Land Conservation Advocates Welcome Interior Secretary Haaland’s Visit to Castner Range (Texas) and Encourage Protection as a National Monument
El Paso, TX – Today, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited Castner Range in El Paso, Texas with local community groups of the Castner Range Coalition, as they continue their 50 year-long campaign to permanently protect this beautiful landscape.
We’re grateful to Secretary Haaland for coming to see first-hand the unique cultural, historical, scientific, and environmental features of Castner Range and hear from the local people who have worked collaboratively for decades to permanently protect the area from development.
Protecting this landscape as a national monument will tell a new story of diverse community members in the City of El Paso healing the land, by turning a landscape harmed by the U.S. military into a wildflower and nature preserve. El Paso is defining its future as a city blooming in harmony with its landscape and one that celebrates and embraces local voices and forward-looking leaders.
Local organizations, led by Frontera Land Alliance, Nuestra Tierra, and others, have worked for more than 50 years to protect Castner Range and are now calling on President Biden to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate Castner Range as a national monument.
Castner Range enjoys the support of the tireless leadership of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas who honor their ancestors who have lived here since time immemorial. This mountainous landscape in West Texas is renowned for its rare and endangered wildlife, irreplaceable water resources, and as a critical climate refuge.
We appreciate Rep. Escobar’s conservation leadership and for working to bring Secretary Haaland to visit this special place to understand how its protection will advance the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful initiatives.
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