The land being transferred to SpaceX is part of the 103,000-acre Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
A federal judge has refused to block a land swap that would give SpaceX more than 700 acres of a wildlife refuge in Texas.
The plaintiffs had argued that the deal could increase ecological risks in the Gulf Coast region, which has already been affected by the expansion of SpaceX’s rocket operations, according to news agency Associated Press. The decision allows the Trump administration to move ahead with the exchange while environmental groups and tribal groups continue their legal challenge. US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr on Monday rejected a request from the groups for a preliminary injunction to stop the exchange.
What government says
Under the deal, SpaceX would give the federal government 683 acres that it owns in return for more than 700 acres of federal refuge land. The agency’s final assessment covers an exchange of about 715 acres of Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge land for about 683 acres of privately owned SpaceX land. We won’t stop fighting to keep this irreplaceable public wildlife refuge safe from SpaceX bulldozers,” Jordahl said in a statement as quoted by AP.
The final environmental assessment from the agency said the exchange would have no significant impact on the area and would provide a ‘net conservation benefit’. Laiken Jordahl, a spokesperson for the Center for Biological Diversity, described the exchange as a transfer of public land to SpaceX and said it could allow construction activity to move into the refuge. He said the organisation would continue its legal challenge even after the judge refused to issue the preliminary injunction. Rodriguez said the groups challenging the exchange had not provided enough evidence to show that the land would suffer environmental, cultural, historical or aesthetic damage while the lawsuit was still being considered. The federal government said the exchange would consolidate refuge holdings and improve the management of protected habitat.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service approved the land exchange in June. “This court order is not the final word. These lands hold incredible spiritual, historical and conservation value for the people and wildlife of South Texas.
