McALLEN, Texas (AP) \u2014 A federal judge on Monday refused to block the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge as part of a land swap in Texas, while environmental groups vowed to continue their legal challenge. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. declined the plaintiffs’ 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. In June, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved moving forward with the deal with SpaceX, which would surrender 683 acres (276 hectares) the company owns in exchange for the federal land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The 103,000-acre (41,700-hectare)… <\/p>\n
McALLEN, Texas (AP) \u2014 A federal judge on Monday refused to block the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge as part of a land swap in Texas, while environmental groups vowed to continue their legal challenge. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. declined the plaintiffs’ 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. In June, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved moving forward with the deal with SpaceX, which would surrender 683 acres (276 hectares) the company owns in exchange for the federal land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The 103,000-acre (41,700-hectare)... <\/p>\n