Education - which topped the Utah Foundation's list in 2004 - and tax issues were also high on the list of priorities in the study, designed to shape the agenda as the 2008 elections approach.

"We're a little surprised this time. We thought education would come out No. 1," said Stephen Kroes, president of the Utah Foundation. "People have recognized that the Legislature and governor over these last four years have put a lot more resources into education. I think that has diminished the level of worry or concern."

Driving the anxiety about energy issues was the high price of gasoline. Those surveyed for the study also were concerned about the development of renewable energy resources.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. praised the Utah Foundation's work and laid out his own set of issues that he believes will determine Utah's quality of life in the coming decades as the state's population is projected to reach 6 million by 2050.

"I don't know about you but I wonder every day . . . how is it that we maintain our quality of life in an area that becomes as densely populated as the Wasatch Front will be over this period of time?" he said.

The Foundation commissioned a poll by Dan Jones and Associates of 617 registered voters to gauge the public's views on the most pressing issues for the state. The results had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percent.

The Foundation also specifically sampled 208 Washington County voters, to determine if the concerns of those in the fastest-growing county differed from those along the Wasatch Front and the rest of the state.

Energy topped the Washington County list, as well, but it was followed by tax issues and immigration.