Recently there has been a lot of discussion about selling public land for housing and making public land more available for energy extraction or other mining. People living in Arizona, along with people living throughout the western United States, are more interested in preserving public land than allowing its sale. The interest in preserving public land is consistent across political and demographic boundaries. In addition to the preservation of plants and animals, preserving public land allows for recreational use by people, and that recreational use provides a large economic benefit for the State of Arizona, the American west, and the United States.
As you communicate with your elected officials and others, please keep this in mind.
The 2026 Conservation in the West Poll, the 16th annual survey of voters in eight western states (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) conducted by Colorado College, found that:
- 90% of people from Arizona surveyed felt that “Funding cuts to management of national parks, forests and other public lands” are a serious problem. This is higher than the 86% average of the eight western states surveyed. [1]
- 74% of people from Arizona surveyed are opposed to “Selling some national public lands to private companies for oil, gas and mining development”. This is the same percentage as the eight western states. [1]
- 73% of people from Arizona surveyed are opposed to “Selling some national public lands to private companies for housing development”. This is slightly lower than the western state average of 76% of people opposed. [1]
- 93% of people from Arizona surveyed thought that “existing national monument designations for some public lands protected over the last decade should be kept in place.” [2]
- 85% of people from Arizona surveyed thought that “issues involving public lands, waters, and wildlife are important in deciding whether to support an elected public official.” [2]
- 76% of Western voters say they would prefer that Congress placed more emphasis on conservation and recreation on public lands over maximizing energy production. [4]
In the west, voter preference for Congress focusing on conservation and recreation on public land is important across all major political parties (R 78%, I 86%, D 93%). It is also consistently important across different demographics (Native Americans 85%, Women 88%, Gen Z 89%, Latinos 89%, Rural Voters 88%, Sportsmen 86%) [4]
In the United States, people spend more on outdoor recreation each year than they do on motor vehicles and fuel combined. [8]
Outdoor recreation plays a significant role in supporting the Arizona and U.S. economy. The U.S Department of Commerce found that outdoor recreation brought $14 billion to Arizona in 2023 and made up 2.7% of Arizona’s GDP. [5] Prior to the pandemic, the Arizona Parks and Trails Department found that non-motorized trail use by instate residents brought between $6.2 billion and $10.6 billion to the Arizona economy every year. [6] This number does not include the $88 million added by out-of-state visitors each year. [7]
Nationwide, outdoor recreation generates $1.2 trillion dollars in economic impact and supports 5 million jobs. [9]
It is estimated that outdoor recreation pays $6.7 billion dollars in people’s wages in Arizona every year. [10]
For more details on how outdoor recreation impacts the Arizona economy at the state and local level, please refer to this article on the Active Arizona website. https://www.activeaz.org/2781-2/#more-2781
In summary,
people in Arizona want public lands preserved
and
having public land accessible to people has a positive impact on the Arizona economy.
References
[1] _____, Conservation in the West, Colorado College, 2026, https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/stateoftherockies/conservationinthewest/2026-poll-data/2026-state-of-the-rockies-conservationwest.pdf
[2] _____, State of the Rockies Arizona, Colorado College, 2026, https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/stateoftherockies/conservationinthewest/2026-poll-data/arizona_2026%20.pdf
[3] _____, Colorado College’s 16th annual State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll, Colorado College, 2026, https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/stateoftherockies/conservationinthewest/2026.html?mc_cid=905a9f4fb5
[4] _____, Conservation in the West: The 2026 Survey of The Attitudes of Voters in Eight Western States, Colorado College, 2026, https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/stateoftherockies/conservationinthewest/2026-poll-data/2026-state-of-the-rockies%20deck%20FINAL.pdf
[5] _____, Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account, U.S. and States, 2023, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024, https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-11/orsa1124_0.pdf
[6] Duval et al, The Economic Value of Trails in Arizona, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2020, https://arizona-content.usedirect.com/storage/pages/20220628055837AZ%20Trails%20Economic%20Value_Full%20Report_3-30-2020_FINAL.pdf
[7] _____, ADOT completes study on economic impact of bicycling in Arizona, Arizona Department of Transportation, 2012, https://azdot.gov/news/adot-completes-study-economic-impact-bicycling-arizona#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20by%20the%20Arizona%20Department,generated%20each%20year%20from%20out%2Dof%2Dstate%20bicycle%20enthusiasts
[8] _____, The Outdoor Recreation Economy, Outdoor Recreation Industry, 2017, https://outdoorindustry.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/OIA_RecEconomy_FINAL_Single.pdf
[9] _____, New Data Shows Outdoor Recreation is a $1.2 Trillion Economic Engine, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, 2025, https://recreationroundtable.org/news/new-data-shows-outdoor-recreation-is-a-1-2-trillion-economic-engine-supporting-5-million-american-jobs/
[10] _____, Outdoor Recreation Satellite Report, Get Outdoors Arizona, 2023, https://apps.bea.gov/data/special-topics/orsa/summary-sheets/ORSA%20-%20Arizona.pdf