rideold
Well-known member
I reached out to the board at REI regarding where they stand on the issues. I was hoping for a better answer but below is what I received. From what I read they are sitting back and letting others do the work by "supporting companies that support the issue". Anyway, thought I'd pass this on for those that may want to push on them a bit. Be a shame if they don't get involved.
"Thank you for reaching out on this topic. You are right that access to public lands is important to REI and our members’ ability to enjoy the outdoors. Public lands have been and will continue to be a main focus area for the co-op.
Our membership base spans the country, encompasses many communities and reaches into the millions so, in full transparency, we don’t fully know what politically or policy-oriented communications our members have an appetite for. We know the gear they like, but not whether they are looking to us for perspectives on hot issues. Closing this knowledge gap—and learning how we can be helpful in the advocacy space—is an aspiration of ours, but it’s a good size undertaking and we’re currently in the early stages of that learning process. We hope to learn fast, but it will take some time.
That being said, we don’t currently have the resources to engage on this topic state by state. Rather, our approach is to establish strong relationships with nonprofits throughout the country that are very active in their advocacy on this set of issues. If you check out www.protectourpublicland.org, you’ll see the organizations driving the conversation. We support many of these, including Outdoor Alliance, IMBA, The Mountaineers, OIA, OIWC, etc.
Again, I appreciate you raising this issue as it’s important for us to hear what’s top of mind for our members. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Take care,
Amy Leo
Staff to REI Board of Directors"
Our membership base spans the country, encompasses many communities and reaches into the millions so, in full transparency, we don’t fully know what politically or policy-oriented communications our members have an appetite for. We know the gear they like, but not whether they are looking to us for perspectives on hot issues. Closing this knowledge gap—and learning how we can be helpful in the advocacy space—is an aspiration of ours, but it’s a good size undertaking and we’re currently in the early stages of that learning process. We hope to learn fast, but it will take some time.
That being said, we don’t currently have the resources to engage on this topic state by state. Rather, our approach is to establish strong relationships with nonprofits throughout the country that are very active in their advocacy on this set of issues. If you check out www.protectourpublicland.org, you’ll see the organizations driving the conversation. We support many of these, including Outdoor Alliance, IMBA, The Mountaineers, OIA, OIWC, etc.
Again, I appreciate you raising this issue as it’s important for us to hear what’s top of mind for our members. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Take care,
Amy Leo
Staff to REI Board of Directors"