• Industries like fishing and logging argue against the designation of national monuments.
  • Tourism-centered industries, however, say national monuments are good for their business.
  • Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has pledged to look at both sides of the debate over national monument designations.

President Donald Trump has pursued a business-focused agenda by vowing to cut regulatory red tape, a move that resulted in an Interior Department review that could change the designation of more than two dozen national monuments.

But the review has created a tug-of-war between industries like fishing, ranching and logging, arguing the creation of monuments comes at the cost of jobs, and the Main Street businesses that get foot traffic from visitors to the monuments.

"We'll look at what sectors were affected, plus or minus, and that will be part of the recommendation," Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said in April when the executive order was announced, saying he recognizes both sides of the issue.

Since the window for public comments period opened Friday, more than 10,000 letters have been posted on the Interior Department's landing page.

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Marsha Donahue owns a Millinocket gallery that showcases local artists and has arranged expeditions in the monument to paint its landscapes. An artist who exhibits at the North Light Gallery told the Interior Department that the monument's opening has increased his sales at the gallery. Donahue, an activist supporting the area's 2016 designation, says economic optimism has taken root.

"People are sprucing up the front and the inside of their businesses, and there is much more of a feeling of hope," Donahue told CNBC in an e-mail. "We are all advertising like crazy."

Zinke told reporters at an April briefing at the White House that, in addition to receiving public input, he'd be consulting with state and local officials and congressional delegations before making any final decisions.

"I think the concern that I have and the president has that when you designate a monument, the local community that's affected should have a voice," Zinke said in April. "The little community, the loggers, the fishermen, those areas that are affected should have a say and a voice."