Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks

James Lankford

Republican · U.S. Senate · Oklahoma

Ranked #54 (tied) of 98 scored

Scored under 60%.

Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, earns an F on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 19 scored Senate votes, Lankford cast 0 for public lands and 19 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. Lankford's seat is not on the 2026 ballot.

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
Anti-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 Nay · 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

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 Lankford through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Open the full record in the scorecard

Public lands bills Lankford sponsors or cosponsors

In the 119th Congress, Lankford sponsors 1 and cosponsors 4 public lands bills.

S.1051 Historic Greenwood District–Black Wall Street National Monument Establishment Act
Sponsor · Introduced March 13, 2025 · Not yet rated
S.4619 Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Small Business Act of 2026
Cosponsor · Signed on June 3, 2026 · Not yet rated
S.602 Wildfire Resilience Through Grazing Research Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on February 13, 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.171 Remove the lesser prairie-chicken from the lists of threatened species and endangered species published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, to amend that Act to exclude the lesser prairie-chicken from the authority of that Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on January 21, 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.

Lankford's committees

Senate Committee on Finance
Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure (Chairman); Health Care; Taxation and IRS Oversight
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Border Management, Federal Workforce, and Regulatory Affairs (Chairman); Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Senate Select Committee on Ethics (Chairman)
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

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

Public lands in Oklahoma

61 federal land units lie in or reach into Oklahoma.

Listed by size; the largest 40 of 61 are named.

Ouachita National Forest 353,441 acres
Eufaula Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 101,458 acres
Fort Sill 93,725 acres
Robert S. Kerr Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 62,656 acres
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge 59,021 acres
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant Defense Department · 44,913 acres
Indian Nations National Scenic And Wildlife Area 44,642 acres
National Guard Camp Gruber Defense Department · 33,482 acres
Black Kettle National Grassland 30,688 acres
Oologah Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 28,333 acres
Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area 26,617 acres
Keystone Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 22,342 acres
Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge 21,182 acres
Kaw Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 16,903 acres
Fort Gibson Lake 16,804 acres
Rita Blanca National Grassland 15,652 acres
Sardis Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 14,532 acres
Little River National Wildlife Refuge 14,236 acres
Broken Bow Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 13,764 acres
Tenkiller Ferry Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 13,523 acres
Hugo Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 11,501 acres
Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness 10,799 acres
Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge 10,557 acres
Skiatook Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 10,541 acres
Waurika Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 10,012 acres
Wichita Mountains Wilderness North Mountain Unit 9,786 acres
Chickasaw National Recreation Area 9,678 acres
Great Salt Plains Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 8,719 acres
Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge 8,555 acres
Beech Creek Roadless Area 8,302 acres
Canton Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 8,101 acres
Beech Creek National Scenic Area Forest Service · 8,042 acres
Robert S. Kerr National Botanical Area Forest Service · 7,971 acres
Tinker Air Force Base 5,599 acres
Optima Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 5,290 acres
Black Fork Mountain Wilderness 5,139 acres
Pine Creek Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 5,082 acres
Rich Mountain Roadless Area 5,029 acres
Altus Air Force Base 4,095 acres
Vance Air Force Base 3,385 acres

Fires burning on public land in Oklahoma

Wildhorse Fire 10 acres, updated October 23, 2026

Drilling, mining and logging on record in Oklahoma: 994 oil and gas leases (156,298 acres); 193 timber sales (8,076 acres); 7 coal leases (31,822 acres).

None of the places on the threatened public lands map is in Oklahoma.

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 Lankford on lands issues

PACs and other committees gave Lankford's campaign $406,000 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave $245,500, and conservation PACs gave nothing.

Cycle	All PACs and committees	Oil and gas	Mining and coal	Timber	Conservation
2019-20	$503,600	$9,500	none	none	none
2021-22	$2,033,936	$151,500	$5,000	$15,500	none
2023-24	$362,050	$29,500	none	none	none
2025-26	$406,000	$34,500	none	none	none

Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC H0OK05114, FEC S4OK00232), net of refunds, read October 26, 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 Lankford compares

The median senator scores 5%. Lankford scores 0% and ranks #54 (tied) of 98.

More from Oklahoma

Sen. Alan Armstrong F · Rep. Kevin Hern F · Rep. Josh Brecheen F · Rep. Frank Lucas F · Rep. Tom Cole F · Rep. Stephanie Bice F

What to ask Lankford

Washington office: 731 Hart Senate Office Building. Phone (202) 224-5754. Write to Lankford · Official site

From Lankford'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 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 James Lankford vote on One Big Beautiful Bill?

James Lankford 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 James Lankford up for election in 2026?

No. James Lankford's Senate seat from Oklahoma is not on the 2026 ballot. Lankford's grade on the 19 scored Senate votes so far is an F.

What public lands are in Oklahoma?

61 federal land units lie in or reach into Oklahoma. The largest are Ouachita National Forest (353,441 acres), Eufaula Lake (101,458 acres) and Fort Sill (93,725 acres).