Poll Shows Idahoans Want To Protect Public Lands

Idahoans strongly support protecting public lands regardless of their political views, according to a poll released this summer.  The Western Voter Views of Public Lands Issues survey by the Nature Conservancy found 83% of Idahoans oppose selling public lands to private interests.

That's higher than the 80% opposed to the idea across the western United States.

Bas Hargrove with the Nature Conservancy's Idaho chapter says the results make it clear that the Gem State cherishes its public lands.

"Places like the Sawtooths or the Selkirks that are on public lands are where we take our children and grandchildren hunting, fishing, and camping," Hargrove said.  "We go there with our friends, and selling them off means fewer opportunities for future generations to get outdoors." 

The poll also shows 75% of Idahoans oppose staffing and funding cuts to federal land management, and fewer than a third support transferring federal land management to the states.  Pollsters interviewed more than two thousand people from Idaho and other 11 other western states, including Oregon and Washington.

Click Here to see the results of that poll.

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