WALLACE, LA — The National Park Service (NPS) is charged with protecting the country’s historical landmarks, but the agency’s sudden withdrawal of land that’s been home to some the nation’s oldest sugar plantations in Louisiana has drawn scrutiny from local community organizations.

Louisiana lawmakers had been pushing for the NPS to remove the protected designation of the land known as Great River Road to prioritize economic development, the Associated Press reported.

Great River Road is an approximate 11-mile strip of land in St. John The Baptist Parish where sugar cane plantations existed, including the Whitney Plantation, which became the first museum in the U.S. dedicated entirely to slavery.

Community organizations blamed the Trump administration for the NPS withdrawing its consideration for a historical landmark.

More on Great River Road’s history and legacy of slavery.