Values at core of successful wilderness
campaign
Washington pollster gives tips to
environmentalists
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
When it comes to environmental protection
in the Rocky Mountain West, the majority of the region’s citizens are
pro-protection and pro-wilderness. The minority, however, often wins.
Such is the conclusion of Washington,
D.C., pollster John Russonello. "(The minority) knows how to choose the right
messages," he said.
As an example, 38 percent of the Rocky
Mountain states’ residents strongly oppose expanded public lands mining, and 17
percent strongly favor it. In the same region, 54 percent of the residents
approve of the Clinton-era roadless policy, and 40 percent disapprove.
More striking yet, 58 percent of the
region’s residents said wilderness preservation is extremely important while 34
percent said it is somewhat important.
"So how does the minority win?" Russonello
asked.
The secret is found in people’s values.
"We hit a brick wall when the other side
talks about core values and we’re talking about details," Russonello said. "The
side that hits core values first always wins."
Russonello was one of the featured
speakers on Saturday at an annual conference of Idaho’s conservation community.
The conference, called Wild Idaho!, was sponsored by the Idaho Conservation
League. It is held each year at Redfish Lake Lodge.
Values are things everybody has in common,
and they don’t change. They can be broken into primary and secondary categories.
"The environment is not a core value. Core
values are things people believe but they can’t explain," Russonello said.
Primary values, which trump all others,
include individual responsibility, family security, honesty, fairness, freedom,
work and spirituality. Secondary values include the responsibility to help
others, compassion, personal fulfillment, respect for authority and love of
country.
A concept like stewardship, which the
conservation community frequently relies on, is a secondary value.
"It’s important to people, but it gets
bumped when it comes up against primary values," Russonello said.
The pollster elaborated on his point by
applying it to the messages various players use to work toward their political
goals.
"They (the minority) often choose their
messages more carefully than we do," he said.
As an example, he explained the
differences in perception between the words conservationist and
environmentalist. According to his studies, Russonello said the word
conservationist elicits responses from people expecting a solution-oriented,
locally-based person or group working to protect a particular resource.
The environmentalist is perceived as an
ideological liberal person or group interested in protecting everything, simply
for the sake of protection.
When it comes to wilderness, the opponents
will only come up against four primary arguments, Russonello said. They are
economics, quality of life, exaggeration and patriotism.
"You have to turn the question into a
values question," he said. "In Idaho, you can win a lot if you stick to message
and values and think about what people are thinking about, be disciplined with
your message and choose the right messengers."