This area includes 41 archaeological sites that show evidence of human presence dating to 6,000 BC. These include three sites on the
National Register of Historic Places: Fusselman Canyon Rock Art District, the Northgate Site, and the Castner Range Archeological District. Artifacts found include rock art, pottery, shelters, burial sites, and
bedrock mortars dating from 250 to 1500 AD. The
Apache,
Puebloans,
Comanche,
Hopi, and
Kiowa Indian peoples have historical connections to the area. was a weapons test site for the Army beginning in 1926 until its closure in 1966. During World War II, a new air defense missile range became the world's largest. The Anti-Mechanized Target Firing Range provided soldiers experience using
anti-tank weapons. After the war, the Army's 1st Guided Missile Brigade trained at the site with new
guided missiles, and during the Vietnam War the Army conducted close combat exercises there.
National monument Advocacy for the protection of the mountains had been ongoing for several decades. In 1979 the Texas legislature passed a law allowing
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to accept the land to be incorporated into the newly created
Franklin Mountains State Park, but the live munitions at the site prevented its transfer; later efforts to do so were continued to be stymied by remaining
unexploded ordnance, as well as a limited parks budget. The
2018 National Defense Authorization Act included a provision that restricted the construction of new roads or buildings. The bill was later reintroduced by Representative
Veronica Escobar. The El Paso City Council and El Paso County Commissioners Court both unanimously supported the designation. Secretary of the Interior
Deb Haaland visited the Range with Escobar in March 2022 and committed to promote access to nature. President Biden announced the establishment of the monument at the White House Conservation in Action Summit on March 21, 2023, along with
Avi Kwa Ame National Monument as part of the administration's
30 by 30 conservation goals. The site is still undergoing remediation of live munitions and ordnance pursuant to the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability (Superfund) Act and therefore is not accessible to the public. After phases of cleanup, the monument will be developed with trails for hiking or biking. The
El Paso Museum of Archeology and
National Border Patrol Museum are on
Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive which runs through the monument, and their with a short nature trail is the only non-vehicular access to the area, though not within the federal boundaries. == Ecology and geology ==