McALLEN, Texas (AP) \u2014 A federal judge on Monday refused to block the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres of wildlife refuge as part of a land swap in Texas, while environmental groups vowed to continue their legal challenge.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. declined the plaintiffs\u2019 request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the parcel exchange, saying they failed to prove it would worsen ecological risks to a Gulf Coast region already transformed by billionaire Elon Musk\u2019s rocket operations.<\/a><\/p>\n In June, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved moving forward with the deal with SpaceX, which would surrender 683 acres the company owns in exchange for the federal land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The 103,000-acre refuge spans four counties along the Texas border and is home to animal habitats and historical landmarks.<\/p>\n Maps show the land SpaceX would acquire would be closer to the company\u2019s launchpad near the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n The swap amounts to a gift of public lands to SpaceX, \u201cclearing the way for bulldozers to tear into this wildlife refuge as soon as next week and turn a public treasure into a private payday,\u201d said Laiken Jordahl, a spokesperson with the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed the lawsuit alongside other opponents including tribal groups. Jordahl said Monday that the litigation will continue even as the exchange goes forward.<\/p>\n \u201cThis court order is not the final word. These lands hold incredible spiritual, historical and conservation value for the people and wildlife of South Texas. We won\u2019t stop fighting to keep this irreplaceable public wildlife refuge safe from SpaceX bulldozers,\u201d Jordahl said in a statement.<\/p>\n The lawsuit<\/a> asks the federal court to halt the exchange, which has worried SpaceX opponents in the area who have long criticized the company\u2019s expanding footprint over lost access to beaches<\/a> and concerns over exploding rockets<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Fish and Wildlife Service didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment on Monday\u2019s decision. Previously, a spokesperson had said the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation.<\/p>\n The agency issued a final environmental assessment report in June that determined the exchange would cause no significant impact to the area. The report said the federal government believed the acquisition would represent a \u201cnet conservation benefit\u201d and provide \u201csubstantial long-term conservation value and improving landscape-scale habitat connectivity across refuges in South Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n The judge said that the plaintiffs offered \u201crelatively weak\u201d evidence of environmental harm.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile they rightfully argue that the preservation of wildlife and historical lands furthers the public interest, they present no evidence demonstrating that the Property will suffer aesthetic, environmental, cultural, or historical degradation during the pendency of this lawsuit,\u201d Rodriguez wrote in his ruling.<\/p>\n In addition, the judge said a preliminary injunction would result in modifications to SpaceX\u2019s development plans, \u201cplacing additional hardship on the company\u2019s ability to meet milestones and contractual obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n SpaceX did not return an email seeking comment on the judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n