A new poll that surveyed at least 400 registered voters in each of the eight western states shows residents putting a top priority on clean air, clean water, conservation, and combating wildfires.
The 14th annual Colorado College’s “Conservation in the West” poll found a lot of agreement, in a nation that’s become highly polarized, over the issue of protecting wild places, preserving wildlife migration corridors, and doing more to ensure the availability of a clean water supply.
“There may be a lot that divides voters across the country, but in the West, there’s almost universal consensus in favor of conservation,” says Katrina Miller-Stevens, an associate professor at Colorado College. “Not only do voters prefer conservation when asked how water and public lands should be used, but issues involving water, air, land, and wildlife are top of mind when making their voting decisions.”
Sixty-six percent of respondents think climate change impacts are significant.
