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Florida Summary

Lake Snell Perry & Associates designed and administered this survey. The survey was conducted by phone using professional interviewers. The survey reached 600 registered voters in the state of Florida who indicated they are likely to vote in the 2000 general election for President and other offices. The interviews were conducted October 10 to 13, 1999, and the margin of sampling error is +/-4.0%.

After being informed that 18 percent of the land in the United States' national forests is permanently protected from logging and other development, more than half of Florida voters say our country does not have enough permanently protected area in national forests (53 percent). In contrast, only 6 percent say we have too much permanently protected area. Thirty-four percent of voters believe our country has the right amount of protected area in national forests and 7 percent are unsure. While there are some differences in net margins, pluralities of almost every group believe there is not enough land protected.

• Interestingly, men are slightly more likely to believe our country does not have enough permanently protected area in national forests than women (56 percent to 51 percent, respectively). Younger voters (58 percent) - especially voters under 30 (65 percent) - are significantly more likely than older voters to believe there is not enough protected area in national forests (48 percent). Likewise, high school educated voters (55 percent) are slightly more likely than non-college educated voters (54 percent) and college educated voters (52 percent) to say there is not enough protected areas in national forests.
• There is some difference by party. Republicans are the least likely to believe there are not enough permanently protected areas in national forests (44 percent) and, in fact, are divided between not enough and the right amount of land. Majorities of both Democrats and Independents believe there is not enough permanently protected land (60 percent and 58 percent, respectively).
• Big city voters (61 percent) are much more likely to say there is not enough protected area than are suburban or small city voters (51 percent).

Although a majority of Floridians say there is not enough permanently protected areas in National Forests, they are less likely to believe there is not enough areas than voters nationwide . Sixty-three percent of voters nationwide say the United States does not have enough permanently protected areas in National Forests (10 points more than Florida voters). While only 6 percent of voters nationwide say the United States has too much protected area, just under a quarter of voters nationwide say the country has the right amount (23 percent) and 8 percent say they don't know.

Furthermore, more than seven out of ten Florida voters favor a proposal that permanently protects all roadless areas of 1,000 acres and larger on all national forest lands, from road building, off-road vehicles, mining, oil drilling and other development (72 percent). Of those who favor the proposal, nearly half (46 percent) say they are strongly in favor. A mere 14 percent of voters oppose this proposal (5 percent strongly oppose). Fourteen percent of voters are undecided on whether they favor or oppose the proposal.

• At least six out of ten Floridians across all demographic and geographic sub-groups favor a proposal that permanently protects all roadless areas of 1,000 acres and larger on all national forest lands, from road building, off-road vehicles, mining, oil drilling and other development. Again, while majorities of both gender support the proposal, there is a slight difference between gender. Seventy-four percent of women favor a proposal that permanently protects all roadless areas of 1,000 acres, compared to 69 percent of men. However, men and women are equally intense in their support (46 percent strongly favor).
• Geographically, suburban and big city voters are the most likely to favor a proposal to protect all roadless areas on national forest lands (77 percent favor; 47 percent strongly favor and 75 percent favor; 45 percent strongly favor, respectively) than are their small city and small town counterparts (70 percent favor; 46 percent strongly favor and 65 percent favor; 43 percent strongly favor, respectively).
• There is strong support across political parties for this proposal. Independents and Democrats are slightly more favorable than Republicans (74 percent; 45 percent strongly favor, 73 percent; 54 strongly favor, and 69 percent; 42 percent strongly favor, respectively). Overall, the most intensely favorable are older Democrats (57 percent strongly favor), voters ages 65 and over (56 percent), Democratic women (55 percent), Democrats (54 percent), and college educated women voters (53 percent).

Notably, Florida voters are slightly more likely to favor a proposal to permanently protect all roadless areas of a 1,000 acres and larger on all National Forest lands than voters nationwide . Just under two-thirds of voters nationwide favor the proposal (63 percent -- 9 points less than Florida voters), with 48 percent strongly in favor. Seventeen percent of voters nationwide oppose the proposal (10 percent strongly oppose). However, voters nationwide are more likely to be undecided about the proposal - 20 percent nationwide compared to 14 percent of Florida voters.

