Judge declines to halt wildlife refuge land transfer to Musk's SpaceX
A US federal judge in Texas has refused to block the transfer of more than 700 acres of wildlife refuge land to Elon Musk's SpaceX, though environmental groups say their legal fight will continue.
US district judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr on Monday declined to grant a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the Trump administration's planned land swap handing wildlife refuge acreage to Elon Musk's SpaceX in Texas. The judge found that opponents had not shown the exchange would increase ecological risk in a coastal region already reshaped by the company's rocket operations.
In June, the US Fish and Wildlife Service approved the deal, under which SpaceX would give up 683 acres it owns in return for federal land within the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The 103,000-acre refuge stretches across four counties along the Texas border and contains wildlife habitats and historic sites. Maps indicate the parcel SpaceX would receive sits nearer to its launch site by the US-Mexico border.
Opponents vow to keep fighting
Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups behind the lawsuit alongside tribal organizations, said the swap effectively hands public land to SpaceX and could let bulldozing begin within the refuge as soon as next week. He said the litigation would proceed regardless of the ruling, arguing the land carries deep spiritual, historical and conservation significance for the region's people and wildlife.
The Fish and Wildlife Service's June environmental assessment concluded the swap would cause no significant impact and could even deliver a "net conservation benefit," improving habitat connectivity across refuges in south Texas.
In his ruling, Rodriguez described the plaintiffs' evidence of potential environmental harm as relatively weak, and noted that blocking the swap would disrupt SpaceX's development schedule and its ability to meet contractual obligations. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
SpaceX began operations in Texas more than a decade ago and has grown rapidly since; last year its employees voted to establish their own local government, called Starbase.
