VOICES

Nevada doesn't need Trump monument plan: Meghan Wolf

Meghan Wolf
Special to the RGJ
Hikers on public land take in one of Nevada's desert views.

More than 20 years ago, Patagonia moved our service center to Reno, consolidating warehousing and customer service functions from different locations across the country.

We’ve always been transparent about one of the major reasons we chose Reno: proximity to the outstanding public lands for our employees to get out and enjoy.

Meghan Wolf

During the same time period that Patagonia has experienced remarkable growth and success, Nevada has become a national leader in the protection of public lands. Major legislation spearheaded by former Senator Harry Reid protected such marvels as the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area and millions of acres of wilderness in Clark, Lincoln and White Pine, Humboldt and Lyon Counties.

Where Congressional dysfunction has prevented legislative protections, President Obama gifted the state with two popular national monuments: Basin and Range in central Nevada and Gold Butte in southeastern Nevada. Each area had a long history of advocacy for its protection. Gold Butte’s designation in December of 2016 was the culmination of two decades of grassroots work by Nevadans that included multiple bills introduced in Congress that went nowhere. The Basin and Range National Monument had less of a public profile, but the Garden and Coal valleys that dominate the views were always special even by Nevada standards for their vast, undeveloped terrain.

That Patagonia has flourished as public lands have been protected is no coincidence. The Outdoor Industry Association recently announced staggering figures for our industry: $887 billion in revenue and 7.6 million jobs are generated and sustained each year by recreational pursuits on public lands. In Nevada, the outdoor recreation economy generates $14.9 billion in consumer spending per year, $4.8 billion in wages, $1 billion in state and local tax revenue, and 148,000 jobs. In addition to all the environmental and cultural benefits that protected public land protection provide, protected public lands are good for business.

Given our experience, Patagonia employees like me are befuddled by the opposition to protected public lands by some politicians. In Utah, where the public lands recreation economy is thriving, hostility to protected lands like Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Bears Ears National Monument drove the $40 million annual tradeshow Outdoor Retailer out of the state. For what purpose, and to what end?

Most recently, President Trump’s executive order on national monuments threatens to undo these protections, one monument at a time. And to be clear, this isn’t just about national monuments: the same people who would sell off our public lands to the highest bidder were in the room with Trump when he signed the order.

That’s why Patagonia took such a bold stand against President’s Trump’s executive order.

Our CEO Rose Marcario, said, “A president does not have the authority to rescind a National Monument. . .We’re watching the Trump administration’s actions very closely and preparing to take every step necessary, including legal action, to defend our most treasured public landscapes from coast to coast.”

I’m proud to let Nevadans know, as a rank-and-file Patagonia employee, that we’ve only just begun to fight.

Meghan Sural Wolf is an 18-year employee of Patagonia. Since 2008 she has served on the Friends of Nevada Wilderness board of directors.