I’ve been an REI member for 30+ years, and it’s sad to me where they have gone. I’ve spent thousands there, and some gear I bought there is still part of my regular kit. As an active family that skis, rafts, camps, bikes and more, REI should be a favorite, but I can’t support the current leadership.
REI endorsed Doug Burgum, the new Secretary of the Interior, who has signed a series of secretarial orders that pose significant threats to natural spaces and wildlife in the United States. These orders aim to prioritize fossil fuel development over conservation efforts.
Key Threats to Natural Spaces
- Public Lands Rule Review: Burgum’s order calls for potentially revising or rescinding the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, which placed conservation on par with energy development and other uses of public lands.
- National Monuments at Risk: The order directs a review of public lands withdrawn from mining and oil/gas development, including national monuments. This could lead to shrinking or eliminating protections for these areas.
- Increased Drilling: The orders aim to increase energy production on public lands, potentially opening up more areas for oil and gas leasing, including in sensitive habitats.
- Endangered Species Act Weakening: The directives seek to eliminate regulations critical to safeguarding endangered and imperiled species.
- Migratory Bird Protections: The order would weaken protections for migratory birds, whose populations are already declining due to various factors.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: The orders explore reinstating canceled leases in this sensitive ecosystem.
These actions collectively threaten to prioritize fossil fuel development over conservation, potentially leading to habitat destruction, reduced biodiversity, and diminished public access to natural spaces
REI has other concerning practices, including hiring famously anti-union law firms.
They have a board member election coming up. Currently the board is full of corporate types and fossil fuel supporters. There is a movement to get pro environment and pro union members on the board, but that part of the process is not open for voting. Instead, your vote is from a pre-selected list of folks picked by the current board, but there is a petition to include Tefere Gebre or Shemona Moreno as pro-environment and pro-worker candidates on the ballot.
Please sign here: https://www.ourrei.com/2025-rei-board-elections
