Over half (57%) of Americans say that endangered species should be given more weight than economic development
The Trump administration recently proposed several changes to the Environmental Species Act (ESA), which would remove protections for certain threatened species and allow officials to consider the economic impact of protecting a species under the ESA.
Over half (57%) of Americans say that endangered species should be given more weight than economic development, according to new data from YouGov Omnibus. About one in five people (20%) disagrees, saying economic development should take priority instead.
Though Democrats (70%) and independent voters (59%) were largely in favor of giving endangered species more weight than economic development, Republicans were almost equally split, with 38% prioritizing the endangered species and 37% prioritizing economic development.
People who live in the northeast (62%) were slightly more likely than other regions to say endangered species should be given more consideration. The south (55%) was a little less likely than other regions to agree with this, though a majority were still in favor. Another 21% of people in this region said that economic development should be prioritized over endangered species.
Learn more about YouGov Omnibus.
Image: Getty
