**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO ASSESS STATUS QUO BIAS IN POLICY PREFERENCES AND THE POLICY PROCESS. IS A POLICY THAT IS BEING PROPOSED LESS POPULAR THAN THE SAME POLICY ALREADY IN PLACE? AND IF SO, CAN THIS BIAS BE LEVERAGED TO INCREASE FFOS CONSERVATION? TO MEET THIS GOAL, WE AIM TO: 1) UNDERSTAND HOW VOTER FFOS POLICY PREFERENCES ARE AFFECTED BY STATUS QUO BIAS; AND 2) UNDERSTAND HOW LEGISLATOR FFOS POLICY PREFERENCES ARE AFFECTED BY THEIR OWN STATUS QUO BIAS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS' STATUS QUO BIAS.WE WILL CONDUCT A SERIES OF EXIT POLLS AND A NATIONAL SURVEY TO UNDERSTAND VOTER DECISION MAKING ON FFOS PRESERVATION. THE SURVEYS WILL BE DESIGNED TO SAMPLE PEOPLE LIVING IN COMMUNITIES WITH DIFFERENT LAND PRESERVATION POLICIES. USING THIS POLICY VARIATION, WE WILL ESTIMATE THE EFFECT OF STATUS QUO BIAS ON POLICY PREFERENCES USING A COMBINATION OF CONTINGENT VALUATION METHODS AND APPROVAL QUESTIONS. SECOND, WE WILL CONDUCT A CONTINGENT VALUATION SURVEY WITH EXPERIMENTALFRAMING IN WHICH WE MANIPULATE THE HYPOTHETICAL BALLOT WORDING TO SEE IF THE STATUS QUO REFERENCE POINT CAN BE CHANGED TO FOCUS ON LAND USE CHANGE INSTEAD OF TAXES. THIRD, WE WILL CONDUCT A SURVEY OF ELECTED OFFICIALS UTILIZING STATES WITH AND WITHOUT SPECIFIC FFOS POLICIES TO INVESTIGATE STATUS QUO BIAS ON ELECTED OFFICIALS. FOURTH, WE WILL CONDUCT A SURVEY THAT INFORMS ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT THE DEGREE OF STATUS QUO BIAS AMONG VOTERS TO UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT TO WHICH THIS KNOWLEDGE AFFECTS THEIR SUPPORT FOR LEGISLATED CONSERVATION INVESTMENTS.THIS PROJECT AIMS TO EMPOWER ELECTED OFFICIALS AND VOTERS TO CONSERVE FFOS LAND, AND THEREBY IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION. WE STRIVE TO ASSESS IF STATUS QUO BIAS HINDERS FFOS CONSERVATION, BUT ALSO HOW STATUS QUO BIAS CAN BE LEVERAGED FOR IMPROVEMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND RURAL COMMUNITIES.