Additionally, Florida voters favor all of the specific provisions of the proposal. Floridians are most favorable toward prohibiting commercial logging in all national forest roadless areas (81 percent favor). In fact, a majority of voters strongly favor this provision (51 percent), as well as prohibiting oil drilling and exploration in all national forest roadless areas (78 percent; 54 percent strongly favor) .

• Following closely behind these two provisions, Florida voters are also favorable toward blocking development in all national forest roadless areas (80 percent; 47 percent strongly favor) and prohibiting off-road vehicle use, including four-by-fours, motorcycles and snowmobiling in all national forest roadless areas (73 percent; 42 percent strongly favor) . While slightly lower in intensity, these two proposals are still supported by at least two-thirds of every demographic and political group.
• Not surprisingly, women are slightly more favorable toward all of the specific proposals than men. Likewise, while all three political parties are most favorable toward prohibiting commercial logging, Democrats are generally more favorable toward all of the specific proposals than Independents or Republicans. Additionally, big city and suburban voters are more favorable than small town and small city voters.

Voters nationwide are similar to Florida voters in favoring all of the specific provisions of the proposal, and in the provisions they are most intensely favorable toward: prohibiting oil drilling (56 percent strongly favor; 77 percent favor) and logging (53 percent strongly favor; 75 percent favor) . Voters nationwide also favor a proposal which would block development in all National Forest roadless areas (73 percent favor; 51 percent strongly favor). Much like Florida voters, voters nationwide are least intensely favorable toward a proposal banning off-road vehicles in National Forest roadless areas. However, two-thirds of voters nationwide still favor the proposal which would prohibit off-road vehicle use in all National Forest roadless areas (67 percent favor; 44 percent strongly favor) ..

Moreover, Florida voters want to see these protections in place across every region of the country. A strong majority of voters favor having these protections affect roadless areas across the country, allowing no region to be exempt from the program (72 percent) . This includes 43 percent of voters who strongly favor having geographically uniform protections. However, more than 2 in ten voters oppose having these protections affect all regions (21 percent; 10 percent strongly oppose) and 7 percent are undecided.

• Strong majorities of every demographic and geographic sub-group in Florida favor uniform protections for roadless areas across the country. Women are more likely than men to favor having these protections affect roadless areas across the country, allowing no region to be exempt from the program (76 percent to 67 percent, respectively). In terms of political party, Democrats and Independents are the most likely to favor having these protections uniform across the country (74 percent each), followed by Republicans (71 percent).

Similarly, a majority of Florida voters oppose exempting some regions, such as coastal rainforests in Alaska or the ancient rainforests of the Pacific Northwest (52 percent), including 27 percent who strongly oppose. However, 35 percent favor the regional exemptions (18 percent strongly favor) and 13 percent of voters are unsure.

• For every subgroup, more voters support a uniform national program with no exemptions than favor exempting some regions. uniform standards. However, those most likely to favor exempting some regions are younger women (44 percent), unmarried men (44 percent), younger unmarried men (45 percent), big city voters (45 percent) and suburban voters (40 percent).

Floridians are similar to voters nationwide in wanting to see these protections in place across every region of the county . An equally strong majority of voters nationwide favor having these protections affect roadless areas across the country, allowing no region to be exempt from the program (75 percent compared to 72 percent in Florida). However, voters nationwide are more intense in favoring uniform protections than Florida voters - 53 percent of voters nationwide say they strongly favor the proposal compared to 43 percent of Floridians. Nationwide, less than two in ten voters oppose having these protections affect all regions (15 percent; 8 percent strongly oppose) and 10 percent are undecided.

However, Floridians are slightly more likely to oppose exempting some regions than are voters nationwide . Voters nationwide are more divided over exempting certain regions. A plurality of voters nationwide oppose exempting regions, such as coastal rainforests in Alaska or the ancient rainforests of the Pacific Northwest (45 percent oppose; 33 percent strongly oppose), compared to 42 percent who favor the regional exemptions (22 percent strongly favor). Twelve percent of voters nationwide are undecided on how they feel about the proposal.

Funding provided by:
The Pew Charitable Trust
The W. Alton Jones Foundation
The Turner Foundation.

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