PORTLAND, Maine -- Republican leaders in Maine and Utah are asking
President Donald Trump to step into uncharted territory and rescind
national monument designations made by his predecessor.

The Antiquities Act of 1906 doesn't give the president power to undo a designation, and no president has ever taken such a step. But Trump
isn't like other presidents.

Former President Barack Obama used his power under the act to
permanently preserve more land and water using national monument
designations than any other president. The land is generally off
limits to timber harvesting, mining and pipelines, and commercial
development.

Obama created the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine
last summer on 87,500 acres of donated forestland. The expanse
includes part of the Penobscot River and stunning views of Mount
Katahdin, Maine's tallest mountain. In Utah, the former president
created Bears Ears National Monument on 1.3 million acres of land
that's sacred to Native Americans and is home to tens of thousands of archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings.

Trump's staff is now reviewing those decisions by the Obama
administration to determine economic impacts, whether the law was
followed and whether there was appropriate consultation with local
officials, the White House told The Associated Press.

Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage is opposed to the designation, and
says federal ownership could stymie industrial development; and
Republican leaders in Utah contend the monument designation adds
another layer of unnecessary federal control in a state where there's
already heavy federal ownership.

The Utah Legislature approved a resolution signed by the governor
calling on Trump to rescind the monument there. In Maine, LePage asked
the president last week to intervene.

Newly sworn-in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has said he'll fight the
sale or transfer of public lands. But he also believes states should
be able to weigh in. The National Parks Conservation Association has
vowed to sue if Trump, the Interior Department or Congress tries to
remove the special designations.

"Wherever the attack comes from, we're ready to fight, and we know the
public is ready to fight if someone comes after our national parks and monuments," National Parks Conversation Association spokeswoman
Kristen Brengel said.

In Maine, the prospect of undoing the designation is further
complicated by deed stipulations requiring the National Park Service
to control the land and a $40 million endowment to support the
monument, said Lucas St. Clair, son of Burt's Bees co-founder Roxanne
Quimby, who acquired the land.

Three of the four members of Maine's congressional delegation want the
monument to stand to avoid reopening a divisive debate in towns
surrounding the property.

"Rather than re-ignite controversy in a region that is beginning to
heal and move on, I hope we can allow the monument to continue to
serve as one important part of a multifaceted economic revitalization
strategy which is already underway," said independent Sen. Angus King.

Utah Republicans, however, appear to be ready for a scrap. Rep. Jason
Chaffetz raised the issue when he met with Trump and he asked the
House Appropriations Committee to cut funding for the monument.

"Not one elected official in Utah that represents the Bear Ears region
supports the designation of a national monument. With the stroke of a
pen, President Obama, having never visited the area, created a
monument the size of Delaware, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.,
combined," he said.

In the region near Maine's Mount Katahdin, both supporters and many
opponents want to see the monument work. They hope it will help
revitalize the economy.

Millinocket Town Council Chairman Michael Madore once described the
park as a "foolish dream." Now, he says, "We have accepted it as part
of our landscape. Until such time as it's overturned, we're going to
work with the people who're involved with it to help the local
economy."


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