Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks

Maria Cantwell

Democrat · U.S. Senate · Washington

95%

Ranked #16 (tied) of 98 scored

Scored 90% or higher.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, earns an A on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 19 scored Senate votes, Cantwell cast 18 for public lands and 1 against. 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. Cantwell's seat is not on the 2026 ballot.

Every scored vote: 19 of 19 U.S. Senate votes counted

Pro-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 Nay · August 7, 2026 · Roll call 225, 51 to 47
Pro-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 Nay · May 18, 2026 · Roll call 125, 46 to 43
Pro-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 Nay · April 16, 2026 · Roll call 84, 50 to 49
Pro-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 Nay · December 4, 2025 · Roll call 632, 49 to 45
Pro-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 Nay · November 20, 2025 · Roll call 623, 51 to 43
Pro-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 Nay · October 30, 2025 · Roll call 599, 52 to 45
Pro-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 Nay · October 9, 2025 · Roll call 560, 50 to 46
Pro-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 Nay · October 8, 2025 · Roll call 549, 52 to 47
Pro-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 Nay · October 8, 2025 · Roll call 556, 50 to 45
Pro-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 Nay · October 7, 2025 · Roll call 547, 51 to 47
Pro-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 Nay · August 1, 2025 · Roll call 470, 54 to 43
Pro-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 Nay · July 1, 2025 · Roll call 372, 50 to 50
Pro-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 Nay · June 10, 2025 · Roll call 301, 51 to 44
Pro-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 Nay · May 14, 2025 · Roll call 250, 54 to 40
Pro-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 Nay · May 8, 2025 · Roll call 239, 50 to 43
Pro-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 Yea · April 5, 2025 · Roll call 181, 48 to 51
Pro-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 Yea · February 20, 2025 · Roll call 68, 48 to 52
Pro-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 Nay · 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 Cantwell through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Open the full record in the scorecard

Public lands bills Cantwell sponsors or cosponsors

In the 119th Congress, Cantwell sponsors 2 and cosponsors 7 public lands bills.

S.2042 Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025
Sponsor · Introduced June 11, 2025 · Not yet rated
S.1514 Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act
Sponsor · Introduced April 29, 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.2975 PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025
Original cosponsor · Signed on October 6, 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.1433 Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2025
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.356 Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025
Cosponsor · Signed on March 4, 2025 · Not yet rated

Bills and cosponsors from the congress.gov API, read September 28, 2026. A bill is rated only when a named person approves a rating that quotes its provision; none of these has one yet.

Cantwell's committees

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Senate Committee on Finance
Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure (Ranking Member)
Joint Committee on Taxation
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Ranking Member)
Aviation, Space, and Innovation (Ex Officio); Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries (Ex Officio); Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy (Ex Officio); Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness (Ex Officio); Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety (Ex Officio); Telecommunications and Media (Ex Officio)
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

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

Public lands in Washington

402 federal land units lie in or reach into Washington. Parks with a More Than Just Parks guide: Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, Mount Rainier National Park.

Listed park guides first, then by size; the largest 40 of 402 are named.

Olympic National Park 914,185 acres
North Cascades National Park 501,251 acres
Mount Rainier National Park 236,393 acres
Ross Lake National Recreation Area 115,384 acres
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area 60,462 acres
Wenatchee National Forest 1,802,959 acres
Okanogan National Forest 1,502,143 acres
Gifford Pinchot National Forest 1,312,189 acres
Mt. Baker National Forest 1,293,575 acres
Snoqualmie National Forest 1,275,813 acres
Colville National Forest 957,248 acres
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 867,064 acres
Stephen Mather Wilderness Area 640,920 acres
Olympic National Forest 631,798 acres
Glacier Peak Wilderness 566,328 acres
Pasayten Wilderness 531,324 acres
Joint Base Lewis-McChord 418,529 acres
Alpine Lakes Wilderness 415,202 acres
Umatilla National Forest 311,020 acres
Kaniksu National Forest 268,427 acres
Spokane Wenatchee Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 254,416 acres
Mount Rainier Wilderness Area 227,088 acres
Hanford Site Energy Department · 211,071 acres
Hanford Reach National Monument 195,569 acres
William O. Douglas Wilderness 168,954 acres
Spokane Border Field Office Bureau of Land Management · 168,544 acres
Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness 153,153 acres
Sawtooth Roadless Area 122,194 acres
Mount Baker Wilderness 120,271 acres
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument 113,208 acres
Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness 111,472 acres
Liberty Bell Roadless Area 108,495 acres
Goat Rocks Wilderness 108,196 acres
Wild Sky Wilderness 107,094 acres
Henry M. Jackson Wilderness 103,240 acres
North Cascades National Scenic Area Forest Service · 88,181 acres
Chelan Roadless Area 74,650 acres
Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Research Natural Area 73,835 acres
Teanaway Roadless Area 72,849 acres
Entiat Roadless Area 72,617 acres

Fires burning on public land in Washington

Columbia Center Mutual Aid Fire 150 acres, updated October 14, 2026
Little Giant Fire 172,912 acres, 95% contained, updated October 14, 2026
Garda Falls Fire 308 acres, 0% contained, updated October 19, 2026
Sisi Fire 4,743 acres, 34% contained, updated October 19, 2026
Three Queens Fire 9,575 acres, 82% contained, updated October 25, 2026
King Fire 3,427 acres, 72% contained, updated October 25, 2026
West Fork Fire 310 acres, 16% contained, updated October 3, 2026

Drilling, mining and logging on record in Washington: 1,791 hardrock mining claims (36,217 acres); 1,570 timber sales (52,398 acres); 1 geothermal lease (4,965 acres).

Threatened public lands in Washington

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Developing
Pushpum Critical
Hanford Reach National Monument

Federal land units from PAD-US, matched to the state's districts 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 Cantwell on lands issues

PACs and other committees gave Cantwell's campaign -$10,500 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave nothing, and conservation PACs gave $2,000.

Cycle	All PACs and committees	Oil and gas	Mining and coal	Timber	Conservation
2019-20	-$21,500	none	none	none	none
2021-22	$15,000	none	none	none	none
2023-24	$154,809	none	none	none	$2,000
2025-26	-$10,500	none	none	none	none

Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC S8WA00194, FEC H2WA01054), net of refunds, read October 15, 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 Cantwell compares

The median senator scores 5%. Cantwell scores 95% and ranks #16 (tied) of 98.

More from Washington

Sen. Patty Murray A · Rep. Suzan DelBene A+ · Rep. Rick Larsen A+ · Rep. Marie Perez F · Rep. Dan Newhouse F · Rep. Michael Baumgartner F · Rep. Emily Randall A+ · Rep. Pramila Jayapal A · Rep. Kim Schrier A · Rep. Adam Smith A · Rep. Marilyn Strickland A+

What to ask Cantwell

Washington office: 511 Hart Senate Office Building. Phone (202) 224-3441. Write to Cantwell · Official site

From Cantwell's own record:

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 Maria Cantwell vote on One Big Beautiful Bill?

Maria Cantwell 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 Maria Cantwell up for election in 2026?

No. Maria Cantwell's Senate seat from Washington is not on the 2026 ballot. Cantwell's grade on the 19 scored Senate votes so far is an A.

What public lands are in Washington?

402 federal land units lie in or reach into Washington. The largest are Wenatchee National Forest (1,802,959 acres), Okanogan National Forest (1,502,143 acres) and Gifford Pinchot National Forest (1,312,189 acres).