FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2019

HELENA — A new poll commissioned by Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund shows a large majority of Montanans across the political spectrum disapprove of former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s job performance while in office. By double-digit margins, 53% of those surveyed expressed an unfavorable opinion of the ousted Secretary and 49% had a negative view of his conduct during his time at the helm of the agency tasked with managing our public lands.

A number of factors contributed to Zinke’s low popularity in his home state, from controversial policies like slashing the size of national monuments, to multiple ethics investigations for alleged misconduct, such as misuse of taxpayer dollars for personal travel and a questionable land deal with the former chairman of Halliburton.

“These results confirm what Montanans already know,” said Rick Potts, Interim Executive Director of Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund. “Montanans are deeply disappointed in Ryan Zinke’s failure to follow through on promises of protecting our public lands and natural resources. Montanans treasure our landscapes and are sending a clear message to other public officials: act for the public interest because we’ll hold you accountable if you fall short.”

The poll also shows that Montanans were troubled by Zinke’s extensive hiring of former lobbyists for oil and gas interests – the industry that the Department of Interior regulates. 71% of respondents said they believe this to be unethical, compared to only 14% who think such hiring decisions were proper.

The phone survey of 879 Montanans was conducted from January 23-24 as a continued effort to hold public officials accountable and educate Montanans about their decisions that threaten our landscapes and outdoor heritage.

For the full results of the poll click here.

CONTACT
Whitney Tawney
Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund
Email: whitney@mtvoters.org
Phone: (202) 412-4793

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Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund (MCVEF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to educate citizens and organizations in the basic techniques of effective civic engagement to further environmental and conservation goals. MCVEF programs educate the public about critical environmental and public lands issues; promote greater non-partisan citizen involvement in the democratic process; and provide strategic tools to conservation organizations to be more effective.