DENVER – Designating the Castner Range as a national monument and the resulting collaborative management of it will help safeguard imperiled wildlife, threatened landscapes, and important Indigenous artifacts while increasing access to nature for historically disadvantaged communities in El Paso, Texas. The National Wildlife Federation applauds Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for visiting this awe-inspiring landscape and urges the Biden Administration to swiftly designate the Castner Range as a national monument.

“The Castner Range provides habitat for a diverse array of wildlife, including bobcats, mountain lions, mule deer, badgers and more than 60 bird species. National monument status will ensure that the area’s Indigenous artifacts — some which date back to 8000 B.C. — and the 27 plant and wildlife species that have been listed as threatened or endangered on the range will be safeguarded and responsibly managed,” said Andrew Black, public lands field director for the National Wildlife Federation. “This step will also expand opportunities for outdoor recreation at Castner Range while helping protect the underground aquifers that supply drinking water to the residents of El Paso.”