By Kathleen Shannon
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May 6, 2025
Today, the Republican budget package on the nation’s energy policy gets a closer look from the House Natural Resources Committee in Congress.
A new poll showed many of the proposed changes are unpopular among voters in Montana and the West. The proposals include reducing royalty rates paid by energy companies to federal and local governments, limiting opportunities for public participation and mandating the sale of oil and gas leases on all available public lands within 18 months.
Lori Weigel, principal at New Bridge Strategies, which conducted the poll said there is a trend in voter preferences about the importance of various public land uses.
“It stands out, really, that providing land to be leased for oil and gas development was significantly lower than every single other attribute that we tested,” Weigel reported.
Among Montana respondents, 92% said keeping air and water clean is an important function of public lands. Outdoor recreation and providing wildlife habitat were about equally important, at roughly 86%. Only 34% of Montanans said they think providing land for oil and gas development is important.
Russell Kuhlman, executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation, said many oil and gas proposals coming from lawmakers right now promote a misconception.
“There’s this belief that every inch that you walk on public land has this huge, untapped resource of fossil fuel,” Kuhlman observed. “That could not be farther from the truth. It is very localized, in certain areas.”
One proposal would cancel the $5 per acre nomination fee oil and gas companies pay to help cover the cost of a review process to determine whether land is appropriate for development. Among Montana respondents, eight in opposed canceling the fee, as did seven in 10 Montanans who self-identified as MAGA supporters.