Few things elicit awe and envy like the statement “I live in Colorado.”

That’s because it’s more than a geographic declaration; it’s a pronouncement of your values, your lifestyle and your identity. Whether you were born or transplanted here, you enjoy cloudless blue-sky days and breathtaking vistas in every direction. Tell people you’re from this special section of the Rocky Mountain West, and they immediately have a sense of who you are and what you love. The word Colorado is virtually synonymous with a happy, healthy quality of life to which so many Americans aspire.

I’m lucky enough not only to live here but also to work in an industry that champions and protects the fundamental American value of “outdoors for all” — a value that the state of Colorado so perfectly encapsulates. If you’re like most Coloradans, you understand the power of our state’s outdoor recreation economy. A recent survey commissioned by Outdoor Industry Association and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a nonpartisan polling organization, revealed that 90 percent of likely Colorado voters regularly participate in outdoor activities and see our state’s outdoor recreation opportunities as a key to Colorado’s quality of life. Whether you hunt pheasant on the eastern plains, backpack the 14ers, cast flies in the Yampa or ski the San Juans, you help fuel a powerful engine.

Our research indicates that consumer spending on outdoor recreation generates $13.2 billion and supports 125,000 jobs in the state of Colorado. I’m proud to have one of these jobs, and I hear time and again from OIA’s Colorado member companies that they set up shop here because the state’s values align with their own.

Colorado voters support outdoor businesses. In fact, they rank outdoor recreation and tourism ahead of the healthcare, oil and gas and mining industries when asked which sectors they’d like to see grow in the state. And while Coloradans take great pride in and identify with special outdoor places, three-quarters of voters believe those lands belong to all Americans, not just those lucky enough to call Colorado home.

An overwhelming majority of those surveyed support protecting national public lands. Ninety-eight percent say that the Arapaho and San Isabel National Forests, Brown’s Canyon National Monument, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and the many other national public lands in Colorado represent an important legacy that we must protect for future generations. Accessible, national public outdoor spaces are part of our American heritage, which is why a majority of Colorado voters oppose proposals that would give state governments control over public lands.

As the presidential campaign ramps up and we enter the 2016 election cycle, we urge candidates in both major parties to review our data. Colorado will once again be an important swing state, and the voters’ message is clear: Investing in and protecting outdoor recreation in America’s national public lands is not only smart economics, it’s smart politics.

Amy Roberts is executive director of the Outdoor Industry Association.