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Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee ~ My name is David Peri and I am 

 Director of Marketing for Mountainsmith, a backpack and outdoor gear manufacturer based 

 in Golden, Colorado. I am here representing my company, but also the Outdoor Recreation 

 Coalition of America, a 6C)0-member trade association of the human-powered outdoor 

 recreation industry. ORCA's membership includes manufacturers, retailers, distributors 

 and suppliers of hiking, backpacking, paddling and climbing equipment as well as outdoor 

 educators. 



Mr. Chairman, ORCA supports increased funding for wildlife programs. We are 

 supportive of maintaining habitats and protecting America's natural resources, and our 

 members have shown that support through corporate giving and through their work on 

 conservation projects in their communities. We have been working with the user and 

 conservation communities for solutions for inadequate funding for the agencies that manage 

 our country's public lands and outdoor recreation facilities, and have supported initiatives 

 in this Congress to create new recreation fee programs to support those agencies and 

 activities. We believe that the funding crisis for public lands demands creative, but 

 economically sound solutions. 



However, we do not support the funding mechanism proposed for this initiative. It forces 

 consumers and companies to support one aspect of resource conservation when company 

 and user resource and recreation needs are very diverse. We don't believe it can be fairiy 

 called a user fee. General consumers as well as those only marginally connected to the 

 services of state fish and wildlife programs would pay, while others who directly benefit 

 might not. Those who are already paying through the Dingell-Johnson and Pittman- 

 Robertson programs may have to pay again. This initiative would create a new, largely 

 invisible tax on many products, affecting hundreds, perhaps thousands, of manufacturers 

 and untold numbers of retailers and consumers in this country. 



I will get into a little more detail on each of those in my testimony, Mr. Chairman, but I 

 also want to talk about the broader needs of public lands and outdoor recreationists in this 

 country, and what individual companies can do when given some vehicles and some 

 flexibility to provide assistance where they believe it best befits their company. 



MOUNTAINSMITH AND THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL 



Mountainsmith is a relatively small company employing about 240 people. We are based in 

 Golden, CO with a sister company in Cotter, Arkansas. Mountainsmith's main business is 

 designing, building, and selling backpacks at wholesale, although we also make cycling 

 gear and equestrian products. Our backpacking line consists of about 65 packs, from small 

 lumbar or fanny packs, up to 7500 cubic inch expedition backpacks. Our packs are used by 

 professional and amateur mountaineers, hikers and backpackers the world over. Most of 

 our sales take place in the U.S., although Japan is an important market for us as well. We 

 are hoping to expand and grow our business here, and start selling around the world. In the 

 backpack world, our product is considered rather technical, yet we know that at least 25- 

 30% of our packs are not used for truly outdoor recreation purposes. We have no firm 

 numbers regarding how many are used for wildlife-related activities. 



Mountainsmith makes all of its products in the United States and hopes to continue to do so 

 in the future. Our backpacks are sold primarily in specialty outdoor retail stores. As with 

 most growing small businesses, our margins are relatively small. This business is very 

 competitive, with over 40 brands competing for the backpack market in the U.S. This has 



