One in Four Montanans Says There’s Too Much Federal Land

Twenty-four percent. That is how many Montanans told Montana Free Press and Rutgers University there’s “too much” federal land in the state — the number everyone quotes in their outdoor articles. Here is what gets skipped: 54 percent said the amount is about right, and 21 percent said there’s too little, which means the “sell it all” camp is ahead of the “give us more” camp by three points — inside the poll’s ±4.1 margin of error, in a state where the Forest Service alone owns 17 million acres. Not a movement gathering steam…a movement with a well-documented ceiling. The spring surveys agree: the University of Montana’s Crown of the Continent poll found 84 percent of voters back banning the sale or transfer of public lands (four in five Republicans included), a Nature Conservancy survey across 12 Western states put it at nine out of ten, and even 62 percent of Montana Republicans told MTFP the feds hold the right amount or too little.

How did one in four come to be discussed so much?? Because the three-quarters don’t vote like a three-quarters. “Voters pay attention to issues like the cost of housing, homelessness and abortion in public conversation. They’re not necessarily informed on candidate positions on issues like public lands,” FM3’s Miranda Everitt told Mountain Journal. “It’s sort of ‘He’s wearing plaid and he’s hunting, so of course he supports public lands.’” Which is why 2026’s real fights aren’t ballot questions — they’re committee votes and comment windows. The Roadless Rule comment period closed September 21 and a Senate committee already advanced its repeal 11–9, with 80 percent of Montana voters — two-thirds of Republicans included — wanting it kept. Sen. Daines’ bill to unlock three Wilderness Study Areas cleared committee in March while 68 percent of voters opposed it. An internal FWP memo called corner crossing unlawful and earned the agency a lawsuit, despite 76 percent of Montanans thinking it should be legal. And roughly 350,000 federal jobs vanished last year, about 1,400 of them held by people qualified to fight wildfire. The majority wins this the way it always has: by being the ones who actually show up.

Here’s a simpler summary of above:

• The headline number is not as scary as it sounds. A quarter of Montanans think the feds own too much land here — but slightly more say the feds own too little, and most say it’s about right. That’s a tie, not a takeover.
• Almost nobody wants your public land sold. Depending on the poll, 84% to 90% of Montanans want a ban on selling or handing it off. Republicans included, by a wide margin.
• Caring and voting are two different things. People say public lands matter, then vote on costs, housing, and party — so politicians don’t get punished for ignoring the land stuff. The pollsters basically say it out loud.
• The decisions aren’t on a ballot. Small print, short comment periods, and committee votes are deciding what happens to roads, wilderness areas, and access. That’s where a majority means nothing and a handful of comments and letters mean everything.
• Basically, the “anti-public-land” crowd is smaller than it looks, but the pro-public-land crowd is quieter than it thinks. Send the comment. That’s the whole strategy!

^{Sources linked inline: Montana Free Press, Mountain Journal, the Daily Montanan, the Missoula Current, the University of Montana’s Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative, and Pew Research Center. Byline placeholder to be replaced before publication.}

^{Photo credit: Gateway Graphic Design and Photography}