Poll: 83 percent of Idahoans support incentives to keep farm, ranch and forest owners on land

By wide margins, Idahoans recognize importance of private lands for clean water and wildlife habitat

Boise, Idaho — December 13, 2007 — A coalition of Idaho agricultural, sporting and conservation groups today announced the results of a poll that shows overwhelming support for incentives keeping farmers, ranchers, and forest owners on the land. Of those polled, 83% would support tax incentives for landowners who agree to keep their land in farming, ranching and forestry, in order to protect clean water and wildlife habitat.

Bob Moore of Moore Information, who conducted the poll, presented the information on Thursday in the Owyhee Plaza. The poll was funded by The Nature Conservancy on behalf of the coalition.

As more people call Idaho home, the coalition believes it is important to work together to ensure we protect what makes Idaho special. The poll found that by wide margins people want to ensure the protection of working farms, ranches and forests, clean lakes and rivers and wildlife habitat.

“You think about what people in Idaho value, they value wildlife,” says Margaret Soulen Hinson, an Idaho sheep and cattle rancher. “They value large open landscapes, they value the ability to be outdoors and have room to recreate. It’s hopeful that Idahoans recognize that farms, ranches and timberlands protect all of those values.”

More than 75% of respondents would be inclined to support legislative proposals that protect farms, ranches, forests and wildlife habitat. By wide margins, those polled indicated concern about unplanned growth and the loss of family farms, ranches, and forest lands.

“If you look at the Tetons and see the rolling foothills in front of them, those lands are farm and forest lands,” says Emma Atchley, an Ashton potato farmer. “If you cover them with houses, we will never have that wide open view again. It’s gone forever. Those are the lands we want to preserve.”

Recently, a diverse coalition of Idaho business owners and conservationists joined together to explore ways to help landowners stay on the land. The coalition includes farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and sportsmen.

“We recognize that conserving farm, ranch and forest land benefits all Idahoans,” says Laird Noh, a sheep rancher and former state senator. “We also understand that it’s important that any solution we come up with honor the freedoms that make living here special. We’ve come together behind a plan to provide tax incentives to family farmers, ranchers and forest owners who want to stay on the land.”

The poll was commissioned because the coalition believed it was important to understand what other Idahoans think about protecting farms, ranches and forest lands.

“It’s clear that Idahoans recognize the tremendous value that farmers, ranchers and forest owners contribute to Idaho,” says Bas Hargrove of The Nature Conservancy. “While our state has large areas of public lands, these private lands play a disproportionately large role for wildlife, clean water and quality of life.”

The coalition includes a broad spectrum of organizations including the Idaho Farm Bureau, Idaho Cattle Association, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Farm Bureau, Idaho Forest Owners Association, Idaho Grain Producers Association, Idaho Smart Growth, Idaho Sportsmen’s Caucus Advisory Council, Idaho Wildlife Federation, Idaho Wool Growers Association, Intermountain Forest Association, Potlatch Corporation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land and a coalition of Idaho land trusts.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.