President Barack Obama is not considering an underwater mountain in the Gulf of Maine for designation as a National Monument.
Environmental groups want Obama to permanently protect Cashes Ledge, an underwater mountain and offshore ecosystem in the Gulf of Maine.
A spokesperson for the White House Council on Environmental Quality said Friday that Cashes Ledge is "not under consideration for a designation at this time."
The proposal to protect Cashes Ledge drew heavy opposition from commercial fishing groups who saw the move as an attack on their industry and livelihood.
Associated Fisheries of Maine president Terry Alexander says Obama's action is a "relief."
Environmentalists also seek to protect the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts, a chain of undersea formations about 150 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.
