The Conservation Alliance represents a coalition of businesses that fund and advocate for the protection of North America’s wild places. Through our work, we consolidate and redistribute power in the form of financial grants and political influence to grassroots environmental organizations working to permanently protect the outdoor spaces we love.
This year, we are investing additional advocacy resources in four priority campaigns – to protect the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, Bristol Bay in Alaska, Castner Range, and the Dolores River in Colorado, in Texas. Each campaign addresses settling competing demands for natural resources, adapting to a changing climate, recognizing the rights of Indigenous communities, and protecting habitat in places that are also valued for human recreation.
We announce our Advocacy Priority Campaigns once a year. In collaboration with our grantees, we work to identify land and water conservation opportunities that are urgent, vital, and need national attention. This year, we are proud to work with members of our inaugural Confluence Program as well as members of our flagship multi-year grant program to secure permanent protection of these threatened natural spaces.
Castner Range, Texas
Castner Range is a mountainous 7,000 acres located between city neighborhoods and Franklin Mountains State Park in the majority Latinx community of El Paso, Texas. Renowned for its annual display of blooming Mexican Yellow Poppies, Castner Range has exceptional cultural, ecological, and historical values. The area is currently managed by the Department of Defense as part of Fort Bliss, which has been in operation since 1854. Although not actively used by the military since 1971, Castner Range remains undeveloped despite decades of population growth and land urbanization around El Paso. For many years, the community has sought to protect the area to better access and enjoy the beautiful space. Protecting Castner Range will bring greater balance between the developed areas and natural landscape in one of the nation’s lowest per-capita household income urban areas.
In April, 2021, Representative Veronica Escobar introduced the Castner Range National Monument Act, which would ensure greater public access to public lands in El Paso and conserve its natural features, Indigenous and historical significance, and wildlife habitats from development. And in March, 2022, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited El Paso to hear from the community about the importance of protecting Castner Range.
The Conservation Alliance will be joining groups advocating for permanent protection of Castner Range through:
- Designating a National Monument to protect the Castner Range by passing legislation in Congress or through administrative action via the Antiquities Act.
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Meet The Conservation Alliance’s partners:
Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project has a people-focused mission to ensure that Frontera (border) communities have access to the outdoors—and that our history, values and people are reflected in public lands management. The Conservation Alliance has been a proud supporter of Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project since 2021. The Alliance is also supporting Monumental SHIFT with multi-year funding for two National Monument endorsement campaigns: Avi Kaw Ame, or Spirit Mountain, in Nevada and Castner Range in Texas. Monumental SHIFT Coalition is a collaborative network of racially and ethnically diverse leaders working together to shift the traditional conservation movement to better represent and honor lands and places sacred to its communities.
