Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks

Scored under 60%. Seat on the 2026 ballot.

Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, earns an F on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 19 scored Senate votes, Daines cast 1 for public lands and 18 against. The two closest: Yea on One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R.1), 50 to 50, and Yea on Overturning Boundary Waters Mining Ban (H.J.Res.140), 50 to 49. Daines's seat is on the ballot in November 2026.

Every scored vote: 19 of 19 U.S. Senate votes counted

• Anti-lands

  Lilly Fish and Wildlife and Parks (En Bloc) S.Res.817

  En bloc confirmation of 74 nominees under S.Res.817, including Kevin Lilly as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, the official overseeing the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Lilly, a Texas wealth manager, drew formal opposition from the National Parks Conservation Association, and senators from both parties questioned his lack of land management experience. Confirmed 51-47. Senators who voted Yea confirmed every nominee in the package.

  Voted Yea · August 7, 2026 · Roll call 225, 51 to 47

• Anti-lands

  Pearce BLM Director (En Bloc) S.Res.690

  En bloc confirmation of 49 nominees under S.Res.690, including Stevan Pearce as Director of the Bureau of Land Management, the agency managing 245 million acres of public land. As a congressman, Pearce repeatedly backed transferring or selling federal public land. Confirmed 46-43. Senators who voted Yea confirmed every nominee in the package.

  Voted Yea · May 18, 2026 · Roll call 125, 46 to 43

• Anti-lands

  Overturning Boundary Waters Mining Ban H.J.Res.140

  CRA resolution overturning the 20-year mining ban on 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest upstream of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the most visited wilderness in America. Became Public Law 119-85.

  Voted Yea · April 16, 2026 · Roll call 84, 50 to 49

• Anti-lands

  Opening Arctic Refuge to Drilling H.J.Res.131

  CRA resolution overturning the 2024 environmental protections for oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, stripping safeguards from the 1.56-million-acre coastal plain calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd

  Voted Yea · December 4, 2025 · Roll call 632, 49 to 45

• Anti-lands

  Overturning Powder River Basin Coal Protections (WY) H.J.Res.130

  CRA resolution nullifying the Bureau of Land Management's 2024 Buffalo Field Office resource management plan amendment in Wyoming, which made approximately 413,000 acres of federal coal unavailable for future leasing in the Powder River Basin.

  Voted Yea · November 20, 2025 · Roll call 623, 51 to 43

• Anti-lands

  Opening Western Arctic to Drilling S.J.Res.80

  CRA resolution nullifying the 2022 management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which had closed about half of the 23-million-acre Western Arctic reserve to new oil and gas leasing

  Voted Yea · October 30, 2025 · Roll call 599, 52 to 45

• Anti-lands

  Overturning Central Yukon Protections (AK) H.J.Res.106

  CRA resolution nullifying the Bureau of Land Management's Central Yukon resource management plan in Alaska, which designated 21 areas of critical environmental concern covering approximately 3.6 million acres. The resolution removed a land-plan barrier to the Ambler Road, which would cross Gates of the Arctic National Preserve; the administration had restored the road's federal permits three days earlier. Became Public Law 119-50.

  Voted Yea · October 9, 2025 · Roll call 560, 50 to 46

• Anti-lands

  Overturning Miles City BLM Protections (MT) H.J.Res.104

  CRA resolution rolling back Bureau of Land Management resource management plans for the Miles City Field Office in Montana, opening public lands to expanded industrial use

  Voted Yea · October 8, 2025 · Roll call 549, 52 to 47

• Anti-lands

  Overturning North Dakota BLM Protections H.J.Res.105

  CRA resolution rolling back Bureau of Land Management resource management plans for the North Dakota Field Office, removing protections from public lands across the state

  Voted Yea · October 8, 2025 · Roll call 556, 50 to 45

• Anti-lands

  Boren USDA Under Secretary (En Bloc) S.Res.412

  En bloc confirmation of 108 nominees under S.Res.412, including Michael Boren as USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, the official directly overseeing the U.S. Forest Service. Confirmed 51-47. Senators who voted Yea confirmed every nominee in the package.

  Voted Yea · October 7, 2025 · Roll call 547, 51 to 47

• Anti-lands

  Nesvik USFWS Director PN25-35

  Confirmed Brian Nesvik as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency responsible for endangered species protections and the National Wildlife Refuge System

  Voted Yea · August 1, 2025 · Roll call 470, 54 to 43

• Anti-lands

  One Big Beautiful Bill H.R.1

  Reconciliation bill mandating four Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain lease sales, five National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska lease sales, a four-million-acre coal leasing mandate, coal royalty rate cuts from 12.5% to 7%, a 250-million-board-foot yearly increase in national forest timber sales through 2034, and rescinding Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding

  Voted Yea · July 1, 2025 · Roll call 372, 50 to 50

• Anti-lands

  Vaden Deputy Agriculture PN12-43

  Confirmed Stephen Vaden as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, second in command of the department that houses the U.S. Forest Service

