BOSTON - Environmental conservationists dealt a blow by President Barack Obama's decision not to create a national monument in the Atlantic Ocean say they will keep pressing for preservation.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality said last week that Cashes Ledge is not under consideration for monument status. Conservationists wanted the undersea mountain chain to become the first such monument in the Atlantic.
Supporters of conservation in the Atlantic held a news conference on Tuesday in which they said Obama's action does not close the book on attempts to preserve Cashes Ledge. They also say they will press on for protections for New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts, an area off of Massachusetts targeted by environmentalists.
Commercial fishing groups have opposed the creation of monuments in the Atlantic.