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Outdoor Retailer Is Leaving Utah Over Public Lands Issues

A lucrative outdoor trade show will be leaving Utah after two decades following the latest disagreement with state leaders over their stance on public lands.

The Outdoor Retailer show said in a news release Thursday evening that Utah will not be included in a bid process for future shows after the current contract in Salt Lake City runs out in the summer of 2018.

The announcement came hours after industry leaders said they came away disappointed with what they heard from Gov. Gary Herbert during a conference call earlier in the day.

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The organization will take bids this spring from other future host cities for shows in 2019 and beyond.

Gov. Herbert's office didn't immediately have comment on the decision.

His spokesman Paul Edwards said earlier that the call was "frustrating" and ended "curtly."

The outdoor industry has been blasting Herbert and the state's Republican leaders for their calls to have President Donald Trump rescind the new Bears Ears National Monument.

Outdoor Industry Association executive director Amy Roberts says it was the culmination of years of actions that show the state is more interested in seizing control of its public lands than preserving them for hiking, biking and skiing.