Utah People and Environment Poll 2024/25 Executive Report

Abstract

Utah\u27s people and environment are currently experiencing significant changes as the population continues to grow, droughts and flooding pose threats to agriculture, air quality leads to health concerns, energy needs rise, and public lands see increased use. Action is needed to address these changes, especially given how rapidly they are occurring. Political leaders, environmental organizations, Tribal Nations, and universities play a critical role in ensuring Utah’s environment, economy, workforce, and underserved communities have a sustainable path forward. Understanding residents’ views, values, and concerns can help better craft the policy, inform infrastructure, and identify the services needed to do so. With this goal of understanding in mind, Utah State University\u27s Community & Natural Resources Institute (CANRI) launched the Utah People and Environment Poll in spring of 2023. The 2023 UPEP illuminated important insights into Utahn’s values and concerns, and the survey was repeated from November 2024 through January 2025 to continue to build a mechanism for gathering timely, relevant, and longitudinal data on issues at the intersection of people and the environment in Utah to help inform policy to address environmental issues. The following summarizes some of the notable results of the most recent survey. Results and reports of the 2023 survey can be found here: https://chass.usu.edu/canri/upep-previous