Outdoor retailers renew threat to move trade shows

Utah officials are scratching their heads at the latest criticism from the Outdoor Industry Association, which says the state has been dragging its feet on protecting Utah's recreational treasures.

OIA, the exclusive endorser behind the biggest retail shows in Utah, sent a letter Sunday to Gov. Mike Leavitt expressing disappointment that nothing has been done since their last talks in August when Leavitt promised to promote recreation and protect wilderness.

"Unfortunately, two-and-a-half months have gone by, and we have nothing to report," wrote Frank Hugelmeyer, president of OIA. "We have heard nothing from your office and seen no action on any of the issues you discussed at our meeting. We are immensely disappointed."

The criticism comes as the U.S. Senate is considering Leavitt's appointment to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Senate confirmation is expected today.

"We're a little disappointed with the timing of all this," said Wes Curtis, state planning coordinator. "It puts a strain in our relationship. We have honored every commitment we made with them."

Leavitt, too, was suspicious of the timing.

"We're doing everything we said we would do," Leavitt said Monday in his monthly KUED news conference. "The timing was not lost on me."

In May, OIA threatened to move its semiannual trade shows to another state in anger over Leavitt's surprise deal with the Bush administration to cut back on wilderness protection in Utah. At the summer Outdoor Retailer show in August, retailers met with Leavitt and the OIA board agreed to renew its contract for another year.

State officials say they have done a few things to protect and promote recreation.

First of all, Leavitt plans to sign an executive order that establishes a task force that will identify Utah's recreational crown jewels in order to protect and manage them for economic opportunities in the state. Lt. Gov. Olene Walker plans to move forward with the task once she becomes governor, officials say.

"Lt. Walker has been much involved in this effort and supportive of where we're going," Curtis said.

But apparently that is lost on OIA, which threatened once again to pull Outdoor Retailer out of Utah.