PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to retain a newly created national monument in northern Maine but he may recommend some changes.
Zinke told The Associated Press that he’s not recommending removal of any of the 27 monuments that are under review but some could be changed. Details on any proposed changes weren’t immediately available.
His recommendation for the 87,500-acre (35,410-hectare) Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument came a year to the day that then-President Barack Obama formally announced the land designation.
President Donald Trump has accused previous administrations of turning a 1906 law that lets the president protect federal land into a “massive federal land grab.”
In Maine, the monument run by the National Park Service is supported by a majority of Maine’s congressional delegation but Republican Gov. Paul LePage is vehemently opposed.
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