Borderland celebrates protection, beauty of Castner Range National Monument

The Borderland recently celebrated the designation of Castner Range National Monument.

On March 31 at the Andress High School Performing Arts Center, 5400 Sun Valley Drive, dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo and Fort Bliss Maj. Gen. James P. Isenhower III gathered to mark the event.

President Joe Biden made the designation March 21. It was the culmination of a decades-long effort to protect Castner Range, most recently championed by Escobar. The designation now protects 7,081 acres on the eastern slopes of the Franklin Mountains.

Castner Range helps protect Northeast El Paso from flooding and also helps replenish the Hueco Bolson, the principal aquifer for El Paso and Juárez.

“I’m absolutely thrilled about the designation,” Escobar said in a news release. “This historic announcement has been decades in the making. Generations of activists have dedicated countless hours and resources toward achieving this once seemingly impossible goal. It brings me such joy to know that El Pasoans will soon be able to enjoy the beauty of this majestic, expansive landmark for years to come.”

The celebration continued April 1 as the museum celebrated Poppies Fest and a 1-mile walk through Castner Range.

The Army is working to make Castner Range, which formerly was used as a weapons training facility until 1966, safe, according to a report by Christopher Hurd of the Army News Service. The Army has finished investigations to determine the extent of the remaining munitions and has moved to the feasibility study stage of the federal cleanup process.

This feasibility study phase is expected to be completed in mid-2025.

The area was used and inhabited by Native American tribes before the Department of Defense acquired it in the 1920s, the report said.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso celebrates protection of Castner Range National Monument