Judge won’t block Trump administration from giving SpaceX acres of wildlife refuge in land swap
The judge said the groups offered relatively weak evidence of harm and that a block would delay SpaceX’s plans to expand its Starbase site.
- On Monday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. denied a preliminary injunction sought by environmental groups, allowing the land exchange between SpaceX and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to proceed as planned.
- Conservation groups including the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in June, alleging that SpaceX rocket test launches degrade the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge and prevent public access.
- Ruling that plaintiffs failed to establish standing or irreparable harm, Rodriguez dismissed claims that future rocket activity would prevent wildlife observation or damage historical lands.
- The government and SpaceX executed the land swap agreement on September 1, with the title transfer expected Tuesday, September 22, to facilitate expansion of the Massey Test Site near Starbase.
- Laiken Jordahl, a public lands advocate at the Center, stated litigation will continue, asserting the refuge holds "incredible spiritual, historical and conservation value" for South Texas.
98 Articles
98 Articles
Everything You Need to Know About SpaceX's Wildlife Refuge Land Swap with the Trump Administration
A judge just ruled in favor of SpaceX's push to trade land with the federal government to acquire over 700 acres in the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge.
Los Angeles Times
Independent EspañolA federal judge refused Monday to stop President Donald Trump's government from handing SpaceX over 280 hectares (700 acres) of wildlife shelter as part of a land exchange in Texas, while environmental groups promised to continue their legal challenge.
Texas Court allowed the U.S. government to hand SpaceX some 289 hectares of a national wildlife shelter in the south of the state.
Miami, U.S.A., Sept. 22, (EFE).- A federal court in Texas allowed the U.S. government to hand over SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, some 289 hectares of a national wildlife shelter in the south of the state, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported this Tuesday. A South Texas District court denied [...] U.S. Court Entry Allows SpaceX Land from a Texas Wildlife Refuge was first published in HolaNews.
Exchange of land between SpaceX and federal refuge in Texas OK’d despite conservationists’ objections
By Berenice Garcia, The Texas Tribune September 21, 2026 McALLEN — A federal judge ruled against environmental and wildlife conservation groups trying to prevent a land exchange between SpaceX and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in South Texas. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. denied a request for a preliminary injunction filed by the…
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