New ads, polling make clear: Members of Congress will be judged on their response to Washington, D.C.’s attack on public lands

Whitefish, Mont. – In response to the Trump administration’s recent attacks on public lands and as the House considers multiple pieces of legislation that could put more public lands at risk, Western Values Project (WVP) announced a wave of ads calling on Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-3), Greg Walden (OR-2), and Martha McSally (AZ-2) to reject any efforts to gut protections for public lands. The ads will run in each members’ districts over the next week, totaling more than a million dollars.

In addition to the ads, WVP is also releasing polling that found that constituents in each district are strongly opposed to proposed legislation in Congress to weaken federal protections on these lands, and the incumbent members could face major backlash if they support legislation that weakens protections for public lands.

Highlights from the polls include:

• Constituents feel strongly about protecting public lands in their state. Overwhelming majorities say it is important to preserve their state’s public lands, including clear majorities who feel strongly.

o   AZ 02 – 93% important (72% very important)

o   OR 02 – 88% important (63% very important)

o   WA 03 – 92% important (63% very important)

• Constituents in each district oppose legislation to shrink the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah. There is also clear intensity behind these attitudes, with large segments “strongly” opposing this proposed legislation.

o   AZ 02 – 26% support/66% oppose (58% strongly oppose)

o   OR 02 – 39% support/53% oppose (45% strongly oppose)

o   WA 03 – 33% support/53% oppose (49% strongly oppose)

• All incumbents take a major hit in a scenario where they support the monuments legislation. In AZ 02, McSally goes from a 3-point lead against a generic Democrat (46% McSally/43% Democrat) to a 12-point deficit (38% McSally/50% Democrat). We see a similar effect in WA 03, where Herrera Beutler moves from a 9-point lead (48% Beutler/39% Democrat) to a 3-point deficit (42% Beutler/45% Democrat). In OR 02, voting for the monuments legislation could clearly damage Walden’s standing as he begins with a positive favorability rating (51% favorable/35% unfavorable) but ends up five points underwater (44% favorable/49% unfavorable) if he votes for legislation to rescind federal land protections.

“Public lands are a cornerstone of the way of life in communities across the West. Whether you live in Arizona, Washington, or Oregon, the administration’s plan to gut protections for public lands is wildly unpopular,” said Chris Saeger, executive director of the Western Values Project.  “We’re putting these members of Congress on notice: if they go against public lands and side with the administration by carving up the West in favor of special interests, they’ll have to answer to their constituents.”

Saeger continued, “This isn’t about politics or political parties. It’s about supporters of our public lands, from hunters and anglers to conservationists standing shoulder to shoulder with our leaders in Congress and protecting our public lands for future generations.”

Washington: Click here for the television ad, here for the radio ad and here for the poll on Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler.

Oregon: Click here for the television ad, here for the radio ad and here for the poll on Rep. Greg Walden.

Arizona: Click here for the television ad, here for the radio ad and here for the poll on Rep. Martha McSally.

The ads follow the Trump administration’s unprecedented move to gut protections for iconic public lands – an action that is being contested in the courts. Meanwhile, some members of Congress have proposed legislation that would further harm our public lands.

• In Washington, this legislation puts every national monument in danger, including Hanford Reach National Monument and San Juan Islands National Monument.

• In Oregon, this legislation puts every national monument in danger, including Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

• In Arizona, this legislation puts every national monument in danger, including Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Ironwood Forest National Monument, and Sonoran Desert National Monument.

Additional background on Western Values Project:

Western Values Project is committed to making sure elected leaders put Western values first through research, public education, and by working together with small businesses, farmers, ranchers, and sportsmen and sportswomen. Earlier this year, WVP released ads holding Zinke accountable for his proposal to reduce the size of national monuments. As a result of the effort Secretary Zinke experienced a significant drop in the polls – falling seven points in his home state of Montana shortly after his recommendation to shrink national monuments was leaked.