The ad, “More Monuments,” reminds President Biden that outdoor voters place an emphasis on protecting public lands, making the designation of new national monuments important to the administration’s conservation record. The ad is running on MSNBC and Hulu in Washington, DC and supplemented by sponsorships in Politico and E&E News newsletters over the next several weeks.
“More Monuments” captures the unity and sense of progress that national monuments can inspire. Using up-close testimonials from outdoor enthusiasts on a protected Western landscape, the ad begins, “As a voter, it’s nice to see progress. To know we are going somewhere.” The ad continues, “by creating new national monuments, President Biden can give Western voters something to get excited about.” Outdoor voters go on to assert in the ad that, “National monuments bring us together as Americans. National monuments unite us. National monuments inspire millions of outdoor voters.”
“Our goal is to send a clear message to President Biden and his administration that the designation of new national monuments is good for his conservation legacy and for inspiring Westerners with real progress,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala. “Conservation is both a winning and a unifying issue in the West. We do not want President Biden to miss the opportunity to inspire millions by continuing to safeguard our cherished landscapes for generations to come.”
The Center for Western Priorities’ Winning the West polls, conducted over recent election cycles, consistently find proactive conservation efforts and protecting new public lands have broad, bipartisan support and play a notable role in how Western voters choose to vote.
The most recent Winning the West poll, released in the fall of 2023, showed 87 percent of Western voters – with strong majorities across parties – say a candidate’s support for conservation plays an influential role in how they choose to cast their ballots. 40 percent describe a candidate’s support for conservation as “very important” to their voting decision.
In regards to the Biden administration, 74 percent of Western voters say doing more to protect and conserve public lands, parks, wildlife, and national monuments would make them view the administration more favorably. That view is held by 93 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of Independents, and 53 percent of Republicans.
Western voters are supportive of the Biden administration making progress on its own if necessary, with 67 percent saying they support the use of executive authority to designate land or water as a national monument if it holds unique cultural, historical, or natural significance.
The ad and polling research are part of the Center for Western Priorities’ Winning the West project. Over the past several election cycles, Winning the West has documented public land conservation as a winning campaign issue due to a growing number of bipartisan and independent Westerners who vote to keep the West’s public lands protected and accessible.
Since taking office, President Biden has designated five new national monuments, protecting nearly 1.5 million acres of public land, including Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado, Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada, Castner Range National Monument in Texas, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument in Arizona, and a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, across three locations in Mississippi and Illinois. He also restored the original boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, which former President Donald Trump attempted to shrink while in office.
This track record demonstrates a commitment towards President Biden’s goal of protecting 30 percent of national lands and water by 2030, and Western voices are hoping it is a sign of more progress to come.
There are currently local efforts around the West urging the Biden administration to designate new national monuments such as Chuckwalla near Joshua Tree National Park, Colorado’s Dolores Canyon Country, Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands, Great Bend of the Gila in Arizona, Bahsahwahbee (Swamp Cedars) in Nevada, a proposal to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument near Los Angeles, and Molok Luyuk, a proposed expansion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.
Aaron Weiss is Media Director for the Center for Western Priorities.