By Jesse Prentice-Dunn
This fall voters across the West not only cast their votes for president, they decided races for governor, senators and representatives. Public lands played a prominent role in a number of Western races, with candidates touting their commitment to protecting public lands and preserving access for hunting, fishing, and other forms of outdoor recreation. These positions echoed the findings of our Winning the West public opinion research, which surveyed likely voters in Montana, Nevada and Colorado. From the campaigns to the resulting decisions it is clear that Westerners value our outdoor way of life and supporting national public lands is a winning issue across party lines. While public lands played a role in many races, here are three that stood out.