Higher Ground: How the Outdoor Recreation Industry Can Save the World

Our public lands are the places we go for relief from modern society and to know ourselves better. They are also the economic basis for one of our nation’s strongest economic pillars: the outdoor recreation industry.

Every day, we face severe news reports of the state of climate change. All the while our current Supreme Court is rolling back clean air standards as the former administration did their best to dismantle our clean water laws and weaken protections on our treasured public lands. Outdoor recreation is becoming a recognized force in the United States. As an economic sector, outdoor recreation spans from New Hampshire ski resorts to Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Inn, from the fishing guides plying the Florida Keys for tarpon to gear manufacturers like the North Face. The sector employs 5 million people and is measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at ＄1.1 trillion in annual economic impact. That is almost larger than the auto industry (＄340 billion) and the pharmaceutical industry (＄331 billion) combined.

Luis Benitez is the emerging face of the outdoor industry’s political movement. He is a former international mountaineering guide who guided famed blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer to the summit of Mount Everest. In 2015, Benitez was appointed director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office by Colorado governor John Hickenlooper. In 2019, he was hired as vice president of governmental affairs and global impact for VF Corp, parent company of outdoor industry giants The North Face, Smartwool, and Eagle Creek.

People are suffering and an environmental crisis is looming over us, and through this book, you will come to understand why the outdoor recreation industry is so much more than fun equipment and amazing experiences. You will see that it is possible for the one remaining bipartisan economy in the United States to save the world.

Luis Benitez is the emerging face of the outdoor industry’s political movement. The son of an Ecuadorian aerospace engineer and an American primary school art teacher, Benitez, is a former international mountaineering guide. In 2001, he guided famed blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer to the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak. He reached the summit of Everest five other times and has led expeditions to the highest peaks on every continent. In 2015, Benitez was appointed director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office by Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, a significant step in what many see as a political career leading to the Colorado governor’s office and beyond. In 2019, he was hired as vice president of governmental affairs and global impact for VF Corp, parent company of outdoor industry giants The North Face, Smartwool, and Eagle Creek, a foray into the business world he believes will put him on stronger footing to lead the public sector in the future.