Maine’s national monument should not be shrunk in size or feature commercial forestry, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday.
Speaking publicly for the first time about his recommendations to President Donald Trump, Zinke confirmed a Washington Post-reported leak and said that he has advised Trump to keep Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument at present size.
His 20-page report, released Tuesday, does not recommend commercial forestry for Maine’s monument, despite its featuring the words “active timber management,” which is typically part of commercial forestry.
“We think a ‘Made in Maine’ solution works better and that’s promoting a healthy forest,” Zinke said in a telephone press conference on Tuesday. “It is the best practices, best science and greatest good” in the uses of a forest ― not merely leaving a forest totally untouched, as environmental preservationists would typically advocate.
Timber management, Zinke said, represents the planting, growth and thinning of a broad diversity of trees, forest-fire and blight prevention, and landscaping improvements. All have been Maine forestry practices for generations, he said.
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