears Ears National Monument.
Outdoor Industry Association executive director Amy Roberts says it was the culmination of years of actions that show the state is more interested in seizing control of its public lands than preserving them for hiking, biking and skiing.
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3:35 p.m.
Organizers of a lucrative outdoor trade show that’s been held twice yearly in Utah for two decades say they will continue looking for a new home after hearing “more of the same” on public lands from Gov. Gary Herbert during a conference call.
The Outdoor Industry Association said in a news release that the Thursday call made clear that Herbert’s stance on public lands doesn’t match where the industry stands on the issue. The group said last week it’s looking at a new host city for the Outdoor Retailer show after the contract ends in the summer of 2018 in Utah.
Paul Edwards, a spokesman for Herbert, said it was a frustrating conversation. He says the organization didn’t accept an invitation for more conversations.
Leaders from powerful outdoor companies Patagonia, The North Face and REI joined officials from the Outdoor Industry Association on the call.
Herbert and the state’s Republican leaders are facing stiff backlash from the outdoor industry for calls to have President Donald Trump rescind the new Bears Ears National Monument. Patagonia is leading a call to boycott shows in Utah.
This isn’t the first time show organizers have threatened to leave Salt Lake City over the state’s push for more control of public lands but the organization is casting a much wider net this time.
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12:41 p.m.
Gov. Gary Herbert says he plans to remind Outdoor Retailer show organizers during a meeting that having Utah as a host has been a “blessing” for them and helped the expo grow significantly.
Herbert’s spoke Thursday morning at his monthly news conference on KUED ahead of a private meeting with outdoor industry leaders later in the day.
The meeting comes after show organizers announced they’re considering moving the when the contract ends next year.
Herbert and the state’s Republican leaders are facing stiff backlash from the outdoor industry for calls to have President Donald Trump rescind the new Bears Ears National Monument.
Asked if he would consider reversing that stance, Herbert says he’ll discuss that in the meeting but that he must reflect the will and desire of his state’s residents.
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