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Outdoors companies mobilize hikers in multimillion-dollar battle over public lands

Two generations ago, they were often written off as a bunch of hippies making backpacks and climbing gear for niche markets. But in recent decades, companies such as Patagonia and REI have become consumer powerhouses and political players, increasingly eager to influence decisions over public lands.

A sign of that clout came this year, when the outdoor industry decided to pull its twice-yearly trade show from Salt Lake City, where it been based since 1996. The shows injected tens of millions of dollars into the Utah economy, but industry leaders decided to pull out after Gov. Gary Herbert and other Utah Republicans started lobbying President Donald Trump to roll back the Bears Ears National Monument, a 1.35-million-acre conservation area in southern Utah that Native Americans and environmentalists have championed for years.

STUART LEAVENWORTH McClatchy Washington Bureau

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/business/outdoors-companies-mobilize-hikers-in-multimillion-dollar-battle-over-public/article_6db2efd6-26fd-5701-aaaa-0573781b3310.html

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