Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks
Lindsey Graham
Died July 2026
Scored under 60%.
Lindsey Graham, a Republican who served South Carolina in the Senate, earns an F on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 18 scored Senate votes held while Graham was in office, Graham cast 0 for public lands and 16 against, and missed 2. 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. Graham died in July 2026.
Every scored vote: 18 of 19 U.S. Senate votes counted
- Not in officeLilly 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.
Not in office · August 7, 2026 · Roll call 225, 51 to 47
- Anti-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 Yea · 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
- MissedOpening 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
Did not vote · 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
- MissedMacGregor 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
Did not vote · 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.
Open the full record in the scorecardPublic lands bills Graham sponsors or cosponsors
In the 119th Congress, Graham sponsors 1 and cosponsors 1 public lands bills.
- S.2644 Camden National Battlefield Park Study Act
Sponsor · Introduced August 1, 2025 · Not yet rated
- S.3082 American Shores Protection Act of 2025
Original cosponsor · Signed on October 30, 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.
Public lands in South Carolina
59 federal land units lie in or reach into South Carolina. The park with a More Than Just Parks guide: Congaree National Park.
Listed park guides first, then by size; the largest 40 of 59 are named.
- Congaree National Park 26,442 acres
- Sumter National Forest 374,485 acres
- Francis Marion National Forest 263,909 acres
- Savannah River Site 195,398 acres
- Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge 61,286 acres
- Francis Marion National Wildlife Refuge 53,207 acres
- Hartwell Recreation Area 52,107 acres
- Fort Jackson 51,356 acres
- Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge 45,917 acres
- J. Strom Thurmond Recreation Area 44,111 acres
- Hartwell Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 38,223 acres
- Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge 35,223 acres
- Savannah National Wildlife Refuge 30,721 acres
- Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.Wilderness Area 29,716 acres
- Richard B. Russell Recreation Area 27,763 acres
- J. Strom Thurmond Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 22,446 acres
- Joint Base Charleston 20,359 acres
- Congaree National Park Wilderness Area 14,976 acres
- Richard B. Russell Lake Army Corps of Engineers · 13,070 acres
- Poinsett Electronic Combat Range Defense Department · 12,526 acres
- Ernest F. Hollings Ace Basin National Wildlife Refuge 12,224 acres
- John C. Calhoun Experimental Forest 10,566 acres
- Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Defense Department · 10,183 acres
- Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Defense Department · 7,506 acres
- Santee Experimental Forest 6,156 acres
- Little Wambaw Swamp Wilderness 4,967 acres
- Wambaw Swamp Wilderness 4,755 acres
- Santee National Wildlife Refuge 4,530 acres
- Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.Wilderness Study Area 4,495 acres
- Kings Mountain National Military Park 4,111 acres
- Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge 4,052 acres
- Shaw Air Force Base 3,394 acres
- Bee Cove Roadless Area 3,025 acres
- Ellicott Rock Wilderness 2,909 acres
- McEntire Joint National Guard Base 2,438 acres
- Big Mountain Roadless Area 2,319 acres
- Joint Base Charleston North Field SBML 2,245 acres
- Hell Hole Bay Wilderness 2,122 acres
- Wambaw Creek Wilderness 1,832 acres
- Chattooga, North Carolina, South Carolina And Georgia Wild and Scenic River 1,059 acres
Drilling, mining and logging on record in South Carolina: 1,064 timber sales (41,478 acres).
Threatened public lands in South Carolina
Federal land units from PAD-US, matched to the state's districts in the More Than Just Parks record, refreshed October 26, 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 Graham on lands issues
PACs and other committees gave Graham's campaign $1,047,274 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave $137,000, and conservation PACs gave nothing.
| Cycle | All PACs and committees | Oil and gas | Mining and coal | Timber | Conservation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | $3,708,356 | $79,000 | $8,500 | $15,500 | none |
| 2021-22 | $90,350 | none | none | none | none |
| 2023-24 | $218,800 | none | none | none | none |
| 2025-26 | $1,047,274 | $28,000 | none | $6,000 | none |
Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC S0SC00149, FEC H4SC03087), 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 Graham compares
The median senator scores 5%. Graham scored 0%.
More from South Carolina
Sen. Darline Graham F · Sen. Tim Scott F · Rep. Nancy Mace F · Rep. Joe Wilson F · Rep. Sheri Biggs F · Rep. William Timmons F · Rep. Ralph Norman F · Rep. James Clyburn A · Rep. Russell Fry F
Questions people ask
How did Lindsey Graham vote on One Big Beautiful Bill?
Lindsey Graham 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.
What public lands are in South Carolina?
59 federal land units lie in or reach into South Carolina. The largest are Sumter National Forest (374,485 acres), Francis Marion National Forest (263,909 acres) and Savannah River Site (195,398 acres).