An annual poll of voters in eight Western states found rising support for conservation efforts and strong endorsement for federal management of public lands, even among self-described “MAGA” supporters — those who generally support the policies of President Donald Trump.
In January, the 15th annual Conservation in the West Poll released by the Colorado College State of the Rockies Project surveyed more than 3,300 voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. It was conducted by a bipartisan research team of both Republican and Democratic pollsters.
“Westerners do not want to see a rollback of national monument protections and there is no mandate for oil and gas development,” said former Director of the State of the Rockies Project Katrina Miller-Stevens in a press release. “Voters from all political ideologies are united in support of public land conservation in the West.”
In the weeks immediately leading up to the inauguration of President Donald Trump, pollsters surveyed voters on conservation topics ranging from concern over climate change and water supplies to fish and wildlife habitat to energy production on public lands. Across each of these categories, voters overall showed a clear endorsement on the side of conservation.
- 72 percent of total surveyed voters prioritized protection of water resources, air quality and wildlife habitat on public lands over energy development on those lands.
- 88 percent support keeping current national monument designations in place.
- 65 percent oppose giving states control of national public lands.
- 75 percent oppose cutting funding for national public lands agencies.
- 77 percent believe climate change is a serious problem
Among Colorado findings, 75 percent of those polled support government “action to reduce carbon pollution that contributes to climate change.” Click here for more Colorado-specific findings.
This year also marked the first time the poll asked voters if they specifically identified with the Trump-inspired “Make America Great Again” or “MAGA” movement. These supporters made up 37 percent of the participants.
While the President’s second term has been so far dominated by a focus on shrinking the federal workforce, bureaucracy and budget, the poll found 69 percent of MAGA voters in the West oppose funding reductions for federal public lands and conservation agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“When the (Western) public thinks about these agencies, they aren’t viewing them through the lens of the federal government, which … sometimes invites cynicism,” said pollster David Metz.
“They think of them as people who are experts, people who have spent time on the land,” he said, “people who have expertise that comes not from ideology or particular policy agenda, but from an understanding of how to manage these lands.”
Trump voters in the West also supported keeping in place existing National Monument designations, at 81 percent, and only 17 percent supported decreasing the royalty rates oil and gas companies pay for drilling on public lands. One area where MAGA voters were more split was the question of whether to emphasize protection of public lands or maximize oil and gas production: 51 percent favored conservation versus 44 percent opting for more drilling.
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