Environmental Groups Sue to Block SpaceX Land Swap

The Center for Biological Diversity, along with the Carrizo Comecrudo Nation of Texas and other conservation groups, filed a lawsuit in a Washington federal court on Wednesday to block a land swap between the Trump administration and SpaceX. The deal, approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, would transfer 715 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron County to SpaceX in exchange for 683 acres of company-owned land.

Plaintiffs allege the exchange violates the National Environmental Policy Act and would privatize public land, fragment critical wildlife habitats, and restrict indigenous access to ancestral lands used for religious ceremonies. They further argue that the swap increases ecological risks in a Gulf Coast region already impacted by SpaceX's rocket operations, which would bring company land closer to its launchpad near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a finding of no significant impact on June 1. In its final environmental assessment, the agency claimed the exchange would provide a net conservation benefit and improve habitat connectivity in South Texas.