Fisher Towers. Upper Muley Twist Trail. The Subway. From our desert rivers to our towering buttes, our alpine mountains to our ski resorts, Utah is a land of diverse rugged beauty. For Utah residents and companies in the outdoor recreation industry this means money. People from around the world come to ride their favorite mountain bike trails, ski the best snow on earth, climb world-class cliffs, kayak, fish, and raft the waterways that slice through the state. To meet the need, Utah is a state of outdoor recreation retailers, manufacturers, guide services, facilities, and service shops. Nature is big business to Utah. If only we could all just get along.

An Outdoor Recreation Participation and Spending study done by the Outdoor Industry Association (O.I.A) for the state of Utah determined that it is not only visitors who fuel the outdoor economy in Utah. Utah residents, to the tune of 81.7% participate in outdoor activities such as backpacking, bicycling, climbing, fly fishing, kayaking and skiing. This ranks Utah as #3 in the nation in participation per capita. Neil Ashdown, Deputy Director of the Governor's office of Planning and Budget, said, "This industry (outdoor) is not only about economy but about quality of life issues. Our outdoor recreation eco system makes people want to live in Utah."

Tourism in Utah makes up 8% of the states employment. This is twice as much as agriculture and eight times as much as mining. Human powered outdoor recreation, a subset of tourism, employs as many Utahans as some of the states biggest employers: University of Utah, Brigham Young University, and Hill Air Force Base. It provides as many jobs as the US Postal Service, Delta Airlines, Skywest, Kennecott, and Utah Power combined within the state of Utah. "At times it feels as if other industries that play a much smaller role in the economy are given preference over the Outdoor Industry." said Frank Hugelmeyer, President of the O.I.A. "We want a governor that makes recreation the priority not the secondary consideration."

(for the rest of the article contact Utah Business Magazine for the October 2003 issue)