President Picks Adventurer Sally Jewell for Interior Secretary...

Photo Courtesy of University of Denver

We here at Human Spirit of Adventure prefer not to delve into the political arena. We believe that Adventure Sports should be for testing a persons intestinal fortitude instead of political gain. However, we cannot help but notice that President Obama has picked Sally Jewell to replace Ken Salazar as Interior Secretary.

Jewell, an avid adventurer who counts kayaking and climbing among her favorite adventure sports, is president and CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), one of the nation’s largest outdoor and recreational retailers. She’s on a handful of corporate and nonprofit boards, including the National Parks Conservation Association.

The Interior position is usually held by a politician from a Western state. Jewell is not a politician, but she is a Westerner and grew up in an outdoorsy family in Washington State.

As top-dog of an outdoor supply company that counts millions of hunters and fishermen as customers, Jewell represents a conservation agenda that could unite political parties. When it comes to protecting the environment, environmentalists and sportsmen groups often join efforts to protect America’s wilderness areas, which is something most, if not all adventurers can agree needs protecting.

So congratulations to Sally Jewell, we hope that political office will not uproot your love for the wilderness, environment, and the trail.