Outdoor companies join coalition opposing USFS restructuring
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) In response to the Trump administration’s recent dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service, a growing number of businesses are joining together to oppose the action.
On Monday, about a week after the U.S. Forest Service announced it would be making several significant organizational changes, a national parks advocacy group launched a website, SaveUSFS.org, calling on outdoor brands to speak out against the Forest Service changes. In the two days since, more than 70 companies have signed on asking the agency to reconsider.
Montana businesses represented include the Trailhead, Oboz Footwear and Yellow Dog Flyfishing. The advocacy group, Our Parks, also known as “altNPS,” has an influential social media presence that arose in 2017 during the first Trump administration to oppose Congressional budget cuts to public land agencies and massive layoffs by the Trump administration. Now, they’ve called upon their followers to pressure outdoor brands to speak up.
“This week we’re going after six major outdoor brands. Companies that have spoken out for public lands before. Companies that built their whole identity around wild places. We need them to speak out again” altNPS said in an April 6 post announcing the SaveUSFS website. “The US Forest Service is being dismantled. Most of the outdoor industry has gone completely quiet. Right now, Patagonia is the only one saying anything. That’s not good enough.”
On April 3, Patagonia responded to the Forest Service announcement with a statement saying its customers and employees depend on public lands and moving the Forest Service headquarters to Utah would “gut the agency.”
“By shutting down USFS research stations, culling staff, and moving the headquarters away from where decisions about federal lands are made, it will be surprising if USFS can effectively manage anything at all,” Patagonia said in the statement.
Last week, altNPS asked its followers to reach out to other businesses but then got hit with “community standards” violations on Facebook for posting links to specific businesses. So it quickly built the SaveUSFS.org website to post contact links to businesses, in addition to describing the Forest Service changes and suggest things citizens could say when they contact their outdoor activity or gear providers.
Columbia Sportswear Company, REI Co-op, Black Diamond Equipment and Orvis followed on the heels of Patagonia.
“Our public lands are intrinsically tied to the life-defining pursuits of climbing, skiing and mountain sports that our company was built to serve. We are proud to stand with brands and public land users of all types in opposition to these short-sighted goals,” said Neil Fiske, Black Diamond president, in a social media post.
On Wednesday, the effort received a big boost when The Conservation Alliance, a coalition of outdoor businesses, announced its support. In 1989, four companies - Kelty, Patagonia, REI, and The North Face - founded the Conservation Alliance to “support bipartisan efforts that advance conservation policies and public land protection,” according to its website. The organization now has more than 250 members, many of which have lent their support to SaveUSFS.
On a recent altNPS Facebook post, as people suggested many more companies, one person asked how companies making public statements could change what was happening to the Forest Service. Some responded saying public land supporters should use the information to inform where they spend their money.
“It's up to us, the consumer, to keep the pressure on!! They need to walk the walk!!” wrote Barbara Reynolds of Oregon.
However, the outdoors industry indicated on Wednesday that it would lobby Congress so there may be more than just consumer pressure being applied. Late Wednesday, when Osprey Backpacks officially joined the fray, they said, “Osprey will join The Conservation Alliance in Washington, D.C., to meet with Congressional offices to advocate for our outdoor community.”
However, while Congress holds the federal purse strings, there’s probably little it can do to block the Forest Service changes that move the headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah; replace regional supervision with state control; and eliminate more than 90% of the Forest Service research stations.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.