Trump administration weighing 775-acre land swap in Texas refuge for SpaceX

The Trump administration is considering transferring 775 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Texas to SpaceX so the company can expand its rocket launch and production site in Cameron County, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. Under the proposed exchange, the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service would give SpaceX 775 acres and SpaceX would give the government about 692 acres it has purchased elsewhere in Cameron County. Some of the tracts SpaceX would convey could be added to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge about 20 miles up the coast.

The parcels the government would give include portions of the Palmito Ranch Battlefield and are near the Massey site, where the company tests Starship components, the documents show. The proposal has alarmed conservationists and archaeologists who say the areas targeted contain endangered species such as the ocelot and the jaguarundi and Civil War–era artifacts.

A Times investigation, the documents note, found SpaceX operations in the area have already caused damage: "a rocket launch last year sent debris flying across fragile habitat for migratory birds, crushing nests and doing other damage," the investigation found. Sharon Wilcox of Defenders of Wildlife said she was skeptical of claims that the swap would benefit habitat, and Mary Angela Branch of Save RGV said community members fear ongoing expansion around Starbase.

Key Topics

Politics, Spacex, Lower Rio Grande, Laguna Atascosa, Palmito Ranch Battlefield, Cameron County