New polling shows widespread – and growing – concern about conservation and the environment among Latinos in the region. The results come amid rising anxiety about public lands policy.
The Conservation in the West poll asks voters across the region about a wide range of environmental and policy topics. For 15 years, the Colorado College-run opinion survey has found strong support for conservation on public lands.
This year, Latino respondents showed some of their highest levels of concern about water and public land, according to Vanessa Muñoz, with the Hispanic Access Foundation. For example, she noted that last year, some 8% of Latinos expressed strong support for national monuments.
“And now in 2025, Latinos continue that momentum to protect their natural lands,” she said. “Ninety-one percent believe that existing national monument designations from the last decade should be kept in place.”
Trump administration officials have recently expressed interest in redrawing the boundaries for some monuments, such as Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
Compared to other groups, Latinos also showed generally higher concern about water pollution, declining water supplies and the threat of wildfire.
“There needs to be more Latino leaders in political spaces fighting for policies that impact our families and our communities directly,” Muñoz said. “You know, we need more of us at the table in times like these.”
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
