A man who one spoke out about his bid to discourage outdoor retailers from attending the industry's major trade show in Utah over the wildlands policy of that state's officials admitted Wednesday he had lied about his identity.

The man who had identified himself to the Daily Camera as "Richard Saunders" of Durango in a story published Tuesday said on Wednesday that was his "nom de guerre," and that to use his true identity "would get in the way of what I'm trying to do."

Unable to verify the man's true identity, the Daily Camera has removed from the web its original story about the man's plans to mount protests in Boulder.

Although he apologized repeatedly for being deceptive, the man nevertheless declined Wednesday to provide his true name or background.

The Twitter avatar for Saunders, who has posted frequently using the hashtag #BoycottUTAH," is an image of Benjamin Franklin, for whom "Richard Saunders" was a pseudonym from his "Poor Richard's Almanac."

The outdoor retailing industry has seen a lively debate in recent weeks in response to the Utah Legislature taking steps to reverse prominent land preservation measures that had been enacted by President Barack Obama.

On Feb. 3, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert had signed a resolution calling on President Donald Trump to rescind the national monument status from Bears Ears National Monument, reversing an action taken by Obama in the last week of December.

Similarly, the Utah Legislature recently passed a resolution seeking to shrink the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, created by then-President Bill Clinton in 1996.

In response, some outdoors retailers are calling for a boycott of the massive Outdoor Retailer trade show slated for Salt Lake City's Salt Palace Convention Center the last week of July.

Several industry leaders have announced that they plan to boycott the Utah trade show, including Patagonia, Arc'Teryx, Polartec and Peak Design.

On Thursday, Outdoor Industry Association Executive Director Amy Roberts and leaders of other outdoor industry companies plan to speak to Herbert, asking him to halt any actions to reverse the Bears Ears National Monument designation, and to support keeping public lands public.

"They will ask that Utah choose to embrace and actively support the outdoor recreation economy's role in the state and find ways to grow an economy that is generating more than $12 billion in consumer spending, supporting 122,000 jobs in the state, paying $3.6 billion in salaries and wages and contributing more than $856 million in state and local tax revenue," read a statement issued by the Boulder-based association.

The statement added that if no agreement was reached, the association will continue to work with Outdoor Retailer to move the trade show "as soon as possible."

Also on Wednesday, the Outdoor Industry Association said the person calling himself "Richard Saunders" had nothing to do with prodding the 1,200-plus-member association to consider moving the trade show out of Utah.

"Our strong feeing is that we've been working with the state of Utah, the Utah delegation and the governor in good faith, to support public land," said Jennifer Pringle, vice president of marketing and communications for the association.

"And we want to continue to have conversations with them. But if their policies won't support public lands for all citizens to enjoy, we are going to move the show as soon as possible."

If Outdoor Retailer moves future trade shows out of Utah, however, Pringle said that won't happen before the scheduled July event.

"We're going to use that as an opportunity to show up, bring the community together, but also use it as an opportunity to rally and protest Utah's policies around public lands," Pringle said.

Charlie Brennan: 303-473-1327, brennanc@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan

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