Escobar wants ‘crown jewel’ Castner Range named national monument
EL PASO, Texas -- Former El Paso Congressman Beto O'Rourke called the the Castner Range of the Franklin Mountains "7,000 acres of rugged wilderness in an urban setting."
Now current Congresswoman Veronica Escobar is following in her predecessor's footsteps with a legislative effort announced at a news conference on Friday to get the Castner Range named a national monument and protect it from development.
It's a designation O'Rourke lobbied for under the Obama administration which didn't end up coming to fruition.
“Castner Range is the crown jewel of West Texas and a source of great pride for El Pasoans,” said Escobar. "This legislation will designate Castner Range as a National Monument to conserve and protect the ecological cultural, historical, natural integrity of the land for present and future generations of El Pasoans and Americans to enjoy."
A coalition of El Paso environmental leaders are backing this latest effort including the El Paso Community Foundation, Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition, Frontera Land Alliance, Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project and UTEP.
The Castner Range is 7,081 acres of land that goes from the northeast quadrant of the Franklin Mountains to the far west, almost to the top of North Franklin, the tallest peak of the Franklin Mountains, which is about 7,192 feet above sea level. The western boundary of Castner Range is the eastern boundary of Franklin Mountains State Park.
