REI and Patagonia throw their weight behind Wild Olympics
SEATTLE – REI and Patagonia, giants in the outdoor equipment retailing industry, are putting their support behind the Wild Olympics proposal that asks Congress to add more than 100,000 acres to land that is permanently protected on the Olympic Peninsula.
The partnership was announced Thursday in Seattle, with Peninsula-area advocates on hand. The support includes a component designed to steer the companies’ customers to the Olympic Peninsula for outdoor opportunities.
The Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers Act was reintroduced last year by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Derek Kilmer. The bill would permanently protect more than 126,000 acres by designating new Wilderness areas in the Olympic National Forest and 19 Olympic Peninsula rivers and their tributaries as Wild & Scenic Rivers – the first ever Wild & Scenic Rivers on the Peninsula.
A pop-up Patagonia store on the second story of the main REI Seattle store highlights key campaigns and public lands issues that both support through their work with the Conservation Alliance, a national coalition of outdoor industry leaders. The Wild Olympics Campaign is their first campaign “because of the world-class outdoor recreation destinations on the Peninsula the campaign is seeking to protect,” according to a news release.
As part of the plan to market the Peninsula to outdoor enthuiasts, a map highlighting various attractions has been developed. It is available to download for free at wildolympics.org. Free hard copies of the map will also be available at REI retail outlets in the Puget Sound area. Aberdeen based-public relations and marketing firm Alder Creative is helping with the marketing effort of the map and will be distribute free copies for pick-up at Olympic Peninsula businesses that have endorsed Wild Olympics.
The announcement of the REI and Patagonia campaign included endorsements by community leaders on the Peninsula, among them Hoquiam Mayor Jasmine Dickhoff: “… I believe we need to be seizing new economic opportunities while taking great care not to hurt our current ones,” Dickhoff said. “That’s why it’s important to me that Representative Kilmer & Senator Murray have worked to ensure their final proposal won’t hurt local timber jobs. It’s also why I believe REI and Patagonia’s promotion of Wild Olympics is a validation of one of our important new economic advantages. … I’m proud to have played a part in the community process that helped shape REI and Patagonia’s recognition of Wild Olympics. It’s an important down payment on the Harbor’s future.”
Aberdeen businessman Roy Nott also offered a testimonial: “Growing up in Pacific County in the 50’s and early 60’s, my future career path was pretty clear. I knew I would work in the timber industry. It was a no-brainer for me. The woods was where my childhood friends and I also chose to spend most of our free time.
“The world has changed so much over my lifetime. I now live in Aberdeen but I am the President of a German-owned companyin the wood products industry. Rapid advancements in manufacturing and technology permit companies to collaborate globally today to make more valuable composite wood products from far younger, faster-growth trees. These technologies require us to be smarter and more globally and market-minded but they permit us- for the first time in our history- to have it both ways: to have a strong forest products sector along with legal protections for the remaining, virgin forests that have always provided our fantastic living and vacationing environment. This is my life story and these are my opinions. That is why I am so pleased to see REI and Patagonia recently take up the Wild Olympics cause. It is great to see your most deeply-held beliefs become validated as you get older.”
Source: The Daily World