The Daily - January 30, 2020 - 22

The Pulse

B I G

Rigney, at the
Osprey booth

P I C T U R E

Time to Unite

Osprey calls on the outdoor industry to
support the CORE Act and protect
public lands in Colorado. By Layne Rigney
WHEN FACED WITH OBSTACLES IN

the backcountry, we do what we do
best: adapt, improvise, and overcome. At Osprey Packs, we apply
that same mindset to protecting the
very backbone and infrastructure of
our industry-public lands.
During last year's Snow Show,
Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S.
Rep. Joe Neguse introduced the
Colorado Outdoor Recreation and
Economy (CORE) Act to protect
400,000 acres of public land in Colorado. After a short celebration, we
sprang into action by encouraging
our passionate followers, customers, and industry peers to join us in
urging more members of Colorado's
congressional delegation to support
this important legislation.
The CORE Act would protect
our indispensable public lands for
the next generation in four major
geographies. The state's southwestern San Juan Mountains that
surround our headquarters would
see about 60,000 acres of new
protections. In Colorado's central
mountains, the bill would expand
existing Wilderness Areas, safeguard recreation for mountain
bikers, and set aside wildlife conservation areas for hunters. Camp
Hale, where the 10th Mountain
Division trained for World War II
and the U.S. ski industry got its
start, would be designated as our
state's first-ever National Historic Landscape. Heading west,

22

where local ranchers have banded
together to protect the pristine
backcountry area of the Thompson Divide, the CORE Act would
withdraw hundreds of thousands
of acres from oil and gas development. Lastly, the Curecanti National Recreation Area would be
formally established and provide
new fishing access in the Upper
Gunnison River Basin.
Osprey is reassured knowing
the CORE Act was crafted over
the past decade in close coordination with local elected officials,
community leaders, businesses,
conservation groups, hunters,
anglers, and ranchers to reflect our
state's top priorities. As a homegrown Colorado company, we tip
our cap to Sen. Bennet and Rep.
Neguse for their championing of
our public lands in Washington.
Sadly, our efforts to pass the
CORE Act and protect the beloved
public lands we routinely recreate
and test products in have hit a crux
in gaining co-sponsorship from
Colorado's Sen. Cory Gardner-the
only senator in the past 50 years
not to have sponsored wilderness
legislation. Gardner also sits on
the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, through
which the CORE Act must pass in
order to continue its journey to the
President's desk.
As an industry and community,
we must remember what drives

/ OUTDOOR + SNOW SHOW 2020

our $62 billion outdoor recreation
economy: public lands. What
sustains our culture, attracts and
retains top talent, and drives sales:
public lands. What represents our
main source of inspiration and
what is central to our identities as
outdoor people: public lands.
We must unite our voices and encourage Sen. Gardner to co-sponsor the CORE Act.

Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.
Just as we do in the backcountry.
Just as we did to move the Show
to Denver in 2018. Just as we'll do
now to remind the senator why the
outdoor industry chose the great
state he represents as its national
hub: public lands.
Layne Rigney is the president
of Osprey

CALL TO ACTION

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
EMAIL & CALL
Email Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner via his legislative assistant
Dustin_Sherer@Gardner.Senate.Gov or call Gardner's office at
202-224-5941 and urge him to support the Colorado Outdoor
Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act to protect 400,000 acres
of public land in Colorado.
ATTEND COMMON GROUND
Common Ground is a free evening of storytelling to celebrate
Colorado's public lands and the CORE Act, sponsored by
New Belgium Brewing's Fat Tire, Osprey, Backpacker's Pantry, and Fourpoints Bar. Come listen to an angler, a photographer, an athlete, a rancher, and a policymaker. Wildlife biologist, accomplished angler, and comedian Eeland Stribling will
emcee the evening event. Also on the lineup: Matt Alberts,
a photographer specializing in wet plate collodion "tintype"
photography; Quinn Brett, a professional adaptive athlete
and advocate for public lands and differently abled accessibility; and Molly Fales, who comes from a multigenerational
Western Slope ranching family and is a director of conservation transactions for a land trust in Denver.
Common Ground will be held today, Jan. 30, from 7 to 9 p.m.
at ViewHouse, 2015 Market St.

Photograph by

Lauren Danilek
The Daily - January 30, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Daily - January 30, 2020
