While Douglas County residents uniformly agree on the importance of the outdoors, partisanship, especially since the last election, is a “pervasive and a driving force behind opinions.” That’s the takeaway from a survey released Monday by the county’s board of commissioners. 

Hill Research Consultants heard from more than 1,800 county residents who took part April 4 to April 6 in the measure, the 10th time the county has surveyed residents since 2006.

“Satisfaction with the great outdoors in Douglas County is fundamental to the ethos of people who choose to live in Colorado,” said David Hill, the research director for the survey. “The fact that the County is excelling in this area is a huge finding for Douglas County and is critically important to the citizens who live here.”

Partisan riffs appear to stem from the “divisive” presidential election last year, indicated by questions on good government, the direction of the county and whether leaders listen to the people, along with “some lagging outliers,” such as access to services, road conditions and other infrastructure issues.

The measure, however, found:

• 98% said protecting and preserving natural land and wildlife habitat is important.
• 96% said funding county and municipal parks, outdoor recreation programs, as well as protecting and preserving scenic views are important.
• 90% said funding historic preservation and maintenance is important.
• 95% agreed with the statement: “Douglas County is a good place to raise a family.”
• 97% said Douglas County is a safe place to live and work.

Read the survey by clicking here.

The latest survey included 300 phones (74% were on cell phones) and 1,581 online surveys, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3%.

“Our board is united in our belief that quantifiable, representative public opinion is a valuable resource in guiding the board’s funding and policy decisions,” Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon said in a statement on behalf of the commission. “Our citizen survey is one of our ongoing means to engage Douglas County communities in the process of county governance so that their voices may be heard. We are grateful to those who participated.”

The survey asked about the preferred outcome of a potential open space sales and use tax reauthorization. Forty percent wanted the tax approved permanently, 39% preferred a sunset of the tax in 15 years and 18% wanted it to end in 2023.

Whether Douglas County should remain part of the Tri-County Health Department was raised in the survey, as well. Sixty percent thought it was good idea, while 38% didn’t, and about 1% said they were unsure.

Hill was unsure if the opinions were well-informed, however.

“This is indeed an important public policy question, and it is clear to me that, coming out of a pandemic, there is a desire for stability and certainty in public health policies, and resistance to change,” he said. “However, I am not yet convinced that there is full or deep understanding of the pros and cons of either approach,” said Hill.