There aren’t many issues that 90 percent of Wisconsinites can agree on. State funding for land protection is one of them. A 2025 statewide poll of Wisconsin voters, commissioned in partnership with The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin, was conducted by a bipartisan pair of polling firms, New Bridge Strategy and FM3 Research.
The results are overwhelmingly positive.
- 93% of Wisconsinites want lawmakers to renew state funding for land protection
- 83% of voters support spending $100 million of state funding for land protection each year for the next 10 years
- Support comes from all political affiliations: 80% of Republican voters, 83% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats
- And it doesn’t matter where people live: 96% of people who live in cities, 92% who live in suburbs, and 84% who live in rural areas want the program to continue
Not surprisingly, protecting Wisconsin’s water is a top concern. That includes:
- Protecting drinking water with 92% support
- Ensuring rivers and streams remain clean, supported at 89%
- Protecting fish and wildlife habitat at 78%
- Conserving habitat for disappearing pollinators like bees and butterflies at 77%
In addition to clean water, each demographic expressed a variety of conservation priorities. When pollsters asked people to rank their concerns in order of importance, they found:
- 69% of hunters and anglers want to conserve land for recreation compared to 58% of non-sports people
- 68% of Republicans and 78% of Independents care about planting trees and restoring forests
- 93% of Democrats strongly support protecting wetlands and pollinator habitat
- And perhaps most significantly, a majority of voters would have a more favorable opinion of their elected officials if they voted to continue state funding for conservation
“The poll confirms Wisconsinites care deeply about our shared natural resources,” said Mike Carlson, Gathering Waters’ Executive Director. “Your support helped gather this data and share it with lawmakers who make funding decisions.”
Check out this summary of the polling data or take a deeper dive by visiting knowlesnelson.org/polling for a recording of our “Behind the Polling” webinar held in March 2025.
Thank you for being part of the land trust community. Your support helps create a unified message our lawmakers can’t ignore: Knowles-Nelson matters to Wisconsin’s future.
Featured image of Brittingham Bay (Lake Monona) by P.T. McMahon.