New Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Protecting Public Lands

Media Releases

Environment America

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Colorado College released their 4th annual Conservation in the West Poll. The poll, which surveyed more than 2,400 people across Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, demonstrates overwhelming bipartisan public support for preserving public lands for our children and future generations to explore.

The poll found that of those surveyed:

• 83 percent oppose funding cuts for parks, forests and other public lands
• 74 percent believe our national parks, forests, monuments, and wildlife areas are the biggest attractions in their home states
• 71 percent believe selling off public lands to corporations for development will hurt their economy and quality of life.
• 74 percent oppose the sale of public lands as a way of reducing the deficit

“Our elected officials should heed the public’s call to provide these treasured landscapes with the resources they need and protections they deserve, said Environment America’s Conservation Advocate Aaron Weil. “Otherwise, instead of sweeping vistas of mountains and forests broken only by pristine lakes and ponds, our kids might see oil rigs instead of trees and fracking waste pits instead of ponds.”