Policy Pennings: Rural/Urban Divide on Environmental Policies

A commentary in The Daily Yonder reviewed the Nicholas Institute's recent report, “Understanding Rural Attitudes Toward the Environment and Conservation in America,” and its implications for the divide between rural and urban Americans on environmental policy.

Harwood D. Schaffer, director of the  Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, and Daryll E. Ray, the center's retired director, wrote that the report was a reminder of the value of the work of groups like local Conservation Districts in shaping the views of rural and urban residents on the importance of care for the environment. One of the report's conclusions that they found interesting was the greater trust that rural residents have for conservation groups compared to environmental advocacy groups.