Colorado College released its annual Conservation in the West poll that revealed strong public support for efforts to protect and maintain national public lands.
Panelists provided an in-depth analysis of the public lands survey covering seven western states, including Utah. The survey included findings on efforts to put national public lands in state or private control, as well as proposals to protect land as national monuments.
“Couple of questions we asked in the poll had to do with what voters believe about whether public lands should be in state government’s hands or remain in the national government’s hands.”
Dave Metz, president of MF3, a national Democratic opinion research firm, says there is an overwhelming majority of voters that want public lands to remain in national government control.
The survey polled residents living in 7 states including Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada and Utah to learn how they feel about state versus federal control of lands.
“A majority of voters, in each of the states, rejects the idea of transferring these lands to state ownership, with the exception of Utah, and in Utah a plurality opposes that idea.”
According to the report, 66 percent of Utah voters support national monument designation. It also shows 87 percent of Utah voters want elected officials to find common ground on land conservation matters, which is the highest percentage of residents among the seven-state surveyed.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, 66.5 percent of Utah is federal land, second only to Nevada, which is at 81 percent.
