Poll: Public Lands Access, Preservation Should be Priorities
Monday, October 29, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS - Conservation is just as important as gun rights, according to a new poll of sportsmen by the National Wildlife Federation. Nearly half said those two priorities have equal weight in their minds. And given a choice between prioritizing oil and gas production or protecting public lands, 35 percent chose the fuel and 49 percent chose the public lands.
John Gale, NWF regional representative, says he thinks the poll mirrors the views of more than just those who hunt and fish.
"Most Americans are still reasonable people that value things like public lands, like fish and wildlife habitat. And while they understand the need for oil and gas and energy, they don't want to see that come at the expense of what public lands offer them."
Forty-two percent of respondents said they are Republicans, 32 percent Independents, and 18 percent Democrats.
More than two-thirds of the sportsmen polled said the U.S. should work to reduce carbon emissions; update the nation's mining law, which dates from 1872; and expand and strengthen the Clean Water Act.
The findings don't surprise John Gale, who calls sportsmen "the original conservationists."
"We regard ourselves as stewards of the land because we have such a strong connection to it. We understand at a fundamental level that if you take care of the land, then the land will take care of you. And if you take care of fish and wildlife habitat, the hunting and fishing will take care of itself."
The U.S. Senate has voted to consider the Sportsmen's Act of 2012, a package of 19 bills, as one of the first orders of business after the elections. It focuses on conservation funding and public lands access. The House passed its version of the legislation in April.
See the poll at www.nwf.org.
The legislation is the Sportsmen's Act of 2012, S 3525 and HR 4089.
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