As the heavyweight Outdoor Retailer trade shows decamp for Colorado, the outdoor industry is wielding a newfound power.

Last month, as the trade show’s attendees wrapped their final stand in Salt Lake City after 20 years, thousands marched supporting public lands. Utah’s position on those lands — urging the federal government to downsize national monuments such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — triggered the departure of Outdoor Retailer. Outdoor Retailer arrives in Denver in January, the first of five biannual gatherings that will establish Colorado as the command post for all things outdoor recreation.

Favoring public lands is an easy motivator. Everyone under the outdoor-recreation tent — a widely diverse lot including sportsmen, paddlers, campers, bikers, skiers, hikers, conservationists, retailers, gear makers and motorized users — can get behind a fight to defend access to well-protected and amply funded national forests, monuments and parks.

The challenge is capturing the growing political, economic and social clout, and maintaining that momentum as the industry emerges as a force for change beyond access and land protection.

Read more at denverpost.com.

Thornton police are looking for a 37-year-old Olivia Martinez, who left the City Pool to have a cigarette and didn’t return on Saturday. (Photo provided by Thornton Police Department via Denver Post)

Thornton police are looking for a 37-year-old Olivia Martinez, who left the City Pool to have a cigarette and didn’t return on Saturday. (Photo provided by Thornton Police Department via Denver Post)