WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 06: REI Chief Executive Officer Sally Jewell (R) delivers remarks after being nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next Secretary of the Interior in the State Dining Room of the White House February 6, 2013 in Washington, DC. Jewell has been nominated to replace outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
BREATH OF FRESH AIR: President Obama's selection of a mountain-climbing chief executive of an outdoors-goods retailer FOR Interior Secretary underscores the growing influence of outdoor recreation.
COVERING GROUND: Sally Jewell, the chief of Recreational Equipment Inc., also has experience in the oil industry and as a banker. She is expected to be confirmed in coming weeks to head the department, which manages 780,000 square miles of public lands.
UP A TREE? Critics complain that the outdoor industry has worked to lock up valuable lands and stymie development in the West and that Jewell will favor her own industry over others.
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