For Immediate Release

Poll: Oregonians Overwhelmingly Support Wolves, Public Lands, and Forest Conservation

Oregon Wild today released results from a statewide poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research showing continued strong support for public lands, wildlife, and forest conservation.  Oregonians from across the state and political spectrum strongly supported wolf conservation, public lands, sustainable forestry initiatives, and prioritizing wildlife over agribusiness in the Klamath Basin.

“We have been doing regular polling on these issues for a number of years, and what strikes us about the 2018 results is how steady Oregonians’ support for conservation is, and that it cuts across political and geographic dividing lines,” said Sean Stevens, Executive Director for Oregon Wild.

Despite controversies over livestock conflicts, 63% of Oregonians support continued protections for wolves, including 52% of rural Oregonians. 56% of Republicans and 58% of Independents surveyed supported wolf recovery. These results are within the margin of error of a similar question in 2015.

"When it comes to these conservation issues, the rural-urban divide isn’t nearly as wide as logging, grazing, and mining interests would like Oregonians to believe," said Conservation Director Steve Pedery. "Across the board, rural Oregonians strongly support conservation and they desire action from our politicians."

This poll also showed overwhelming support for more conservation designations of national public lands in Oregon. 74% of Oregonians polled said they would support Congressional Representatives and Senators showing more leadership and taking stronger legislative actions to protect public lands by designating new national parks, recreation areas, and Wilderness. 

“Oregonians know how precious our public lands are, and that they’re under attack from from Bundy extremists all the way up to wealthy donors like the Koch brothers,” said Alex Harris, Public Lands Fellow. “There is clearly a broad base of bipartisan, ongoing support for Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to introduce ambitious legislation to protect our special places.”

These results continue a strong love of public lands and their protection across Oregon. Previous polls have indicated a support for designating more Wilderness in Oregon. That same poll found that 80% of Oregonians, including 67% of Republicans and 79% of Independents, would be less likely to support a politician who votes to sell off public lands.

Additional findings:

  • 77% of Oregonians oppose wood from steep slope clearcutting being used in publicly funded ‘green’ building projects
  • 63% of Oregonians oppose opening up the Bears Ears and Cascade Siskiyou National Monuments to logging and energy extraction
  • 67% of Oregonians oppose leasing land in the Klamath wildlife refuges to commercial agribusiness

[ Download the Poll ]

###

Oregon Wild works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife and waters as an enduring legacy for all Oregonians. For more information, check out oregonwild.org.