Majority of Americans Believe that Safeguarding Jobs, Communities, And Industries That Depend On Public Lands More Important Than Protecting Them From Commercial Use. A new national public opinion poll released by the Paragon Foundation, a public education, non-profit organization in Alamogordo, New Mexico, indicates that the majority of Americans do not favor "roadless public lands" as recently proposed by President Clinton. The Paragon survey indicated that 68% of the citizens surveyed believed that protecting jobs, communities and industries that depend on public lands was more important than protecting them from commercial use. 67% thought the United States has enough protected Wilderness, and 67% said they would not favor a proposal that protects roadless areas of 1000 acres or greater.

President Clinton announced his plan to halt all road building and commercial use on 40 million acres of public land by public land agency regulations. The following day, George Frampton, Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality, expanded the amount by formally stating, "Potentially 50 or 60 million acres of roadless area on the national forests nationwide could be protected in the two stages of this rule. But at least 40 million in stage one."

Working well behind the scenes of Clinton's decision was an environmental lobbyist and head of the Heritage Forests Campaign, Ken Rait. Rait's group, The Heritage Forests Campaign, The Wilderness Society, and The National Audubon Society, well fueled with 2.8 million dollars in grant money from The Pew Charitable Trust, commissioned a public opinion survey to persuade the poll-conscious administration that America was behind the roadless concept. The results of the voting, which surveyed about 800 people by telephone, were published nationally and headlined as: POLL: WESTERNERS WANT MORE WILDERNESS. The sampling, gathered by the Mellman Group, Inc. indicated that 63% of respondents questioned believed not enough of the nation's forest is protected and that 74 percent of voters supported a plan that would not exempt any national forests from a roadless protection policy. The Wilderness Society noted that the statistics were an important factor in persuading the Clinton-Gore Administration to announce the roadless area plan.

The Paragon Poll was conducted by publishing a questionnaire nationwide in magazines, newspapers and on the Internet. Respondents had to clip the survey and mail it at their own expense, or answer on the foundation's website. In a counting process open to the public and conducted by volunteers, 2229 people had responded to the Paragon Poll, largely by U.S Mail.

The Paragon Wilderness Poll Results

1. Do you think the United States has enough protected Wilderness?
Yes 67%
No 30%
Undecided 3%

2. Do you think that building roads on public lands should be allowed?
Yes 68%
No 27%
Undecided 5%

3. Would you favor a proposal that permanently protects all roadless areas of 1000 acres or greater on Public lands.
Yes 29%
No 67%
Undecided 4%

4. Would you favor a proposal that prohibits off-road vehicle use by four-wheel drives, ATVs, motorcycles and snowmobiles?
Yes 27%
No 69%
Undecided 4%

5. Would you support a proposal that prohibits oil and mineral exploration on public lands.?
Yes 32%
No 63%
Undecided 5%

6. Would you support a proposal that prohibits logging on public lands?
Yes 30%
No 65%
Undecided 5%

7. Would you support a proposal that prohibits livestock from grazing on public lands?
Yes 25%
No 69%
Undecided 6%

8. Which do you think is more important? Check one....