FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2026
Contacts:
Jim Ramey, Colorado State Director, The Wilderness Society, jramey@tws.org, 720-647-9667
Brien Webster, Senior Public Lands Campaign Manager, Conservation Colorado, brien@conservationco.org, 719-322-7050
Rich Mylott, Communications Manager, Wilderness Workshop, Richard@wildernessworkshop.org, 720-581-8244
DENVER — A new poll released by the Keep it Public Colorado coalition finds large majorities of Coloradans oppose large scale selloff of our public lands and instead want public lands to be protected. The poll, conducted by Magellan Strategies, examined Coloradans’ views on public lands management, permanent land protections, public lands selloff, agency cuts and more.
Key findings include:
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Coloradans across the board want public lands conserved and kept in public hands: 96% of residents support conserving public lands and open space, 85% of them strongly, and support is 93% or higher in every party, age group and congressional district.
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Protection bills get strong support from all parties: Five of the six bills tested have at least 82% support, led by the Sarvis Creek Wilderness Completion Act (91%) and the Public Land Integrity Act (90%).
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A vast majority of Coloradans do not want more extractive use on public lands: 81% believe oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing are not acceptable uses of public lands, and 82% believe coal and uranium mining are unacceptable uses. Nearly all respondents oppose using public lands for building housing (91%) or data centers (94%).
“Our public lands are a part of our state identity and a legacy we want to see handed down to future generations,” said Jim Ramey, Colorado state director at The Wilderness Society.“Protecting these places means preserving our shared heritage and the freedom to enjoy our great outdoors. Decision-makers should heed Coloradans’ call to ensure our treasured public lands are protected for the benefit of all.”
“This poll confirms what we see every day on the ground: protecting our wildlands is a core, unifying value across Western Slope communities,” said Will Roush, executive director at Wilderness Workshop. “Coloradans continue to send a clear, unequivocal message that public lands must remain public and protected. For any elected official representing our region, listening to constituents means not only rejecting out-of-touch land selloffs but also actively working to add new protections for our public lands.”
“Public lands aren’t just something Coloradans support, they’re part of how we live,” said Brien Webster, senior public lands campaign manager at Conservation Colorado. “We hike, ride, climb, hunt, fish and ranch on them, and we count on them for clean water, wildlife habitat and the wide-open spaces that define this state. That’s exactly why we won’t stand for treating them as real estate. Almost no one wants them paved over for housing or data centers. And while Coloradans aren’t against energy development, they expect it to happen in the right places, with their voices heard, not fast-tracked by Washington while the public is shut out.”
Magellan Strategies surveyed 1,149 Colorado residents from September 23-28. The survey data were weighted to be representative of the voter registration demographics for the state. Full poll results are available here:
