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We interviewed ranchers, environmental activists, Extension educators, multiple-use recreationists, and livestock industry representatives from throughout the Great Basin, as well as public land managers themselves, to gain a better understanding of the concerns citizens have about sagebrush-steppe management and restoration. While we found strong support for the concept of restoration in principle, citizen interviewees expressed concerns about agencies’ capacity to make it happen. Among the issues raised by interviewees were concerns about: levels of available funding, ability to keep pace with increasing wildfire and invasion processes, emphasis on post-disturbance restoration rather than on prevention, interference from political forces both in constituency groups and in Washington, D.C., and agency willingness to incorporate local knowledge into restoration planning. Managers shared many concerns with citizens, but identified different local-level barriers to implementation.