How popular is wilderness?
In Utah, a survey conducted by a BYU professor asked how much money residents personally would be willing to pay to preserve Wilderness Areas. People on average supported “additional wilderness designation” to a degree of 8 to 10 million acres, or approximately 15% of the state of Utah. Utahns would be willing to spend up to $38 million a year on wilderness preservation! Eighty-six percent of Utahns say it is “very important” or “important” to preserve pristine, unique, and natural areas of Utah as wilderness. Seventy-nine percent would support legislation to increase the amount of wilderness areas.
