AUGUSTA, Maine — A bid by Gov. Paul LePage to block the creation of a national monument in Maine has passed through the House and Senate by slim margins.
LD 1600, proposed by LePage and sponsored by Rep. Stephen Stanley, D-Medway, passed through the House late Thursday evening with a vote of 77-73. The bill was approved Wednesday in the Senate, 18-17.
The creation of a national park or monument in the Katahdin region has been debated for years, since the family of millionaire philanthropist Roxanne Quimby began discussing donating 87,500 acres of land to the National Park Service. Supporters and opponents are sharply divided, with groups such as the Maine Forest Products Council and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine on one side and the Natural Resources Council of Maine and other environmentalists on the other.
LePage, who argues the land should not be taken off the tax rolls and that the federal government is a poor steward of land, waded into the debate earlier this year and proposed LD 1600 in February. The bill originally required a “reverter” clause for landowners transferring property to the federal government that would put the property back in the original owner’s hands if it were designated a national monument. That provision was amended out of the bill.
It marks the second time LePage has resisted the federal government conserving property in Maine. In 2014, he submitted a bill that would have required legislative approval of land transfers of 5 acres or more to the federal government, but it failed.
Opponents of the bill LePage submitted this year argue it might not pass legal or constitutional scrutiny.
“There’s all sorts of places in the state of Maine that are historically significant where people might want to establish a national monument at some point in the future,” Pete Didisheim of the Natural Resources Council of Maine said. “This is going to cause legal issues. Why would we be cluttering our statutes with this bill that has legal problems just so proponents can send a message?”
The bill faces more procedural votes but likely will head to LePage soon for final approval.
