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DENVER — Westerners want leaders to prioritize conservation over development on public lands, promote collaborative land management with Tribes, and keep existing rules requiring that oil and gas companies — not taxpayers — pay for the cleanup after drilling to help wildlife thrive. The findings were part of the bipartisan Conservation in the West Poll released by Colorado College.

“It’s clear that a majority of Westerners want their leaders to champion policies that safeguard wildlife and include full collaboration with Tribes in the stewardship of public lands and waters. The poll results also show the popularity of recent oil and gas reforms that require industry to pay their fair share for using public lands,” said David Willms, associate vice president for public lands at the National Wildlife Federation. “And at a time when thousands of federal employees at the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service have lost their jobs, this poll shows that a vast majority of people in the West trust career professionals to responsibly steward public lands.” 

"These 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 . “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."

The poll surveyed voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Here are some key findings:

• 92% want to keep the requirement that oil and gas companies, not taxpayers, have to pay to clean up lands after drilling is finished 
• 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% say they are opposed to removing protections on national monuments that prohibit drilling and other development 
  
• 86% support Tribes having greater input on public lands management decisions 
  
• 87% support career professionals like rangers and scientists to make public lands decisions over new political appointees
• 75% oppose reducing funding for land management agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, National Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service