Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners are considering a land swap with SpaceX that would give Elon Musk’s space exploration company about 43 acres from Boca Chica State Park.
In exchange for the land in Texas’ southernmost strip along the Gulf Coast, SpaceX would transfer 477 acres nearby that could be used for hiking, camping and birding. Boca Chica is a cherished place where people fish, see wildlife and hang out on the beach. The park measures about 1,060 acres in all.
Parks and Wildlife staff recommended the exchange because they view it as a way for the agency to increase public access and protect grasslands and wetlands. In a statement Wednesday, the agency said the trade “could provide mutual benefits.”
“These conversations continue more than a decade of cooperative work with SpaceX to carry out our respective missions as neighbors,” the TPWD statement said.
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While the sheer difference in land size makes the trade seem like a good deal for the state, environmental groups and community members urged caution. The Cameron County Judge opposed the swap. The Tribal Chair of the Esto’k Gna Tribal Nation of Texas said such a trade would compound a history of his community being erased or ignored.
“It doesn’t make any sense at all for them to do what they’re doing in transferring that land,” said Juan Mancias, the tribal chair. “None at all.”
Cyrus Reed, conservation director for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said people need time to be informed and consider whether they are willing to lose a portion of what has been an important, family-friendly resource. The Commission was originally scheduled to vote on the deal Thursday.
“Overall there may be some benefits to it,” Reed said. “The question is, is it benefiting the community that has traditionally gone to the Boca Chica area?”
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See here for previous SpaceX/Boca Chica stuff. Let’s just say that anything Elon Musk-associated is going to be looked at very skeptically by me and plenty of other folks. There may be merit to this beyond the obvious of “more land coming in than going out”. People are opposing this for a reason, and it would be best to understand that and see if there are alternate ways to accomplish something similar. The question is whether this is good for the people of Texas in general and of Boca Chica in particular, not whether it’s good for SpaceX. The vote on this is March 28, and I say take all the time you want. Don’t move forward unless the affected people are good with it. Texas Public Radio has more.