Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks

Scored under 60%.

Sen. James Justice, a Republican from West Virginia, earns an F on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 19 scored Senate votes, Justice cast 0 for public lands and 18 against, and missed 1. 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. Justice'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

• Missed

  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

  Did not vote · 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

Show more Show all 19 votes

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

Public lands bills Justice sponsors or cosponsors

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

• S.2933 Redesignate a playground in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in the State of West Virginia as the "Hearts of Gold Playground: In Honor of West Virginia Children and Families Impacted by Childhood Cancer"

  Sponsor · Introduced September 29, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.2280 Transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain parcels of Federal land in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

  Sponsor · Introduced July 15, 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.2598 Forest Bioeconomy Act

  Original cosponsor · Signed on July 31, 2025 · Not yet rated

• S.1408 Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act of 2025

  Cosponsor · Signed on May 8, 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.J.Res.4 A resolution to overturn the Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters

  Cosponsor · Signed on February 4, 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.356 Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025

  Original cosponsor · Signed on February 3, 2025 · Not yet rated

Show more Show all 9 bills

Bills and cosponsors from the congress.gov API, read October 15, 2026. A bill is rated only when a named person approves a rating that quotes its provision; none of these has one yet.

Justice's committees

• Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

  Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology; Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research; Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety

• Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

  Energy; Public Lands, Forests, and Mining; Water and Power

• Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Senate Special Committee on Aging

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

Public lands in West Virginia

92 federal land units lie in or reach into West Virginia. The park with a More Than Just Parks guide: New River Gorge National Park.

Listed park guides first, then by size; the largest 40 of 92 are named.

• New River Gorge National Park and Preserve 52,890 acres
• Monongahela National Forest 922,098 acres
• Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area 99,824 acres
• Cranberry Wilderness 47,742 acres
• East Lynn Recreation Area 24,834 acres
• Seneca Creek Roadless Area 22,287 acres
• Bluestone Recreation Area 22,147 acres
• Big Schloss Roadless Area 20,750 acres
• Otter Creek Wilderness 20,705 acres
• Jefferson National Forest 19,439 acres
• R.D. Bailey Recreation Area 19,158 acres
• Middle Mountain Roadless Area 19,020 acres
• Dolly Sods Wilderness 17,777 acres
• Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge 16,987 acres
• Dolly Sods Roaring Plain Roadless Area 13,391 acres
• Gauley Mountain Roadless Area 13,285 acres
• Burnsville Recreation Area 13,269 acres
• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park 13,211 acres
• Sutton Recreation Area 12,634 acres
• Beech Fork Recreation Area 12,474 acres
• Cranberry Addition Roadless Area 11,123 acres
• Little Allegheny Mountain Roadless Area 10,509 acres
• Mcgowan Mountain Roadless Area 10,504 acres
• Dolly Sods Scenic Area Forest Service · 10,307 acres
• Summersville Recreation Area 9,810 acres
• Marlin Mountain Roadless Area 9,344 acres
• Tea Creek Mountain Roadless Area 8,295 acres
• Cheat Mountain Roadless Area 8,191 acres
• Little Mountain Roadless Area 8,172 acres
• Jennings Randolph Recreation Area 8,124 acres
• National Guard Combined Training Center Camp Dawson-Kingwood Defense Department · 8,006 acres
• Canaan Loop Roadless Area 7,867 acres
• Dry River Roadless Area 7,327 acres
• East Fork Of Greenbrier Roadless Area 7,167 acres
• Falls Of Hills Creek Roadless Area 6,925 acres
• Roaring Plains West Wilderness 6,794 acres
• North Mountain Hopeville Roadless Area 6,525 acres
• Turkey Mountain Roadless Area 6,421 acres
• Spice Run Roadless Area 6,251 acres
• Laurel Fork North Wilderness 6,048 acres

Show more Show all 40 units

Drilling, mining and logging on record in West Virginia: 216 timber sales (5,272 acres); 7 oil and gas leases (10,108 acres).

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

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 Justice on lands issues

PACs and other committees gave Justice's campaign $35,800 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 2 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave $94,500, and conservation PACs gave nothing.

Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC S4WV00332), 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 Justice compares

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

More from West Virginia

Sen. Shelley Capito F · Rep. Carol Miller F · Rep. Riley Moore F

What to ask Justice

Washington office: 509 Hart Senate Office Building. Phone (202) 224-3954. Official site

From Justice'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 miss the vote 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)?

Show more Show all 19 questions

Offices and phones from the Senate and House member feeds and unitedstates/congress-legislators, checked October 22, 2026.

Questions people ask