Obama just declared a new national monument, courtesy of the founder of Burt's Bees

(Image credit: Olivier Douliery - Pool/Getty Images)

published 24 August 2016

America's newest national monument is situated in Maine's North Woods. On Wednesday, President Obama designated 87,500 acres of the forest as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, marking the 413th preserved area in the National Park Service, National Geographic reports, and Maine's second national monument.

The designation came at the request of Burt's Bees founder Roxanne Quimby, who donated the land valued at $60 million to the federal government this week in honor of the National Park Service's 100th anniversary. Quimby had been trying to make the area a national park for years, but her proposals had been met with resistance from Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine). The state's Republican Gov. Paul LePage opposed its creation as an "ego play" by "rich, out-of-state liberals," while residents worried it would invite a "federal government intrusion," The Associated Press reported.

The new monument is expected to create hundreds of jobs in the region. The Washington Post reported this could be the "last large new national park ever established on the East Coast."