Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Winning the West: Support for public lands gave candidates an edge in 2024
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Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Cathedral Rock, Coconino National Forest, Arizona. Deborah Lee Soltesz/U.S. Forest Service ([link removed])
A new report ([link removed]) from the Center for Western Priorities shows that public lands and natural resources proved to be issues that gave candidates an edge in 2024. The report, "Winning the West," ([link removed]) combines results from polling of Western voters with analysis of key U.S. senate and congressional races in Western states. The report finds that, despite an election cycle dominated by rhetoric focused on issues such as inflation and immigration, public lands still broke through in Western races.
Since the 2016 election cycle, the Center for Western Priorities' Winning the West polls ([link removed]) have identified a strong and growing bloc of "Outdoor Voters" who consistently support public lands and say that conservation issues are essential in deciding how they vote. In the most recent polling, 87 percent of Western voters say that a candidate's support for conservation plays an influential role in how they choose to cast their ballots, and 71 percent say that they are more likely to support a candidate who prioritizes protecting public lands from mining and drilling.
"As a cherished and assumed aspect of life in the West, public lands have the ability to transcend political boundaries," Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala writes in the report. "The issues of public lands, water resources, and climate action continue to resonate with a significant portion of Western voters across the political spectrum."
To learn more, visit the Winning the West website ([link removed]) to see polling results and read the report ([link removed]) .
Burgum's secretarial orders make poor first impression
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's first secretarial orders, signed on Monday, drew swift and strong criticism from conservation advocates for their wide-ranging attacks on public lands, including a directive to review and potentially revise national monuments. "The last time Trump attempted to shrink national monuments, his efforts were met with near-universal condemnation," Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said in a statement ([link removed]) . "They should stop now, before they upset millions of Westerners by illegally reducing or eliminating national monuments."
** Quick hits
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Burgum targets national monuments, regulations, endangered species
Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed]) | Inside Climate News ([link removed]) | Desert Sun ([link removed]) | Las Vegas Review-Journal ([link removed]) | Arizona Republic
([link removed]) | Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | Nevada Current ([link removed])
Trump's contradictory agenda won't achieve 'energy abundance'
Grist ([link removed])
Trump has promised to ‘unleash’ American energy. What could that mean for Colorado?
CPR News ([link removed])
Wyoming lawmakers want to take over large swaths of federal land
Wyoming Public Media ([link removed])
Federal judge delivers latest blow to Council on Environmental Quality
Daily Montanan ([link removed])
The climate fight endures: Western states have plans to continue the energy transition
High Country News ([link removed])
The quiet effort to bring nuclear waste to rural Colorado
KUER ([link removed])
Opinion: Project 2025 is awakening the ghost of Yucca Mountain
Nevada Independent ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” First impressions don’t get much worse than this. Hiding the ball on a review of national monuments shows the White House and Interior know full well how unpopular these actions are.”
—Dan Hartinger, The Wilderness Society, E&E News ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@mypubliclands ([link removed])
In celebration of World Wetlands Day, let's take a moment to reflect on the importance and beauty of places like Blanca Wetlands in Colorado!
📸 Patrick Meyers
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