Poliquin: Let state manage Katahdin Woods & Waters

Courtesy / Jeff Pidot, National Resources Council of Maine A view of the east branch of the Penobscot River from within a section of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument during the fall.

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By James McCarthy

In a June 5 letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, advocated for state control of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, one of 27 national monuments President Trump placed under review by an April 26 executive order.

Zinke has until Aug. 24 to make recommendations to Trump concerning the national monuments on the list. Among the review criteria set forth in Trump’s executive order is whether any of the 27 national monument designations made during the last 20 years resulted “from a lack of public outreach and proper coordination with state, tribal, and local officials and other relevant stakeholders.”

Poliquin’s three-page letter is in response to Zinke’s May 12 letter inviting the 2nd District representative to weigh in by June 9 on President Obama’s creation of the 87,500-acre Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument last August, which was given to the national government for that purpose by philanthropist and Burt's Bees co-founder Roxanne Quimby and her family.

Stopping short of recommending outright that the monument designation be rescinded, Poliquin reiterated his view that “the previous presidential administration bypassed our state and local stakeholders and unilaterally designated the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.” Gov. Paul LePage expressed a similar view in his May 2 testimony before the Federal Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Stating “the best government is the one closest to home,” Poliquin asserted: “Maine knows best how to manage its land and abundant natural resources. Whatever the president decides regarding the national monument, I respectfully request the state be responsible for managing the land and its many uses — not Washington.”

Poliquin acknowledged in his letter that there are legal questions about whether Trump or any president would have the “legal authority to rescind the designation of a previously designated national monument.”

“Is there legal case history to support any such decision if he so chooses to de-designate?” Poliquin wrote. “How long would litigation be expected to last if de-designation is challenged in court? What impact might that legal action have for new investment and jobs in the region?”

In raising those questions, Poliquin appears to give a nod to one of the concerns voiced by U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who also wrote a letter to Zinke — in his case, urging the secretary to to reaffirm the monument designation and thereby remove the uncertainty he said was having “an economically chilling effect" on the region.

"I know that this administration is serious about growing jobs in rural areas; I am absolutely convinced that the prompt conclusion of this review and reaffirmation of the monument designation would be a positive step in this direction," King wrote. "This monument is some of the first positive news for the Katahdin region in a long time; please don't let it be taken away."