Zinke fills outdoor recreation panel with industry representatives

[Judi Lynn]

Source: The Hill


BY TIMOTHY CAMA - 03/26/18 05:02 PM EDT

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has finalized the makeup of an advisory panel for outdoor recreation, with all of the seats filled by representatives of the recreation industry.

The members Made in America Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee, announced Monday, include representatives of companies that act as concessioners in national parks and other federal land areas, the fishing industry, gun makers and hospitality, among others.

The Washington Post reported Monday that three of the 16 members of the panel had been flagged by Interior staffers for having potential conflicts of interest that would prohibit them from serving.


“​The Made in America Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee is made up of the private sector’s best and brightest​ to tackle some of our biggest public lands infrastructure and access challenges​,” Zinke said in a statement.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/380352-zinke-fills-outdoor-recreation-panel-with-industry-representatives

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Inferior Secretary Ryan Zinke?

[dchill]

1. Irredeemable.

[snort]

2. This crop of rich assholes are

the biggest rich assholes this country has ever produced. We should be very proud.

[louis-t]

3. Fuck that idiot.

[Ohiogal]

4. More swamp dwellers, I see.

Doesn't surprise me one bit.

[Mendocino]

5. Zinke has a

4% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters.

Small wonder

[mountain grammy]

6. Zinke is a nazi..

not for nothing Richard Spencer lives in his town. serious nazis.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Zinke creates new outdoor recreation panel made up almost entirely of industry advisers

Zinke creates new outdoor recreation panel made up almost entirely of industry advisers

by Juliet Eilperin March 26 at 3:53 PM

[email protected]

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has appointed 15 representatives of the outdoor recreation industry to advise him on how to operate public lands, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post, including three people whom department officials flagged as potentially having a conflict of interest on the matter.

The membership of the “Made in America” Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee, which Zinke launched in November, marks the third time the secretary has assembled panels dominated by industry players to help chart policies affecting their businesses.

Many of the members of the Royalty Policy Committee hail from the oil, gas and mining industries; the new International Wildlife Conservation Council is largely composed of people with ties to trophy hunting.

Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that industry representatives urged Zinke to establish the new recreation panel to provide their clients a greater voice in shaping Interior Department policies. The appointments — which the department announced shortly after The Post made the appointments public — include officials representing companies with National Park Service contracts, such as those in the hospitality sector, as well as those from the manufacturing, fishing, boating and all-terrain-vehicle industries.

Zinke said in a statement that the panel “is made up of the private sector’s best and brightest to tackle some of our biggest public lands infrastructure and access challenges,” adding that the group’s “collective experience as entrepreneurs and business leaders provide unique insight that is often lost in the federal government.”
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Juliet Eilperin is The Washington Post's senior national affairs correspondent, covering how the new administration is transforming a range of U.S. policies and the federal government itself. She is the author of two books — one on sharks and another on Congress, not to be confused with each other — and has worked for The Post since 1998.
Follow @eilperin