Poll: Public favors public land protections

A University of Montana poll done last month found there’s strong support for national monument status for the Badger Two Medicine region near Glacier National Park.

The Badger-Two Medicine is a 130,000-acre wildland south of Marias Pass on the Lewis and Clark National Forest. It is known for its elk herd and is prime grizzly bear habitat. The Blackfeet Tribe consider the ground sacred.

It’s also been embroiled in controversy for decades, as oil and gas companies have sought to drill for oil and gas there. Currently, there’s a lawsuit in federal court over the matter, as the Obama Administration canceled all the existing leases in the area during the waning days of the administration, paying off the companies in the process.

The UM poll found that 76 percent of voters supported a national monument designation for the Badger-Two Med.

In December of 2017, Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke also reportedly supported a national monument designation for the region.

The latest poll was conducted by Republican pollster Lori Weigel of Public Opinion Strategies and Democratic pollster Dave Metz of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates.

In addition to the Badger-Two Med question, the poll found broad support for protecting public lands in general.

To wit:

• 73 percent support the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship project, which strengthens protections for 80,000 acres of land in western Montana, while opening new areas for motorized recreation and timber harvest.

- 72 percent of Montanans would support a proposal to feature less-visited public lands in the state’s tourism promotion efforts.

- 82 percent of Montanans say public lands help the economy. The economic impact of public lands is far more likely to be realized today than it was four years ago.

- 87 percent of Montanans say conservation issues are important considerations in their voting decisions.

In addition, 76 percent of Montanans support the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is four points higher than a poll taken in 2014.

This was the third biannual Public Lands Survey commissioned by UM’s Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative, which surveyed 500 registered Montana voters. The goal, program Director Rick Graetz said, is a better understanding of where Montanans align on current issues and policies that impact the state’s public lands and the people who use them.

“Regardless of the policy we tested, Montanans are more often on the side of enhancing public lands, not removing protections,” Graetz said, who also teaches in UM’s Department of Geography. “This support seems to be intensifying and is driven by our frequent use of public lands and the positive economic benefits associated with them.”