The Trump administration is weighing a deal with SpaceX that would give Elon Musk’s aerospace company 775 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, according to a New York Times report on Tuesday.
The reported deal would give SpaceX the land in Cameron County in exchange for 692 acres of land it owns elsewhere in the county, some of it 20 miles away from the refuge. The exchange would allow SpaceX to add to its rocket launch operation site, which critics have long warned may cause ecological damage and threats to nearby wildlife habitats.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a requests for comment about the reported land exchange. A spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday confirmed the potential deal and said the federal government was exploring an exchange that “advances long-term wildlife conservation and aligns with the administration’s goals of strengthening American innovation, infrastructure and economic competitiveness.”
