South Texas groups sue to block state land swap with SpaceX

A group of South Texas advocacy organizations sued the state to block a proposed land swap with SpaceX approved last month. 

The land swap would see SpaceX take over 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park near its Brownsville spaceport, in exchange for 477 acres adjacent to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

The suit, filed last week, claims the state failed to research alternatives to a land swap in its negotiation process with SpaceX, failing its obligation to limit harm to public lands. 

It also claims that SpaceX does not own the 477-acre plot it offered in a swap. The Texas Standard reported earlier this year that SpaceX owner Elon Musk was in negotiations to acquire the land.

“This is just the latest example of our state officials failing to fulfill their obligations to Texans, whenever SpaceX is involved,” the plaintiff’s attorney Marisa Perales said in a statement. “Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s duty is to protect park land and wildlife resources, including at Boca Chica Beach and State Park.”

“Protecting public park land and the public’s interest means saying ‘no’ to the demands of SpaceX, whose space flight activities have caused harm to public lands and wildlife habitats,” she added.

Residents have opposed the deal, approved by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWD) last month, over concerns that it would cede land considered sacred by the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe and privatize popular public recreation land.

The tribe is among the plaintiffs in the suit, alongside environmental groups Save RGV and the South Texas Environmental Network.

The commission downplayed the concerns in its approval, noting that the lands being ceded to SpaceX are not adjacent to the popular recreation areas of the park and that the new 477-acre plot would be a boon to wildlife conservation.

“This is an exciting opportunity to acquire land that has been of interest to us and the conservation community for many years,” TPWD Executive Director David Yoskowitz said last month.