A new poll shows public lands and conservation issues could be a significant factor for Arizona voters this year.
Colorado College’s annual State of the Rockies poll surveys voters in eight states across the West.
It found 90% of Arizona voters see funding cuts to public lands agencies as a serious problem, while 93% don't want designated national monuments stripped of protections.
The support for public lands is an increase from last year.
In the poll released by Colorado College last year, 88% of Arizona voters supported keeping national monuments in place.
According to the survey, significant majorities of Arizona voters also oppose increased mining and fossil fuel extraction on public lands along with efforts to roll back environmental protections.
“At a time of growing pressure on land and water in the West, the call to action from voters is clear and bipartisan: Westerners want funding and stewardship for public lands and natural resources,” said Director of Strategic Initiatives & Sustainability at Colorado College Ian Johnson.
The public support for protections and public lands could prove helpful to Democrats seeking to flip control of the U.S. House of Representatives and gain ground in the U.S. Senate.
The Trump administration has aimed to ramp up natural gas drilling and extend the life of coal-fire powerplants.
Arizona Republicans in Congress have also pushed bills to reverse President Joe Biden’s 2023 designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon monument.
Last year, the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency sought to lay off thousands U.S. Forest Service and Park Service employees.
Most returned to their jobs after the cuts were challenged in court, and budgets for federal land management agencies were largely spared from further reductions during budget negotiations.
