Here’s Why It’s Important That Castner Range Is Now A National Monument Site

By now you have probably read the news that Castner Range, the home of the Mexican Golden Poppies, is now protected as a national monument site and if you haven’t then let me catch you up on this pretty awesome news.

Last week President Joe Biden established national monuments on more than half a million acres in Nevada and Texas in order to “protect the heart and soul of our national pride.”

7,000 of those acres include land that makes up Castner Range! Castner Range National Monument shared the news on their Facebook Page:

“Thank you, President Joe Biden, for declaring Castner Range a National Monument. By protecting Castner Range, you have helped increase the quality of life in the region and preserved the land for generations to come. Your support will not be forgotten!”

 

Why is this news so significant?

The simple answer to that question is: Castner Range won’t have to worry about being turned into a sports arena, a zoo, or even a golf course! The land is now protected and anyone who tries to mess with this land will have to answer to the local environmentalists and lawmakers who spent 52 years trying to protect this land!! 

Castner Range holds a lot of history, most of which dates back to before I was born, but for many of us we know it as the piece of land that sits right next to Transmountain and where the Mexican Gold Poppies can be seen during the Spring.

However, after doing a little bit of digging I found a brief timeline on the Castner range that dates all the way back to 8000-4000 B.C.

But the thing that caught my attention the most was reading that 1971-1978 the mountain was under a threat of being turned into a sports arena, zoo, and golf course, but thankfully those ideas were denied. However, in 1975, 17 acres of the land was moved from the U.S. Department of the Interior to the City of El Paso under the Lands-to-Parks program.

Now, part of Castner Range is home to the City of El Paso’s Museum of Archaeology and the private Border Patrol Museum.

Castner Range is full of so much more history! And you can read up on that history by Clicking here.