press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
October 1, 2026

Grand Junction, Colo. — A new poll of Colorado's Third Congressional District finds voters across western and southern Colorado standing firmly against efforts to sell off America's public lands, with support for conservation across party lines by wide margins.

The survey — conducted from September 13–17, 2026 by Magellan Strategies for the Keep it Public CO coalition — found that 91% of voters oppose selling federal public lands to private owners, including 85% who "strongly" oppose it. Voters were similarly opposed — 92% — to selling public lands to private companies for housing development. Opposition held steady across party lines, with majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Unaffiliated voters alike rejecting land sales. 

"Public lands should stay public; voters in the Third District firmly reject selling off public lands," said Courtney Sievers, Director of Survey Research for Magellan Strategies.

The poll results make clear that opposition to selloff is only a part of a much broader story: Third District voters want to see public lands protected, not diminished. When asked if they support Congressional designations to permanently protect public lands, 75% favor designations like National Conservation Areas or Wildlife Conservation Areas, and 80% support the designation of more wilderness in Colorado. 

The poll tested voter opinions for several public lands bills pending in Congress, including the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection (GORP) Act (84% support), the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act (84% support), and the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act (75% support). Even after sharing arguments for and against each bill, support for each remained strong (>70%). 

The poll likewise found solid backing for conservation on a variety of administrative issues. Strong majorities support retaining: 

• existing national monuments (92%), including places like the Colorado National Monument; 

• the Colorado roadless rule (86%), which protects about 4.2 million acres of national forests; and

• travel management regulations (82%), which allow land management agencies to designate areas and routes as open or closed to motorized recreation.

In addition, Third District voters strongly prefer their Member of Congress focus more on protecting clean water, air and wildlife on public land (73%) rather than producing more American energy by opening more public land to oil, gas, and mining (20%). By about a two-to-one margin, voters oppose leasing the top of the Roan Plateau for oil and gas drilling, an action currently under consideration by the Bureau of Land Management in their proposed December oil and gas lease sale.

Notably, the poll found support for conservation across the district's political makeup. Nearly half of CO-03 voters are Unaffiliated (49%), with Republicans (28%) and Democrats (20%) rounding out the electorate. Such pro-conservation results across demographics underscores the point that public lands protection is not a partisan issue in western and southern Colorado.

The results echo findings released by The Mountain Pact in its State of Public Lands 2026 report, in which local elected officials across the Mountain West have called for stronger protections for the public lands their communities depend on. 

Resources:

• Toplines memo

• Presentation slide deck

• Crosstabs 

• Verbatim responses to T2 “Other”

• Verbatim responses to T17 support wilderness

• Verbatim responses to T18 oppose wilderness

Additional reactions to the polling results: 

"Protecting public lands is a unifying force across western and southern Colorado" said Jim Ramey, Colorado State Director at The Wilderness Society. “For counties as diverse as Montezuma and Pitkin, Mesa and La Plata, Coloradans overwhelmingly support Congress passing legislation to protect these special places — instead of selling them off to the highest bidder — so future generations can enjoy the same freedoms to explore our public lands that we do today.”   

“A balance sheet can estimate market value, but it misses the real worth of our public lands entirely,” said Brien Webster, Senior Public Lands Campaign Manager at Conservation Colorado. “That value lives in the stillness, adventure, and fulfillment we find in wild country, and in the clean water, wildlife habitat, and open spaces that define life in western Colorado. These lands will sustain future generations if we have the sense to let them—and Western Slope voters already understand that. Ninety-one percent oppose selling these lands off, eight in ten want more wilderness, and by nearly four to one, they’d rather Congress protect clean water and wildlife than open more ground to drilling. On this, they speak with one voice: public lands should stay in public hands, and anyone who represents the Western Slope should understand that.”

"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 like those proposed in the CORE Act.”

“Polling consistently shows that western Coloradans not only want to keep public lands in public hands, but support new protections like the GORP Act," said Melissa Newell, Advocacy Coordinator for the Western Slope Conservation Center. "Collaboratively developed over the course of more than a decade by the diverse stakeholders that live, work, and play on these lands, the GORP Act represents the shared values of western Colorado communities—to respect traditional land uses like grazing, sustain local economies that are driven by outdoor recreation, and protect the iconic wild and scenic beauty that defines these lands for future generations. The GORP Act is homegrown conservation for the Gunnison Basin, and this poll proves that passing legislation to permanently protect these lands from future selloff and development is what western Coloradans want.” 

“Local leaders and diverse stakeholders have worked for nearly two decades to develop the Dolores River Canyon National Conservation Area legislation in Montezuma, Dolores, and San Miguel Counties, and succeeded in reaching a balanced proposal with broad support. This poll reflects the hard work and consensus that led to a lasting local solution with 84% support for this initiative," said Amber Clark, Executive Director of Dolores River Boating Advocates. "It also clearly demonstrates that the public would like to see something similar happen in the northern part of the Dolores River landscape in Montrose and Mesa Counties.”

"The GORP Act would protect 730,000 acres of key public lands in the Gunnison Country in a way that reflects the desires of our community.  As such, it's no surprise to see 84% of poll respondents support the GORP Act," said Jon Hare, Advocacy Director for High Country Conservation Advocates. "Our local economy and lifestyles are dependent upon having thousands of acres of public lands for recreation, agriculture, grazing, hunting, angling, and as the headwaters to the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers.  The GORP Act ensures the public lands adjacent to our communities will not be sold off, but rather taken care of through a range of management designations developed by local stakeholders and community members."

About the “Keep It Public CO” coalition: KeepItPublic.CO is a collaborative response to the urgent threats facing public lands in Colorado. Coalition members include: Conservation Colorado, Dolores River Boating Advocates, High Country Conservation Advocates, Western Slope Conservation Center, The Wilderness Society, and Wilderness Workshop.

About the poll: The survey of 994 Colorado Congressional District 3 voters was conducted by Magellan Strategies, a firm with extensive experience polling for local governments in the 3rd Congressional District. It was conducted from September 13–17, 2026, and weighted to be representative of CO-03 voter registration demographics. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.11% at the 95% confidence interval.

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