WASHINGTON — The race is on to win President Obama’s attention as he puts some final touches on his environmental legacy.
Conservation groups, Native American tribes, and federal lawmakers are urging his administration to preserve millions of acres as national monuments. Such a designation often prevents new drilling and mining on public lands or the construction of new roads and utility lines.
The flurry of activity is creating enthusiasm — and tensions — in several parts of the country.
Efforts are underway in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Maine, and elsewhere to get Obama to designate new national monuments.
Proponents aren’t just focused on land. They’re also looking to greater protections for vast swaths of ocean bottom off the coasts of New England, California, and Hawaii.
Obama has created or expanded 24 national monuments during his seven-and-a-half-year tenure, the most of any president. Almost nobody thinks he’s done. Environmental groups are urging him to go big as he leaves office.
‘‘What he’s done in terms of protection has been good, but what he does next is how we measure whether his legacy is great or not,’’ said Sharon Buccino of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
One of the proposals calls for a marine sanctuary off Massachusetts. Some in Congress are calling for the first marine national monument off the continental United States to be located about 150 miles off Cape Cod, where canyons and mountains are home to an array of deep sea coral species important to the survival of many fish, whales, and sea turtles.
The New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument would contain up to 6,173 square miles.
In Maine, a private foundation formed by Roxanne Quimby, co-founder of Burt’s Bees personal care products, has proposed donating about 87,000 acres for the creation of the Maine Woods National Monument. The foundation would also provide a $40 million endowment to support maintenance costs.
Christy Goldfuss, managing director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, won’t discuss specific national monument possibilities but said Obama ‘‘certainly feels we have more to do to protect this planet from climate change, so we’ll see how this plays out.’’