2025 Conservation in the West Poll Shows Strong Support for Protecting Public Lands, Waters, and Natural Resources

The results of Colorado College's 2025 Conservation in the West Poll show overwhelming support among Westerners for our public lands and waters.

"The results reaffirm what we already know: Western communities deeply value our public lands for their cultural, historical, ecological, recreational, and economic significance. An overwhelming 89% of voters support keeping national monument designations in place, such as Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument,” said Camilla Simon, executive director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO). “Furthermore, Westerners understand the importance of managing our public lands actively and properly, with 75% opposing funding cuts to the agencies that steward these landscapes. Our leaders must listen and act accordingly to protect these irreplaceable places and resources for present and future generations."

Here are some key findings:

• 92% of Western voters support keeping the requirement that oil and gas companies pay for all clean-up and land restoration costs after drilling is finished, rather than taxpayers.

• 72% say they would prefer that Congress put more emphasis on clean water, clean air, and wildlife habitat than on maximizing the amount of public land available for oil and gas drilling or mining. 

• 72% of Western voters oppose the removal of protections on certain areas of existing national public lands, especially national monuments, to facilitate more drilling, mining, and other forms of development.

• 94% of Western voters support the use of controlled burns by trained fire teams to remove growth in forests that could fuel wildfires, provided it is safe to do so.

Voters of eight Western states -including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming- were surveyed.

For more results, visit here.