June 25, 2009
Castner Range, the stretch of pristine desert fanning down from the peaks of the Franklin Mountains, might be the only place in El Paso where there is little dispute over maintaining the status quo. Incrementally, that is what is happening.
Prized for its golden poppies (which did not bloom this year because of a lack of rain) and for its archeological and biological resources, Castner is the only unbroken span of nature from the mountaintop to the desert bottom south of Transmountain. Its fate has long been up in the air, and its been kept from development only because of its ownership by the military, and perhaps more importantly, the cost of cleaning unexploded ordnance left by its past as a firing ground.
However, it long has been considered an unofficial part of the Franklin Mountain State Park, although in recent years the military has been stricter about enforcing trespassing rules. Advocates for the range look forward to the day when it officially is part of the state park.
The latest step is stated in several brief sentences inserted into the Defense Authorization Act by U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
"The committee understands that the Department of Defense ceased operations at the Castner Range Complex at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1971. In testimony, the Army indicated that Castner Range is 'wholly impractical to use for any range activity.' The committee is interested in maintaining this land for a conservation purpose.
"The committee encourages the Department to enter into an agreement in furtherance of conveyance with eligible conservation entities."
Reyes said in a statement in response to that the "Castner Range provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is being considered by the full House of Representatives this week, is an important first step toward preserving the Range’s open space for future generations.
“This development is certainly good news for our community, and I will continue to press the Department of Defense to protect the land with the ultimate goal of adding it to Franklin Mountains State Park,” he said.
Advocates for leaving Castner Range said the language elevated the land's importance in the eyes of the federeal bureaucracy, and agreed with Reyes that it represents an important step.
"It is bringing awareness of the beauty and unique aspect of Castner Range to a national level," said Judy Ackerman, a member of the Franklin Mountain Coalition.
That's an important step, she said, toward the goal of conserving the land.
The next step, she said, is to use a "conservation conveyance," a procedure used by the military to grant unused property.
"The land could go to a non-profit conservancy type organization, and the cleanup doesn’t have to happen until money becomes available," Ackerman said. "The benefit is then we know the land will be preserved and we can take a deep breath and know we won't have a strip mall or apartment complex.
"This (language added by Reyes) is a step in that direction."
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Background:
-- After 40 Years, Castner’s Fate Is at Hand, Jan. 9, 2006, by Sito Negron: Council considers a policy statement, Fort Bliss studies the land and plans public meetings, and REDCO makes a development proposal. Castner Range, an iconic swath of high desert, foothills and mountain slopes, out of use by the military for 40 years and surrounded by a booming Northeast El Paso, is in demand.
-- Franklin Mountains State Park to expand with purchase of PSB land, Nov. 14, 2008, by NPT Staff: The city and PSB's price for the 1,600-acre addition is $87.19 per acre, or a total of $161,301, PSB spokeswoman Christina Montoya said.
-- Why should we care about saving the poppies and the Castner Range?, March 2, 2009, by Rick LoBello: We need the poppies and the adjoining Castner Range like we need water flowing into our homes and food in our stomachs. Nature is life and without it we simply cannot survive.