Pocatello,
ID -- President Barack Obama
announced yesterday his choice of Sally Jewell to replace outgoing Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar. Jewell is the current CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc.
(REI). She is described in the media as a former oil engineer, commercial
banker and a pragmatic business leader who will "work with both parties
and interest groups on all sides."
Greg Mumm, BRC's Executive Director, said he hoped Jewell's
appointment would translate into expanding a diverse range of recreational
pursuits on public lands and National Parks. "There needs to be a focus
for providing both motorized and non-motorized uses," Mumm said. "Recent
management plans have closed nearly 50 percent of the roads and trails open for
motorized recreation. There is a need for a better balance."
Mumm notes any loss of motorized recreation on public lands
locks out Americans who choose or are required to use OHVs for recreation and
fails to take advantage of the economic benefits of sustainable OHV and
snowmobile use.
But Jewell's nomination comes with questions for the OHV and
snowmobile community. One concern is the anti-OHV activism that has been a
hallmark of both REI and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA),
where Jewell serves as a board member. REI has long supported anti-access
groups such as the Sierra Club and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. The
NPCA has been at the forefront of many anti-OHV and OSV lawsuits at such
places as Denali National
Park and Preserve in Alaska, Yellowstone National Park
in Wyoming and Big Cypress National Preserve
in Florida.
On the other hand, Jewell's private sector ties hopefully
reflect her understanding of recreation's unique place and potential importance
to rural tourism and local economies. "We hope that, in her first role as
a public servant, we see Sally Jewell balancing her personal predisposition to
non-motorized recreation with legally supportable and just-as-popular forms of
motorized recreation on both Park and non-Park lands," Mumm concluded.
