The Daily - January 29, 2020 - 30

Ideas
B I G

A C T I O N

Korenblat
advocates for
policy work to
impact climate
change.

Can the Outdoor
Industry Save
the World?
A real solution may exist if we leverage our
collective efforts around better energy policy
to accelerate change. By Ashley Korenblat

30

To start, consider the law that
governs how we drill for oil and
gas on public lands-The Mineral
Leasing Act of 1920. Yep, 1920.
The oil and gas leasing system was
created at a time when we knew
very little about where oil actually was. The leasing system was
designed to spread out risk and
encourage development.
The Mineral Leasing Act met
certain needs in 1920, but in 2020,
things have changed. Outdoor
recreation is bringing wide-ranging
economic drivers to rural places
across the country. Not only do
classic hikes and beautiful vistas
attract visitors, but recreation
opportunities like OHV routes,
climbing areas, whitewater rivers,
and mountain bike trails are attracting businesses to places where
their employees can afford housing.
Yet failure to update the 1920 Act
will lead to more leasing, which is
discouraging recreation investment.
This is where we have an opportunity to make a difference. If
the outdoor industry works to update oil and gas leasing on public
lands, we can accelerate changes
in energy production by helping
communities transition more
quickly to sustainable economic
drivers like recreation.

/ OUTDOOR + SNOW SHOW 2020

Of course, renewable energy plays
a big role, but the fewer communities that depend on carbon-producing energy methods for their
livelihoods, the better. The Trump
administration has a policy called
"Energy Dominance" that is aggressively leasing every nook and cranny
of our public lands, even though
only about 50% of the lands already
leased have yet to be developed.
Saving millions of acres from unnecessary leasing will accelerate the
transition for many communities.
Traditionally, we in the outdoor
world have relied on place-based
conservation. We've been involved in
successful campaigns to save specific
places around the world. Yet, we are
often not nimble enough to support
wonky bills or policies. Government
does not always function in a linear
fashion and thus our well-planned
cause-related campaigns can sometimes miss opportunities to make
important progress.
Just two weeks ago, Senator
Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced
a new bill that will end speculative
leasing on Bureau of Land Management lands. The bill will help free

up the BLM to partner with nearby
communities ready to invest in the
recreation economy. This bill will
help move communities away from
the carbon economy and toward
outdoor recreation, and the outdoor
industry should support it.
Changing the way we manage oil
and gas is one way that your company could get involved in energy
policies that affect both progress
on climate and the quality of the
places where we play. Policy work
often requires little funding and
only a few moments of your time.
You don't need to be an expert
to help. With the right nonprofit
partner and a one-pager of talking
points-a quick phone call from an
outdoor executive to the right staffer in DC could make an impact. To
learn more and get involved, go to
publiclandsolutions.org/energy.
Ashley Korenblat is the CEO of
Western Spirit Cycling and a
founder of Outerbike and Public
Land Solutions-a nonprofit working with communities in transition and the government policies
affecting outdoor recreation.

BEN MOON

OUR INDUSTRY IS WORKING HARD

on many causes: saving natural
places, improving supply-chain
sustainability, and getting people
outside. Our voices are amplified
by the popularity of our brands and
the coolness of our lifestyles. We
are moving the needle on a variety
of fronts, but there is a key category
that could significantly leverage our
efforts on climate-one we haven't
fully engaged-energy policy.
We in the outdoor industry have
an opportunity to improve the way
we produce energy, because quality of life has become an economic
driver. Quality of life used to mean
access to cheap electricity and good
schools, but today it means clean air
and water and access to the outof-doors. Businesses are looking
for places to locate that have high
quality of life, and communities with
access to public lands are poised to
deliver it.
In the past, public land communities were dependent on resource extraction-oil and gas and coal-but
today more rural places are seeking
to pivot away from carbon-related
pursuits. These cities and towns have
many obstacles to overcome, some of
which are related to outdated energy
policies. The outdoor community is
uniquely positioned to change this.
http://www.publiclandsolutions.org/energy
The Daily - January 29, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Daily - January 29, 2020
