Interior pick puts outdoor industry in spotlight Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 9:38 am, Friday, March 8, 2013 The fact that a mountain-climbing CEO of an outdoors company is President Barack Obama's nominee underscores a new reality in Washington and beyond: the growing influence of outdoor recreation as a political and economic force. While past interior secretaries have ranged from conservationists, like former Arizona Gov.