Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks

Gerald Connolly

Democrat · U.S. House · Virginia, District 11

67% on 2 votes

Not ranked (left office)

Died May 2025

Scored 60 to 69%.

Gerald Connolly, a Democrat who served Virginia's 11th District in the House, earns a D on the Congressional Public Lands Score, graded on 2 scored votes, not ranked (left office). Of the 2 scored House votes held while Connolly was in office, Connolly cast 1 for public lands and 0 against, and missed 1. That vote: Nay on Fix Our Forests Act (H.R.471), 279 to 141. Connolly died in May 2025.

Every scored vote: 2 of 17 U.S. House votes counted

Not in office
Protecting Domestic Mining Act H.R.1501
Bill writing mining permanently into the FAST-41 fast track and barring the Permitting Council from limiting that treatment to critical minerals projects. Any mining infrastructure project on BLM or National Forest land qualifies for compressed environmental review. Passed the House 218-201 on September 2, 2026.
Not in office · September 2, 2026 · Roll call 294, 218 to 201
Not in office
Lead Ammunition on Federal Lands (Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act) H.R.556
Bill barring the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service from banning lead ammunition or fishing tackle on federal land and water open to hunting or fishing, or regulating the lead in it, unless field data show lead is the main cause of a wildlife decline on that unit and the state agrees. Passed the House 215-202 on March 18, 2026.
Not in office · March 18, 2026 · Roll call 93
Not in office
Critical Mineral Dominance Act H.R.4090
Codifies provisions of Trump Executive Orders 14154 and 14241, directing Interior, in consultation with the Agriculture Department, to fast-track hardrock mining projects on BLM and National Forest land and inventory federal land for mining potential. The House rejected, 209-212, a motion to bar expedited treatment for mines owned by companies from China and other adversary nations.
Not in office · February 4, 2026 · Roll call 55, 224 to 195
Not in office
Overturning Boundary Waters Mining Ban H.J.Res.140
CRA resolution overturning the 20-year mineral withdrawal on about 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest upstream of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, opening the watershed to sulfide-ore copper mining. Became Public Law 119-85.
Not in office · January 21, 2026 · Roll call 38, 214 to 208
Not in office
SPEED Act H.R.4776
Bill rewriting the National Environmental Policy Act to narrow and speed federal environmental reviews, including for energy and mining projects on public lands, and to limit court challenges
Not in office · December 18, 2025 · Roll call 356, 221 to 196
Not in office
Opening Public Lands to Mining H.R.1366
Bill letting mining companies claim additional mill sites on public land for waste rock, tailings and processing without a valid mineral discovery, reversing the Rosemont Copper court decision
Not in office · December 18, 2025 · Roll call 358, 219 to 198
Not in office
Gray Wolf Delisting (Pet and Livestock Protection Act) H.R.845
Bill requiring the reissue of the 2020 rule removing gray wolves in the lower 48 states, outside the Mexican wolf range, from the endangered species list, and barring court review of it. Sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
Not in office · December 18, 2025 · Roll call 360, 211 to 204
Not in office
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
Not in office · November 18, 2025 · Roll call 294, 214 to 212
Not in office
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
Not in office · November 18, 2025 · Roll call 295, 217 to 209
Not in office
Opening Western Arctic to Drilling S.J.Res.80
CRA resolution reversing land management safeguards to expand oil and gas drilling across Alaska's 23-million-acre Western Arctic reserve
Not in office · November 18, 2025 · Roll call 296, 216 to 209
Not in office
Overturning Miles City BLM Protections (MT) H.J.Res.104
CRA resolution rolling back the Bureau of Land Management plan amendment for the Miles City Field Office in Montana, which had ended new federal coal leasing in the state's Powder River Basin
Not in office · September 3, 2025 · Roll call 224, 211 to 208
Not in office
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 effectively resurrected the Ambler Road project through Gates of the Arctic. Signed into law as Pub.L. 119-50.
Not in office · September 3, 2025 · Roll call 225, 215 to 210
Not in office
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
Not in office · September 3, 2025 · Roll call 226, 215 to 211
Not in office
One Big Beautiful Bill Final Passage H.R.1
Final passage of the reconciliation bill mandating quarterly oil and gas lease sales on public lands, requiring BLM to offer at least 50% of nominated acreage, and reducing royalty rates for drilling on federal land
Not in office · July 3, 2025 · Roll call 190, 218 to 214
Not in office
One Big Beautiful Bill H.R.1
Reconciliation bill mandating Arctic Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska lease sales, a four-million-acre coal leasing mandate, and higher timber sale targets on federal land
Not in office · May 22, 2025 · Roll call 145, 215 to 214
Missed
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
Did not vote · April 29, 2025 · Roll call 110, 219 to 205
Pro-lands
Fix Our Forests Act H.R.471
Bill expanding categorical exclusions from 3,000 to 10,000 acres for fuel-reduction and forest-health logging projects on national forests, letting large treatments skip environmental impact statements under NEPA
Voted Nay · January 23, 2025 · Roll call 25, 279 to 141

Roll calls and tallies from clerk.house.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 scorecard

Public lands bills Connolly sponsors or cosponsors

In the 119th Congress, Connolly sponsors 0 and cosponsors 3 public lands bills.

H.R.3067 Arctic Refuge Protection Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on April 29, 2025 · Not yet rated
H.R.2467 America's Red Rock Wilderness Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on March 27, 2025 · Not yet rated
H.R.588 Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act
Original cosponsor · Signed on January 21, 2025 · Not yet rated

Bills and cosponsors from the congress.gov API, read September 7, 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 Virginia's 11th District

1 federal land unit lies in or reach into Virginia's 11th District.

Listed by size.

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts 119 acres

Threatened public lands in Virginia

Federal land units from PAD-US, matched to the district in the More Than Just Parks record, refreshed October 20, 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 Connolly on lands issues

PACs and other committees gave Connolly's campaign $163,000 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave $2,000, and conservation PACs gave $10,075.

Cycle	All PACs and committees	Oil and gas	Mining and coal	Timber	Conservation
2019-20	$867,811	none	none	none	$4,500
2021-22	$816,696	none	none	none	$2,575
2023-24	$858,741	none	none	none	$3,000
2025-26	$163,000	none	none	$2,000	none

Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC H8VA11062), net of refunds, read September 13, 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 Connolly compares

The median representative scores 6%. Connolly scored 67%, graded on 2 scored votes, not ranked (left office).

More from Virginia

Sen. Mark Warner A · Sen. Timothy Kaine A · Rep. Robert Wittman F · Rep. Jennifer Kiggans F · Rep. Robert Scott A+ · Rep. Jennifer McClellan A+ · Rep. John McGuire F · Rep. Ben Cline F · Rep. Eugene Vindman B · Rep. Donald Beyer A+ · Rep. H. Griffith F · Rep. Suhas Subramanyam A+ · Rep. James Walkinshaw A

Questions people ask

How did Gerald Connolly vote on Fix Our Forests Act?

Gerald Connolly voted Nay on Fix Our Forests Act (H.R.471) on January 23, 2025. The House vote was 279 to 141, and the scorecard counts Nay as the vote for public lands.

What public lands are in Virginia's 11th District?

1 federal land unit lies in or reach into Virginia's 11th District. The largest is Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (119 acres).