Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks
Kevin Cramer
Scored under 60%.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota, earns an F on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 19 scored Senate votes, Cramer cast 0 for public lands and 18 against, and missed 1. 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. Cramer's seat is not on the 2026 ballot.
Every scored vote: 19 of 19 U.S. Senate votes counted
- Anti-landsLilly 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
- MissedPearce 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.
Did not vote · May 18, 2026 · Roll call 125, 46 to 43
- Anti-landsOverturning 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-landsOpening 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-landsOverturning 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-landsOpening 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-landsOverturning 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-landsOverturning 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-landsOverturning 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-landsBoren 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-landsNesvik 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-landsOne 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-landsVaden 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-landsMacGregor 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-landsOverturning 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
- Anti-landsPreventing 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 Nay · April 5, 2025 · Roll call 181, 48 to 51
- Anti-landsReinstating 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-landsRollins 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-landsBurgum 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
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 Cramer through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Open the full record in the scorecardPublic lands bills Cramer sponsors or cosponsors
In the 119th Congress, Cramer sponsors 1 and cosponsors 6 public lands bills.
- S.J.Res.62 A resolution to overturn the North Dakota Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan
Sponsor · Introduced July 10, 2025 · Not yet rated
- S.Res.837 Designating the week of August 22 through August 30, 2026, as "National Park Week"
Original cosponsor · Signed on August 6, 2026 · 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.Res.180 Designating the week of April 19 through April 27, 2025, as "National Park Week"
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.451 Restoring State Mineral Revenues Act
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
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.
Cramer's committees
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety; Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water; Transportation and Infrastructure (Chairman)
- Senate Committee on Armed Services
Airland (Chairman); Emerging Threats and Capabilities; Readiness and Management Support; Strategic Forces
- Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection; Housing, Transportation, and Community Development; Securities, Insurance, and Investment
- Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Committee seats from unitedstates/congress-legislators, read July 3, 2026.
Public lands in North Dakota
100 federal land units lie in or reach into North Dakota. The park with a More Than Just Parks guide: Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Listed park guides first, then by size; the largest 40 of 100 are named.
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park 69,717 acres
- Little Missouri National Grassland 1,025,179 acres
- Sakakawea Recreation Area 478,564 acres
- Lake Sakakawea Army Corps of Engineers · 298,664 acres
- Devils Lake Bureau of Reclamation · 97,667 acres
- Oaha Recreation Area 90,626 acres
- Sheyenne National Grassland 70,428 acres
- Lake Oahe Army Corps of Engineers · 63,440 acres
- North Dakota Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 58,891 acres
- J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge 55,029 acres
- Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge 31,551 acres
- Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness Area 30,149 acres
- Stutsman County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 27,730 acres
- Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge 27,331 acres
- John Town / Horse Creek Roadless Area 25,125 acres
- Cavalier County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 23,015 acres
- Magpie Roadless Area 21,281 acres
- Bullion Butte Roadless Area 19,877 acres
- Collar / Bennett - Cottonwood Roadless Area 19,697 acres
- Strom - Hanson Roadless Area 18,957 acres
- Mcintosh County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 17,391 acres
- Kinley Plateau Roadless Area 16,900 acres
- Sheyenne Roadless Area 14,537 acres
- Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge 14,050 acres
- Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge 13,987 acres
- Twin Buttes Roadless Area 13,492 acres
- Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge 13,351 acres
- Durler Roadless Area 12,464 acres
- Sheridan County Waterfowl Production Area Of Nd Fish and Wildlife Service · 12,399 acres
- Mclean County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 12,161 acres
- Logan County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 12,069 acres
- Burleigh County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 11,923 acres
- Pierce County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 11,720 acres
- National Guard Camp Grafton Defense Department · 11,567 acres
- Lone Butte Roadless Area 11,465 acres
- Bell Lake Roadless Area 11,265 acres
- Wells County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 10,828 acres
- Lake Tschida Bureau of Reclamation · 10,763 acres
- Divide County Waterfowl Production Area Fish and Wildlife Service · 10,734 acres
- Mountrail County Waterfowl Production Area 10,631 acres
Drilling, mining and logging on record in North Dakota: 1,635 oil and gas leases (645,257 acres); 18 coal leases (18,423 acres).
None of the places on the threatened public lands map is in North Dakota.
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 Cramer on lands issues
PACs and other committees gave Cramer's campaign $223,312 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave $196,000, and conservation PACs gave nothing.
| Cycle | All PACs and committees | Oil and gas | Mining and coal | Timber | Conservation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | $230,000 | $1,500 | $1,000 | none | none |
| 2021-22 | $292,500 | $10,000 | $500 | none | none |
| 2023-24 | $1,813,416 | $148,500 | $12,500 | $6,000 | none |
| 2025-26 | $223,312 | $16,000 | none | none | none |
Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC H0ND01026, FEC H6ND00074, FEC S8ND00120), net of refunds, read October 19, 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 Cramer compares
The median senator scores 5%. Cramer scores 0% and ranks #54 (tied) of 98.
More from North Dakota
Sen. John Hoeven F · Rep. Julie Fedorchak F
What to ask Cramer
Washington office: 313 Hart Senate Office Building. Phone (202) 224-2043. Write to Cramer · Official site
From Cramer's own record:
- Why did you vote Yea on Lilly Fish and Wildlife and Parks (En Bloc) (S.Res.817)?
- Why did you miss the vote 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 Preventing Public Lands Sell-Off (S.Amdt.2107)?
- 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)?
Offices and phones from the Senate and House member feeds and unitedstates/congress-legislators, checked October 22, 2026.
Questions people ask
How did Kevin Cramer vote on One Big Beautiful Bill?
Kevin Cramer voted Yea on One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R.1) on July 1, 2025. The Senate vote was 50 to 50, and the scorecard counts Nay as the vote for public lands.
Is Kevin Cramer up for election in 2026?
No. Kevin Cramer's Senate seat from North Dakota is not on the 2026 ballot. Cramer's grade on the 19 scored Senate votes so far is an F.
What public lands are in North Dakota?
100 federal land units lie in or reach into North Dakota. The largest are Little Missouri National Grassland (1,025,179 acres), Sakakawea Recreation Area (478,564 acres) and Lake Sakakawea (298,664 acres).