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Utah fallout is first challenge to new U.S. interior secretary

Xinhua, March 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

News of America's new interior secretary being confirmed Wednesday in the nation's capital echoed loudly some 3,200 km away in the Rocky Mountains.

Ryan Zinke's nomination to lead the Interior Department was confirmed by the Senate by a 68 to 31 vote. Zinke, 55, a Republican congressman, will take over a department that is responsible for the management and conservation of the country's surface land, including national parks and wildlife refuges across the west.

Reaction was particularly quick from the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) which represents America's 646-billion-dollar outdoor recreation world.

During his confirmation hearings, Zinke expressed opposition to the transfer or sale of public lands.

"We support the new interior secretary and his pledge to protect our public lands," Amy Roberts, who runs the OIA, told Xinhua.

But while the OIA, which represents 6.1 million workers, thousands of supporting businesses, and an audience of 160 million Americans who enjoy outdoor recreation, gave President Donald Trump's interior pick the green light, they singled out Utah as an enemy to public lands.

Last month, the OIA announced to end the lucrative Outdoor Retailer show in Utah over its latest disagreement with state leaders about their stance on public lands. The trade show once had brought millions of dollars and thousands of outdoors enthusiasts to Utah over the past 20 years.

"We see public lands as the infrastructure of the entire industry," Roberts said. "That's why we can support the new secretary, but not Utah," she added.

Roberts and her 1,200 member organizations, including billion-dollar giants Patagonia and North Face, on Tuesday published a request to move the association's trade show out of Utah forever.

Republican Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Utah officials reportedly were pushing for state control of public lands currently owned by the federal government, among other actions.

Two weeks ago, Herbert refused to stop state resolutions to reverse two ex-President Barack Obama's historic designations for spectacular wilderness areas, Bear Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.

"Never really in the history of our country has a state sought to rescind a national monument, let alone two," said Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario.

"We really can't stand by" Utah's efforts, Marcario said. "As an industry, we're all about defending public lands."

Roberts predicted that other national outdoor and sports groups would also pull events from Utah, adding one prominent bicycle group was canceling future races there.

The OIA chief executive hoped that local Utah businesses would band together to push state officials to protect more public land. Endi