Poll Links NM Voter Support to Land Conservation
Friday, February 14, 2014
SANTA FE, N.M. – A new poll links support from New Mexico voters to a candidate's position on conservation issues in the Land of Enchantment.
The annual Conservation in the West poll shows voters in New Mexico and five other Western states are far more likely to support candidates who are in favor of protecting public lands in balance with energy development.
Michael Casaus, director of The Wilderness Society of New Mexico, says the poll confirms that people in the state place a huge value on their public lands.
"These results in New Mexico reflected the truly strong connection that we in the Land of Enchantment feel to our public lands," he points out.
The poll from Colorado College shows nine out of ten voters reported visiting public lands within the past year.
And 68 percent of those polled also said they are more likely to vote for a congressional candidate who supports protecting public lands.
Casaus adds national parks and monuments also provide a huge economic engine for the state through tourism.
He says research shows that communities near public lands tend to have stronger economies.
"Rural counties across the West that include protected federal lands, or federal lands of any kind, have better employment rates than similar counties with less federal land," he points out.
In some Western states, there are efforts underway to get the government to sell some public land to help pay down the federal debt.
In the poll, a majority of people said they'd be less likely to vote for a candidate who would support that, or who would reduce funding to the agencies that manage public lands.
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