  Voted Yea · June 10, 2025 · Roll call 301, 51 to 44

• Anti-lands

  MacGregor Deputy Interior PN13-10

  Confirmed Katharine MacGregor as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the department's chief operating officer, who led first-term efforts to shrink national monuments and expand drilling on public lands

  Voted Yea · May 14, 2025 · Roll call 250, 54 to 40

• Anti-lands

  Overturning Glen Canyon Safeguards H.J.Res.60

  CRA resolution overturning the National Park Service rule limiting off-road vehicle use in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, reopening those routes to motorized use

  Voted Yea · May 8, 2025 · Roll call 239, 50 to 43

• Pro-lands

  Preventing Public Lands Sell-Off S.Amdt.2107

  Budget resolution amendment (H.Con.Res.14) to bar the use of proceeds from selling federal public land for deficit reduction, the Senate's recorded vote on public land sales ahead of the reconciliation bill

  Voted Yea · April 5, 2025 · Roll call 181, 48 to 51

• Anti-lands

  Reinstating Fired Land Managers S.Amdt.540

  Budget resolution amendment (S.Con.Res.7) creating a reserve fund to reinstate the federal employees fired from the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service

  Voted Nay · February 20, 2025 · Roll call 68, 48 to 52

• Anti-lands

  Rollins Agriculture Confirmation PN11-12

  Confirmed Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture, who oversees the U.S. Forest Service and 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands

  Voted Yea · February 13, 2025 · Roll call 53, 72 to 28

• Anti-lands

  Burgum Confirmation PN11-3

  Confirmed Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior, who oversees the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, despite his stated agenda to expand oil and gas extraction on public land

  Voted Yea · January 30, 2025 · Roll call 26, 80 to 17

Show more Show all 19 votes

Roll calls and tallies from senate.gov, read October 26, 2026. Which side counts as pro-lands is the scorecard's call on each vote (methodology). Provision ratings: none of these bills has an approved rating yet, so none is named here.

Call Senator Daines through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Public lands bills Daines sponsors or cosponsors

In the 119th Congress, Daines sponsors 6 and cosponsors 12 public lands bills.

• S.Res.837 Designating the week of August 22 through August 30, 2026, as "National Park Week"

  Sponsor · Introduced August 6, 2026 · Not yet rated

• S.3527 Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act

  Sponsor · Introduced December 17, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.J.Res.61 A resolution to overturn the Miles City Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment

  Sponsor · Introduced July 10, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.Res.180 Designating the week of April 19 through April 27, 2025, as "National Park Week"

  Sponsor · Introduced April 10, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.451 Restoring State Mineral Revenues Act

  Sponsor · Introduced February 6, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.362 Allow certain Federal minerals to be mined consistent with the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification

  Sponsor · Introduced February 3, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.4619 Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small Business Act of 2026

  Original cosponsor · Signed on May 21, 2026 · Not yet rated

• S.1228 Modify the cost-sharing requirement for conservation projects carried out by a qualified youth or conservation corps, amending the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993

  Cosponsor · Signed on January 29, 2026 · Not yet rated

• S.2598 Forest Bioeconomy Act

  Original cosponsor · Signed on July 31, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.2262 American Voices in Federal Lands Act

  Cosponsor · Signed on July 14, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.1662 Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Reauthorization Act of 2025

  Original cosponsor · Signed on May 7, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.1470 Continental Divide National Scenic Trail Completion Act

  Original cosponsor · Signed on April 10, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.722 Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act

  Original cosponsor · Signed on February 25, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.453 Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act of 2025

  Original cosponsor · Signed on February 6, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.J.Res.12 A resolution to overturn the Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions

  Original cosponsor · Signed on February 4, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.356 Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025

  Original cosponsor · Signed on February 3, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.350 Wildfire Emergency Act of 2025

  Original cosponsor · Signed on January 30, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.140 Wildfire Prevention Act of 2025

  Original cosponsor · Signed on January 16, 2025 · Not yet rated

Show more Show all 18 bills

Bills and cosponsors from the congress.gov API, read September 29, 2026. A bill is rated only when a named person approves a rating that quotes its provision; none of these has one yet.

Daines's committees

• Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

  National Parks (Chairman); Public Lands, Forests, and Mining; Water and Power

• Senate Committee on Finance

  Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure; Health Care; International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness

• Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

  Africa and Global Health Policy; Europe and Regional Security Cooperation (Chairman); Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism

• Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

Committee seats from unitedstates/congress-legislators, read July 3, 2026.

Public lands in Montana

536 federal land units lie in or reach into Montana. The park with a More Than Just Parks guide: Glacier National Park.

Listed park guides first, then by size; the largest 40 of 536 are named.

