Federal judge allows SpaceX land swap with Texas wildlife refuge to proceed

A federal judge declined to block the Trump administration from transferring more than 700 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge to SpaceX, allowing a land swap to move forward while litigation continues.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled that environmental and tribal groups seeking a preliminary injunction offered "relatively weak" evidence of harm. He wrote that plaintiffs presented no evidence the land would suffer environmental, cultural, or historical degradation while the lawsuit plays out. He also said an injunction would disrupt SpaceX's contractual obligations.

The Fish and Wildlife Service approved the exchange in June. SpaceX would give up 683 acres it owns in return for federal refuge land closer to its launchpad near the U.S.-Mexico border. The agency's environmental assessment found the swap would cause no significant impact and called it a "net conservation benefit."

Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biological Diversity, which sued alongside tribal groups, called the swap a gift of public land to SpaceX and said the litigation would continue. Opponents have cited lost beach access and exploding rockets as concerns with the company's expanding footprint in the area.

SpaceX did not comment. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.