As candidates gear up for the midterm elections, a Colorado College poll has found that Mountain West voters are more concerned than ever about the protection of natural resources and could take that concern into account on their ballots.
According to the Colorado College State of the Rockies annual Conservation in the West poll, 84% of Mountain West voters say that rollback of laws that protect land, water and wildlife is a serious problem. Eighty-five percent of voters say these same issues are important in deciding whether to support a public official.
“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 in a press release.
The annual poll surveyed voters in eight Rocky Mountain states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The poll was conducted by the CC State of the Rockies Project, an initiative “designed to facilitate faculty-student collaborative research on critical socio-environmental issues in the Rocky Mountain West,” according to the organization’s website.
According to the press release, the poll surveyed at least 400 registered voters in each of eight states, for a total sample of 3,419, including an oversample of Black and Native American voters. The survey was conducted between Jan. 2 and 18, 2026.
State of the Rockies Project Manager Cyndy Hines says the survey allows her team to better understand the important issues for voters.
“I use the insight gained in the poll to create and design research that will help address public (and private) concerns about how socio-political, ecological and environmental issues shape how we live our lives here in the West,” she said.
The poll also found that a majority of voters support renewable energy initiatives as opposed to drilling or mining for more fossil fuels. 74% of Western voters oppose selling some national public lands for oil and gas development.
These concerns transcend party lines. According to the survey, cuts to public land management efforts concern 86% of voters, including 75% of self-identified “MAGA supporters.”
The findings come amid renewed national debate over federal land use and environmental regulation.
It remains to be seen how the documented environmental concern will reflect at the local polls. Associate Professor of Political Science & Environmental Studies, Corina McKendry, says the issues could be overshadowed by party loyalty.
“I think that the poll shows that if activists and candidates really worked to raise the salience of environmental protection in elections in the West, they would not only be winning issues, but there would be space to build bi-partisan support for stopping many of the Trump administration roll-backs of laws that keep our air and water clean and that protect our public lands,” she said.
Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has removed a range of environmental protections, including strengthening ties with the fossil fuel industry, suppressing climate research, lowering accountability for polluters and dismantling environmental justice programs. Over a year ago, the administration withdrew from the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change.
Supporters of deregulation argue that relaxing federal environmental rules prevents federal overreach and supports economic growth, a rationale echoed in recent state legislative efforts to limit pollution standards beyond federal minimums, a move they say prioritizes “sound science” and business competitiveness.
Coloradans have repeatedly protested national moves that harm the environment. In December 2025, hundreds gathered in Boulder to protest Trump’s vow to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), based in Colorado.
Full results from the State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll can be found on the Colorado College website.