Polling Numbers:

Results and analysis of four regional polls about National Forests.

Midwest | Northeast | South | West

Voters In The Midwest Support Protecting National Forests And Oppose Bush’s Rollback Plan

As you may know, President Bush is considering the rollback of the decision to protect 30 percent of the wild Natonal Forest lands from logging and mining, and instead allowing oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in these undeveloped areas. Do you agree or disagree with President Bush’s proposal to open these areas up to drilling, mining and logging?

Many Midwestern voters are unhappy with President Bush’s job performance on the environment, with 44% of Midwesterners offering negative evaluations of his performance in that area and 46% positive. Midwestern voters believe that not enough wilderness land has been protected.

Forty-two percent (42%) say too little wilderness has been protected, and 39% say just the right amount has been, while only 9% say too much. Moreover, when informed that only 18% of National Forest lands are protected from logging and other development, a large 66% majority say not enough land has been protected in our National Forests. An overwhelming majority of voters in the Midwest (68%) favor the policy to protect the last 30% of National Forest lands and only 20% of Midwestern voters oppose the policy set in place earlier this year. As a result, a strong majority of voters in the Midwest (66%) disagree with Bush’s plan to rollback environmental protections for pristine areas in National Forests, with over half (51%) saying they feel that way strongly.

Finally, there is evidence that Bush’s positions come at some political cost. A majority of voters in the Midwest say that a Bush rollback of forest protections would cause them to feel less favorably toward him (51%), and a plurality say that they would be less likely to vote for Bush in the 2004 election (47%).

Voters In The Northeast Support Protecting National Forests And Oppose Bush’s Rollback Plan

As you may know, President Bush is considering the rollback of the decision to protect 30 percent of the wild Natonal Forest lands from logging and mining, and instead allowing oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in these undeveloped areas. Do you agree or disagree with President Bush’s proposal to open these areas up to drilling, mining and logging?

Northeastern voters are unhappy with President Bush’s job performance on the environment, with a 54% majority of Northeasterners offering negative evaluations of his performance in that area and only 25% positive. Northeastern voters believe that not enough wilderness land has been protected.

Forty-three percent (43%) say too little wilderness has been protected, and 34% say just the right amount has been, while only 10% say too much. Moreover, when informed that only 18% of National Forest lands are protected from logging and other development, a large 60% majority say not enough land has been protected in our National Forests. An overwhelming majority of voters in the Northeast (71%) favor the policy to protect the last 30% of National Forest lands and only 15% of Northeastern voters oppose the policy set in place earlier this year.

As a result, a strong majority of voters in the Northeast (65%) disagree with Bush’s plan to rollback environmental protections for pristine areas in National Forests, with over half (51%) saying they feel that way strongly.

Finally, there is evidence that Bush’s positions come at some political cost. Majorities of voters in the Northeast say that a Bush rollback of forest protections would both cause them to feel less favorably toward him (63%) and that they would be less likely to vote for Bush in the 2004 election (53%).

Voters In The South Support Protecting National Forests And Oppose Bush’s Rollback Plan

As you may know, President Bush is considering the rollback of the decision to protect 30 percent of the wild Natonal Forest lands from logging and mining, and instead allowing oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in these undeveloped areas. Do you agree or disagree with President Bush’s proposal to open these areas up to drilling, mining and logging? Southern voters are unhappy with President Bush’s job performance on the environment, with 47% of Southerners offering negative evaluations of his performance in that area and only 32% positive. Southern voters believe that not enough wilderness land has been protected.

Forty-one percent (41%) say too little wilderness has been protected, and 35% say just the right amount has been, while only 13% say too much. Moreover, when informed that only 18% of National Forest lands are protected from logging and other development, a large 58% majority say not enough land has been protected in our National Forests. An overwhelming majority of voters in the South (65%) favor the policy to protect the last 30% of National Forest lands and only 18% of Southern voters oppose the policy set in place earlier this year.

As a result, a strong majority of voters in the South (56%) disagree with Bush’s plan to rollback environmental protections for pristine areas in National Forests, with nearly half (47%) saying they feel that way strongly.

Finally, there is evidence that Bush’s positions come at some political cost. Pluralities of voters in the South say that a Bush rollback of forest protections would both cause them to feel less favorably toward him (46%) and that they would be less likely to vote for Bush in the 2004 election (39%).

As you may know, President Bush is considering the rollback of the decision to protect 30 percent of the wild Natonal Forest lands from logging and mining, and instead allowing oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in these undeveloped areas. Do you agree or disagree with President Bush’s proposal to open these areas up to drilling, mining and logging?

Western voters are unhappy with President Bush’s job performance on the environment, with 53% of Westerners offering negative evaluations of his performance in that area and only 26% positive. Western voters believe that not enough wilderness land has been protected.

Forty-three percent (43%) say too little wilderness has been protected, and 29% say just the right amount has been, while only 18% say too much. Moreover, when informed that only 18% of National Forest lands are protected from logging and other development, a large 61% majority say not enough land has been protected in our National Forests. An overwhelming majority of voters in the West (65%) favor the policy to protect the last 30% of National Forest lands and only 23% of Western voters oppose the policy set in place earlier this year.

As a result, a strong majority of voters in the West (61%) disagree with Bush’s plan to rollback environmental protections for pristine areas in National Forests, with over half (52%) saying they feel that way strongly.

Finally, there is evidence that Bush’s positions come at some political cost. Majorities of voters in the West say that a Bush rollback of forest protections would both cause them to feel less favorably toward him (51%) and that they would be less likely to vote for Bush in the 2004 election (50%).