March 26, 2022
EL PASO, TEXAS — Earlier today, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited Castner Range in Texas, to hear from local community members and discuss their efforts to permanently protect Castner Range.
Celebrating Sec. Haaland’s visit to Castner Range, Mike Murray, Chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, issued the following statement:
“Establishing the proposed Castner Range National Monument would safeguard unspoiled land in the Franklin Mountains that is home to diverse vegetation and wildlife. The designation would help protect archaeological and historical resources that date back thousands of years and help to create more equitable outdoor access.
“We thank Sec. Haaland for visiting this tremendous and majestic landscape to learn more about the critical need to protect it – and other public lands across the United States.
“Make no mistake – it is within President Biden’s authority under the Antiquities Act to take swift action to protect the Castner Range and establish the Castner Range National Monument. In 2021, when President Biden set our first-ever national conservation goal – to conserve 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, he was recognizing the urgent biodiversity threats facing the country and the globe.
“Protecting the Castner Range would be an important first step in accomplishing those goals.”
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The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks represents over 2,100 current, former, and retired employees and volunteers of the National Park Service, with over 40,000 collective years of stewardship of America’s most precious natural and cultural resources. Recognized as the Voices of Experience, the Coalition educates, speaks, and acts for the preservation and protection of the National Park System, and mission-related programs of the National Park Service.