Education  February 4, 2019

Conservation poll shows Westerners increasingly care about environmental protection

DENVER — When it comes to conservation, residents in the American West are united: Conserving and protecting water, air and resources is critical.

That sentiment is clear in the 2019 Conservation in the West Poll, hosted by Colorado College and presented at the Outdoor Retailer 2019 State of the Rockies luncheon.

The poll was conducted by two research organizations — FM3, which works with Democratic politicians, and New Bridge Strategy, which works with Republicans. The surveyors conducted 3,200 cell phone and landline calls with 400 registered voters in each of eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

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The poll showed that across the region, when asked whether protecting sources for clean water and recreation should be a priority and when asked whether protecting sources for domestic energy, oil and gas should be prioritized, 65 percent of respondents agreed with the first statement supporting clean water and recreation compared with 24 percent who supported oil and gas development.

In seven of the states, three out of five voters prioritized conservation and in the eighth state, Wyoming, a majority prioritized it.

The poll also showed that Westerners have seen the current administration’s treatment of national monuments as negative, with the highest level of opposition coming from Colorado — 72 percent oppose the decrease in national-monument protection.

Prioritizing conservation has grown over several years. In 2014, 75 percent of respondents supported conservation; in 2019, 83 percent supported it. In 2014, 40 percent of respondents strongly supported conservation, and that number grew to 59 percent in 2019.  

What is more, Western voters are willing to put their money where their ideals are: 68 percent of respondents across the region said they support a small increase in local taxes in order to protect water and conserve habitat in their local area. The percentage willing to pay more taxes does fluctuate across party lines, however. Democrats are more likely to support a tax increase, but even 53 percent of Western Republicans said they supported it for the purpose of local conservation.

The perception of climate change as a problem has grown over time. While 36 percent of respondents viewed it as a serious problem in 2015, that number has grown to 46 percent across the region in 2019. Climate change is also a figure that fluctuates based on party lines. Forty-five percent of Republicans view it as a significant problem, while 76 percent of those who are unaffiliated or independent see it as an issue, and 93 percent of Democrats see it as a serious problem in their state.

When asked deeper questions about climate change, 67 percent of respondents in the eight-state region thought water supplies in the West were getting more unpredictable (compared with 27 percent who thought they have stayed predictable over time.) Only 3 percent of those who answered the poll thought wildfires were less of a problem, while 27 percent think wildfires have stayed the same, and 67 percent see them as a growing problem.

When it comes to outdoor recreation, the idea that Westerners are outdoor enthusiasts isn’t a stereotype: 70 percent of those who answered the poll considered themselves an outdoor-recreation fan. And more than four in five respondents in every state viewed outdoor recreation as important to the future of the West and their state.

There was also a breakdown of Colorado’s viewpoints, specifically:

  • 69 percent of Coloradans surveyed view themselves as conservationists.
  • 73 percent of Coloradans surveyed view themselves as outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
  • 65 percent of Coloradans said they would prefer the new Congress put more emphasis on protecting clean air, water and wildlife habitat.
  • 24 percent of Coloradans said they would prefer the new Congress put more emphasis on producing more domestic energy.
  • 69 percent of Coloradans said they see wildfires as more of a problem than they were 10 years ago.
  • 73 percent of Coloradans said the ability to live near and enjoy public lands was a significant reason they moved out West.
  • 90 percent of Coloradans believe the outdoor-recreation economy is important to the future of the state and the American West.
  • 83 percent of Coloradans believe it’s important for states to use funds to protect and restore the health of rivers, lakes and streams.
  • 68 percent of Coloradans believe it’s important for states to use funds to conserve wildlife corridors used by animals for migration.
  • 14 percent of Coloradans think it was a good decision to reduce the amount of time the public can comment on changes to public lands, such as oil and gas leasing.
  • 59 percent of Coloradans think it was a bad decision.

The 2019 State of the Rockies was presented by Alex Boian, political director of the Outdoor Industry Association; Corina McKendry, director of the Colorado College State of the Rockies project; Jen Rokola, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities; Jon Goldin-Dubois, president of Western Resource Advocates; Maite Arce, president and CEO of the Hispanic Access Foundation; Amy Roberts, executive director of the Outdoor Industry Association; Dave Metz, a partner at FM3 and Lori Weigel, a partner at New Bridge Strategy.

DENVER — When it comes to conservation, residents in the American West are united: Conserving and protecting water, air and resources is critical.

That sentiment is clear in the 2019 Conservation in the West Poll, hosted by Colorado College and presented at the Outdoor Retailer 2019 State of the Rockies luncheon.

The poll was conducted by two research organizations — FM3, which works with Democratic politicians, and New Bridge Strategy, which works with Republicans. The surveyors conducted 3,200 cell phone and landline calls with 400 registered voters in each of eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,…

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