• Glacier National Park 1,007,843 acres
• Miles City Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 2,757,930 acres
• Flathead National Forest 2,414,171 acres
• Lolo National Forest 2,301,792 acres
• Beaverhead National Forest 2,137,716 acres
• Lewis & Clark National Forest 1,873,439 acres
• Gallatin National Forest 1,850,413 acres
• Kootenai National Forest 1,763,656 acres
• Deerlodge National Forest 1,228,464 acres
• Bitterroot National Forest 1,127,056 acres
• Custer National Forest 1,115,754 acres
• Bob Marshall Wilderness 1,064,092 acres
• Malta Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 1,029,455 acres
• Glasgow Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 1,013,226 acres
• Helena National Forest 983,962 acres
• Glacier Proposed or Recommended Wilderness Area 931,214 acres
• Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness 917,551 acres
• Dillon Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 905,751 acres
• Lewistown Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 641,345 acres
• Fort Peck Recreation Area 623,432 acres
• Bear - Marshall - Scapegoat - Swan Roadless Area 513,868 acres
• Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument 507,084 acres
• Kaniksu National Forest 457,047 acres
• Billings Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 429,680 acres
• Havre Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 395,379 acres
• Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge 394,376 acres
• Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument Field Office 374,614 acres
• Bmss Ra 1485 Roadless Area 334,275 acres
• Butte Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 323,091 acres
• Great Bear Wilderness 287,012 acres
• Scapegoat Wilderness 259,785 acres
• Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness 255,478 acres
• West Pioneer Roadless Area 248,631 acres
• Fort Peck Lake 242,928 acres
• Lee Metcalf Wilderness 237,774 acres
• Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area Forest Service · 198,171 acres
• North Absaroka Roadless Area 180,137 acres
• Missoula Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 175,579 acres
• Anaconda Pintler Wilderness 158,754 acres
• Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge_Proposed Wilderness Area 157,955 acres

Show more Show all 40 units

Fires burning on public land in Montana

• Sand Creek Fire 35,520 acres, 90% contained, updated October 26, 2026
• Gap Fire 0 acres, updated October 23, 2026
• Border Fire 100 acres, updated October 22, 2026
• Randall Fire 100 acres, updated October 23, 2026

Drilling, mining and logging on record in Montana: 1,852 oil and gas leases (1,455,391 acres); 1,415 timber sales (70,424 acres); 675 hardrock mining claims (54,625 acres); 40 coal leases (57,872 acres); 18 sand and gravel sales (2,541 acres).

Threatened public lands in Montana

• Bridger Pipeline Expansion Developing
• Bitterroot National Forest Developing
• Flathead National Forest Developing
• Stillwater Mine Expansion (Custer Gallatin National Forest) Developing
• Bear-Palmer Project (Custer Gallatin National Forest) Developing
• Gallatin Range (Custer Gallatin National Forest) Developing
• Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Critical
• Montana Sage-Grouse Habitat Developing
• Wales Creek Wilderness Study Area Watch
• 2026 Blowdown Emergency Logging (Northern Rockies) Developing
• Hoodoo Mountain Wilderness Study Area Watch
• American Prairie Developing
• Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area Watch

Show more Show all 13 places

Federal land units from PAD-US, matched to the state's districts in the More Than Just Parks record, refreshed October 24, 2026; acres are each unit's full size, and units overlap, so they are not added up. Easements on private land are left out. Fires from NIFC; mining claims, leases and timber sales from BLM and Forest Service records; read October 26, 2026.

Who funds Daines on lands issues

PACs and other committees gave Daines's campaign $903,138 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave $331,362, and conservation PACs gave $2,000.

Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC H2MT01060, FEC S2MT00096), net of refunds, read October 15, 2026. Industry is the giving PAC's industry in the More Than Just Parks record. A contribution says who gave, not why anyone voted as they did.

How Daines compares

The median senator scores 5%. Daines scores 5% and ranks #50 (tied) of 98.

More from Montana

Sen. Tim Sheehy F · Rep. Ryan Zinke F · Rep. Troy Downing F

What to ask Daines

Washington office: 320 Hart Senate Office Building. Phone (202) 224-2651. Write to Daines · Official site

From Daines's own record:

• Why did you vote Yea on Lilly Fish and Wildlife and Parks (En Bloc) (S.Res.817)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Pearce BLM Director (En Bloc) (S.Res.690)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Overturning Boundary Waters Mining Ban (H.J.Res.140)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Opening Arctic Refuge to Drilling (H.J.Res.131)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Overturning Powder River Basin Coal Protections (WY) (H.J.Res.130)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Opening Western Arctic to Drilling (S.J.Res.80)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Overturning Central Yukon Protections (AK) (H.J.Res.106)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Overturning Miles City BLM Protections (MT) (H.J.Res.104)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Overturning North Dakota BLM Protections (H.J.Res.105)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Boren USDA Under Secretary (En Bloc) (S.Res.412)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Nesvik USFWS Director (PN25-35)?
• Why did you vote Yea on One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R.1)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Vaden Deputy Agriculture (PN12-43)?
• Why did you vote Yea on MacGregor Deputy Interior (PN13-10)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Overturning Glen Canyon Safeguards (H.J.Res.60)?
• Why did you vote Nay on Reinstating Fired Land Managers (S.Amdt.540)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Rollins Agriculture Confirmation (PN11-12)?
• Why did you vote Yea on Burgum Confirmation (PN11-3)?

Show more Show all 18 questions

Offices and phones from the Senate and House member feeds and unitedstates/congress-legislators, checked October 22, 2026.

Questions people ask