25,000 supporters for Castner Range
Advocates who want to see Castner Range declared a national monument say more than 25,000 people in the region have written letters in support of the designation.
President Barack Obama is being asked to name Castner Range as the nation’s next national monument before he leaves office.
The 7,000-acre former artillery range on the eastern slopes of the Franklin Mountains is home to a thriving ecosystem of floral and fauna, and where El Paso’s native Mexican Gold Poppies bloom in the spring.
Supporters of the designation include U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, and now Douglas Brinkley, a columnist and presidential historian, writing in The New York Times.
In an Aug. 28 opinion piece, Brinkley encourages the president to name four more national monuments before Jan. 20. At the top of Brinkley’s list is Castner Range.
As the National Parks Service celebrates its centennial year, Brinkley says, Obama should use his last months in office to preserve more places wild and historic.
