Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks
Cory Booker
Scored 80 to 89%. Seat on the 2026 ballot.
Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, earns a B on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 19 scored Senate votes, Booker cast 15 for public lands and 1 against, and missed 3. The two closest: Nay on One Big Beautiful Bill (H.R.1), 50 to 50, and Nay on Overturning Boundary Waters Mining Ban (H.J.Res.140), 50 to 49. Booker's seat is on the ballot in November 2026.
Every scored vote: 19 of 19 U.S. Senate votes counted
- Pro-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 Nay · August 7, 2026 · Roll call 225, 51 to 47
- Pro-landsPearce 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 Nay · May 18, 2026 · Roll call 125, 46 to 43
- Pro-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 Nay · April 16, 2026 · Roll call 84, 50 to 49
- Pro-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 Nay · December 4, 2025 · Roll call 632, 49 to 45
- Pro-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 Nay · November 20, 2025 · Roll call 623, 51 to 43
- Pro-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 Nay · October 30, 2025 · Roll call 599, 52 to 45
- Pro-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 Nay · October 9, 2025 · Roll call 560, 50 to 46
- Pro-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 Nay · October 8, 2025 · Roll call 549, 52 to 47
- MissedOverturning 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
Did not vote · October 8, 2025 · Roll call 556, 50 to 45
- Pro-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 Nay · October 7, 2025 · Roll call 547, 51 to 47
- Pro-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 Nay · August 1, 2025 · Roll call 470, 54 to 43
- Pro-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 Nay · July 1, 2025 · Roll call 372, 50 to 50
- Pro-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 Nay · June 10, 2025 · Roll call 301, 51 to 44
- Pro-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 Nay · May 14, 2025 · Roll call 250, 54 to 40
- MissedOverturning 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
Did not vote · May 8, 2025 · Roll call 239, 50 to 43
- Pro-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 Yea · April 5, 2025 · Roll call 181, 48 to 51
- Pro-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 Yea · 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
- MissedBurgum 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
Did not vote · 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 Booker through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Open the full record in the scorecardPublic lands bills Booker sponsors or cosponsors
In the 119th Congress, Booker sponsors 1 and cosponsors 12 public lands bills.
- S.3542 Upper Raritan River Watershed Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2025
Sponsor · Introduced December 17, 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.3429 Encouraging Public Service in Our National Parks and Public Land Act
Cosponsor · Signed on June 23, 2026 · Not yet rated
- S.4595 Mullica River Watershed Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2026
Original cosponsor · Signed on May 20, 2026 · Not yet rated
- S.3925 Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on February 25, 2026 · Not yet rated
- S.Res.449 Designating the week beginning on October 12, 2025, as "National Wildlife Refuge Week"
Original cosponsor · Signed on October 9, 2025 · Not yet rated
- S.2042 Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025
Original cosponsor · Signed on June 11, 2025 · Not yet rated
- S.1519 Arctic Refuge Protection Act of 2025
Original cosponsor · Signed on April 29, 2025 · 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.1193 America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act
Cosponsor · Signed on March 31, 2025 · Not yet rated
- S.1198 Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on March 27, 2025 · Not yet rated
- S.1051 Historic Greenwood District–Black Wall Street National Monument Establishment Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on March 13, 2025 · Not yet rated
- S.859 Mining Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Prevention Act of 2025
Original cosponsor · Signed on March 5, 2025 · Not yet rated
Bills and cosponsors from the congress.gov API, read September 24, 2026. A bill is rated only when a named person approves a rating that quotes its provision; none of these has one yet.
Booker's committees
- Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Commodities, Derivatives, Risk Management, and Trade (Ranking Member); Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research; Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Africa and Global Health Policy (Ranking Member); Europe and Regional Security Cooperation; Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
- Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights (Ranking Member); Border Security and Immigration; Crime and Counterterrorism; the Constitution
Committee seats from unitedstates/congress-legislators, read July 3, 2026.
Public lands in New Jersey
21 federal land units lie in or reach into New Jersey.
Listed by size.
- Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge 86,288 acres
- Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst 41,615 acres
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area 31,074 acres
- Cape May National Wildlife Refuge 13,068 acres
- Atlantic City International Airport Defense Department · 9,728 acres
- Naval Weapons Station Earle NJ Defense Department · 8,554 acres
- Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge 7,853 acres
- Brigantine National Wilderness Area 6,922 acres
- Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge 6,725 acres
- Picatinny Arsenal 6,576 acres
- Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge 5,671 acres
- Gateway National Recreation Area 4,434 acres
- Great Swamp Wilderness Area 3,611 acres
- Morristown National Historical Park 1,685 acres
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail 1,222 acres
- Fort Monmouth Main Post 1,001 acres
- M. Hartley Dodge Rna Fish and Wildlife Service · 585 acres
- National Guard Sea Girt NJ National Guard Training Center Defense Department · 174 acres
- Statue of Liberty National Monument 69 acres
- Thomas Edison National Historical Park 21 acres
- Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park 4 acres
None of the places on the threatened public lands map is in New Jersey.
Federal land units from PAD-US, matched to the state's districts in the More Than Just Parks record, refreshed October 25, 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 Booker on lands issues
PACs and other committees gave Booker's campaign $515,294 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave nothing, and conservation PACs gave $11,725.
| Cycle | All PACs and committees | Oil and gas | Mining and coal | Timber | Conservation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | $741,892 | $2,500 | none | none | $10,425 |
| 2021-22 | $34,000 | -$2,500 | none | none | $250 |
| 2023-24 | $45,060 | none | none | none | none |
| 2025-26 | $515,294 | none | none | none | $1,050 |
Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC S4NJ00185), net of refunds, read October 5, 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 Booker compares
The median senator scores 5%. Booker scores 86% and ranks #35 (tied) of 98.
More from New Jersey
Sen. Andy Kim A+ · Rep. Donald Norcross A · Rep. Jefferson Van Drew F · Rep. Herbert Conaway A · Rep. Christopher Smith F · Rep. Josh Gottheimer A · Rep. Frank Pallone A+ · Rep. Thomas Kean F · Rep. Robert Menendez A+ · Rep. Nellie Pou A+ · Rep. LaMonica McIver A+ · Rep. Analilia Mejia A · Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman A+
What to ask Booker
Washington office: 306 Hart Senate Office Building. Phone (202) 224-3224. Write to Booker · Official site
From Booker's own record:
- Why did you miss the vote on Overturning North Dakota BLM Protections (H.J.Res.105)?
- Why did you miss the vote on Overturning Glen Canyon Safeguards (H.J.Res.60)?
- Why did you vote Yea on Rollins Agriculture Confirmation (PN11-12)?
- Why did you miss the vote 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 Cory Booker vote on One Big Beautiful Bill?
Cory Booker voted Nay 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 Cory Booker up for election in 2026?
Yes. Cory Booker's Senate seat from New Jersey is on the ballot in November 2026. Booker's grade on the 19 scored Senate votes so far is a B.
What public lands are in New Jersey?
21 federal land units lie in or reach into New Jersey. The largest are Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (86,288 acres), Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (41,615 acres) and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (31,074 acres).