New Bipartisan Research Shows Western Voters Strongly Oppose Selling or Transferring Public Lands

Despite increasing national polarization, the survey found broad agreement across political parties and state lines.

Key findings include:  

• Across the West, 80% of the region’s voters oppose the federal government selling public lands across the West to private interests, including a remarkable 69% who strongly oppose the idea. 

• Western voters oppose a range of specific proposals to reduce public lands protections, including 77% percent of voters oppose reducing the size of national monuments, 79% oppose reducing funding for national public lands management and 80% oppose reducing staff for the same. 

• Voters approve of their national public land agencies. Majorities see the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service favorably.  

• Voters across the region believe that selling public lands is irreversible: once sold, access disappears and the public loses these places forever. 

• Majorities in every state favor conservation over selloffs or privatization, underscoring the broad, bipartisan value Westerners place on public lands. 

The survey, conducted across Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming reveals that Western voters see public lands as central to their identity, economy and future. These new findings highlight the overwhelming support among Western voters for keeping public lands in public hands, reinforcing the essential role these landscapes play in both local economies and long‑term conservation.