Congressional Public Lands Score by More Than Just Parks

Shelley Capito

Republican · U.S. Senate · West Virginia

Ranked #54 (tied) of 98 scored

Scored under 60%. Seat on the 2026 ballot.

Sen. Shelley Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, earns an F on the Congressional Public Lands Score. Of the 19 scored Senate votes, Capito 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. Capito's seat is on the ballot in November 2026.

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

Open the full record in the scorecard

Public lands bills Capito sponsors or cosponsors

In the 119th Congress, Capito sponsors 0 and cosponsors 7 public lands bills.

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.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"
Original cosponsor · Signed on September 29, 2025 · Not yet rated
S.2280 Transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain parcels of Federal land in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Original cosponsor · Signed on July 15, 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 10, 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

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.

Capito's committees

Senate Committee on Appropriations
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Department of Defense; Department of Homeland Security; Department of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (Chairman); Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Chairman)
Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight (Ex Officio); Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety (Ex Officio); Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water (Ex Officio); Transportation and Infrastructure (Ex Officio)
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Aviation, Space, and Innovation; Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy; Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety; Telecommunications and Media
Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

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

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 Capito on lands issues

PACs and other committees gave Capito's campaign $2,180,025 in the 2025-26 cycle. Across the 4 cycles on record, oil, gas, mining and timber PACs gave $452,749, and conservation PACs gave $3,000.

Cycle	All PACs and committees	Oil and gas	Mining and coal	Timber	Conservation
2019-20	$2,185,492	$125,000	$33,499	$19,000	$1,500
2021-22	$502,050	$41,000	$2,500	$2,000	none
2023-24	$700,132	$31,000	$7,000	$10,500	none
2025-26	$2,180,025	$136,750	$2,500	$42,000	$1,500

Itemized contributions from committees to the candidate (FEC H0WV02138, FEC S4WV00159), 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 Capito compares

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

More from West Virginia

Sen. James Justice F · Rep. Carol Miller F · Rep. Riley Moore F

What to ask Capito

Washington office: 170 Russell Senate Office Building. Phone (202) 224-6472. Write to Capito · Official site

From Capito'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 Shelley Capito vote on One Big Beautiful Bill?

Shelley Capito 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 Shelley Capito up for election in 2026?

Yes. Shelley Capito's Senate seat from West Virginia is on the ballot in November 2026. Capito's grade on the 19 scored Senate votes so far is an F.

What public lands are in West Virginia?

92 federal land units lie in or reach into West Virginia. The largest are Monongahela National Forest (922,098 acres), Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area (99,824 acres) and New River Gorge National Park and Preserve (52,890 acres).