Maine's attorney general has threatened to sue the Trump administration if it kills former President Barack Obama's order creating a new national park.
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is a sprawling U.S. National Monument consisting of 87,563 acres in Penobscot County. But it's one of 27 national monuments established by three former presidents that Trump wants to be re-examined.
Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, in a brief filed with the U.S. Interior Department, said: "We are prepared to challenge any unlawful executive branch action that purports to abolish or reduce the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
"DOI should instead terminate its review … and reaffirm the agency's commitment to making the monument work well for all people, particularly the residents of the Katahdin region who are now counting on it for their economic future."
The Bangor Daily News reports that Mills' comments come two days before Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is set to visit Maine as part of Trump's federal review.
Last year, Burt's Bees co-founder Roxanne Quimby signed deeds transferring the acreage to the Department of Interior for creation of the monument.
WMTW reported that Maine Gov. Paul LePage stated after the transfer: "That's one way to get out of paying taxes to the state of Maine. It's sad that rich, out-of-state liberals can team up with Obama to force a national monument on rural Mainers who do not want it."
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