Obama in Alaska:

Mount McKinley name change angers Ohioans.

The administration is renaming Mount McKinley as Denali,

WASHINGTON — Ahead of a historic trip to the Arctic, President Barack Obama erased a former Republican president’s name from North America’s tallest peak in a move applauded in Alaska and derided more than 3,000 miles away in Ohio.

Obama departed Monday for Anchorage to start a three-day visit closely choreographed to call attention to the ways he says climate change is damaging Alaska’s stunning scenery.

Showing solidarity with Alaska Natives, Obama announced Sunday that his administration would officially rename Mount McKinley as Denali, its traditional Athabascan name. Alaska’s governor and congressional delegation praised the longsought change. But stripping the mountain of its name honoring President William McKinley, a son of Ohio, drew loud condemnations from Ohio lawmakers.

“You just don’t go and do something like that,” said Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican presidential candidate.

Rep. Bob Gibbs, ROhio, said he would work with the House Committee on Natural Resources “to determine what can be done to prevent this action.” Added House Speaker John Boehner, also of Ohio, “I’m deeply disappointed in this decision.”

In renaming the 20,320-foot mountain — the centerpiece of longago renamed Denali National Park — Obama was recognizing the moniker Alaskans have informally used for centuries. The name means “the high one” in Athabascan.

The peak was named for McKinley in 1896 by a prospector exploring mountains in central Alaska after he heard that McKinley had received the Republican presidential nominee, the White House said. The name became official several years after McKinley’s 1901 assassination.

The Obama administration will work with officials in Ohio “to find an appropriate way to acknowledge President McKinley’s contributions to our country,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. On the plane to Alaska, he showed off new National Park Service maps with the mountain designated as Denali.

Obama’s excursion north of the Arctic Circle will make him the first sitting president to set foot in the Alaska Arctic, home to Alaska Natives. They’ve received less attention than other groups amid Obama’s recent efforts to improve conditions for Native Americans.

Yet the primary focus on the trip is global warming.

BECKY BOHRER / ASSOCIATED PRESS President Barack Obama on Sunday said he’s changing the name of the tallest mountain in North America from Mount McKinley to Denali.