Today, we’re launching a sustained, multi-year media campaign in Utah to capitalize upon a growing shift in public opinion about wilderness in our state, and to further educate Utah residents about wilderness as an issue and a valuable part of our state and national heritage.

Click here to visit the campaign website and see the ads.

Relying heavily on broadcast and cable television spots, online ads throughout Utah, and outdoor advertising in the Salt Lake City metro area, the campaign aims to elevate the discussion and build greater support for permanently protecting Utah’s wilderness heritage.

This new media campaign builds upon a dramatic shift in public opinion that has taken place in Utah regarding our state’s incredible wild lands.

In 1989, when Utah Congressman Wayne Owens first introduced his bill for 5.1 million acres of BLM wilderness in Utah, 80 percent of Utahns who had an opinion about wilderness opposed it.

Today, 60 percent of Utahns who’ve made up their minds on the issue support protecting 9 million acres or more of Utah wilderness.

We believe this shift in opinion can be accelerated through education.  Many Utah families already enjoy spending time in our state’s proposed wilderness areas.  They hike, camp, hunt and fish in the areas that deserve wilderness protection.

But for many Utahns, wilderness as an issue has been obfuscated by the radical rhetoric of our opponents.

That’s why we’re committed to this campaign for the long haul.  An intensive in-state advertising campaign can increase public awareness and understanding of Utah’s proposed wilderness areas, their accessibility to the general public, and the value that protecting Utah’s wilderness areas brings to our state’s economy.

By reaching out to the broad majority of Utahns who support a balanced approach to wilderness preservation and giving them a voice, we believe this campaign can change the game and help bring permanent protection for wilderness in Utah.