Maine AG challenges Trump’s authority to abolish monument

AUGUSTA, Maine – Democratic Attorney General Janet Mills says she will challenge any executive branch actions by President Donald Trump’s administration to abolish a national monument in northern Maine.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke this week is set to tour the wilderness that comprises a national monument that’s one of more than a dozen that’s under review by Trump.

Mills filed comments Monday calling on the Department of Interior to terminate its review of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

The attorney general says there was extensive public outreach concerning the monument proposal.

She says under the federal Antiquities Act, only Congress and not the president has the authority to abolish a national monument.

Mills says people in the area who initially opposed the designation now believe it’s creating economic growth.