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Key Facts About Westerners' Opinions on Federal Land Management Agencies & Economics of Public Lands

  Commentary:  Reports from Burns, Oregon indicate that some community members condemn the violent tactics of the Bundy family and the militants but support their goals of turning American public lands over to private owners.

Without question, some in the West—including some citizens in Burns—share the view that the U.S. government’s ownership and management of the region’s public lands are to blame for economic challenges. Yet public opinion research indicates that this view is actually not shared widely in the region.

A large majority of Westerners see public lands as an asset to their state’s economy, not an economic drag. This perspective is confirmed by economic research that shows that areas with more protected public lands have grown at a faster rate than other areas in the West.

Here are five key facts to know about Westerners’ opinions about federal land management agencies, and more information about what has actually caused economic challenges in the rural West:

1) A majority of Westerners approve of the job federal land management agencies are doing.

majority of Western voters approve of the job that the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service are each doing. Despite heavy criticism that the Bundy family and militants are directing at the BLM, only 23 percent of Western voters disapproveof the agency’s work.

2) Westerners support keeping public lands public.

Public opinion research conducted by a bipartisan team of pollsters determined that a majority of voters in the American West do not support a transfer of national public lands to state management, and instead believe that these places belong to all Americans.

3) Public lands are an asset, not a drain on local economies.

91% of Western voters believe public lands are an essential part of their state’s economy. They provide a variety of economic benefits such grazing, oil drilling, recreation, and benefits that are not as easily monetizable (like option value). Economic research has shown that Western counties with more protected national public lands have added jobs more than four times faster than counties with fewer protected lands.

4) Many factors are to blame for the very real difficulties faced by the rural West.

Some resource-based economies are struggling because of myriad factors including globalization, the transition to a cleaner energy, and a Western economy increasingly based on knowledge and service industries. Some areas in the West are struggling. While public lands and land managers can be a convenient scapegoat, there’s no data to support the blame.

5) Giving our American lands to the states or private interests is not a panacea for these problems.

The additional burden of managing millions of acres of public lands could break state budgets because the massive costs offighting wildfires and cleaning up polluting mines would be transferred to state taxpayers. Grazing fees that ranchers pay would triple or quadruple at a minimum. A better option is to engage in collaborative efforts to manage public lands have worked, such as those that have taken place at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

CWP's public lands experts are available for video and audio interviews. To schedule an interview, or for more information, contact media director Aaron Weiss at aaron@westernpriorities.org or 720-279-0019.