Laiken Jordahl, a former employee of the National Park Service, announced Wednesday that the nonprofit conservation organization called the Center for Biological Diversity is suing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Jordahl, a National Public Lands Advocate for the Center, accused the federal agency of planning “to give away 715 acres of a public wildlife refuge to billionaire corporation SpaceX.”
Jordahl wrote: “Americans shouldn’t be sacrificing their public lands to subsidize a company owned by the richest man in the world.”
According to the announcement, the lawsuit is an attempt “to stop a land trade that would hand 715 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in south Texas to SpaceX. In exchange for these lands, SpaceX is giving 683 acres to the Service.”
BREAKING: We’re suing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service over their plan to give away 715 acres of a public wildlife refuge to billionaire corporation Space X.
Americans shouldn’t be sacrificing their public lands to subsidize a company owned by the richest man in the world. pic.twitter.com/fnAkDqmxNx
— Laiken Jordahl (@LaikenJordahl) June 10, 2026
While some on X are responding with confusion — one commenter wrote “sounds like a pretty even exchange” — Jordahl emphasized potential environmental damage, asserting that SpaceX owner Elon Musk “could trash” the land and “permanently reduce and degrade” the wildlife refuge.
Jordahl added: “It’s a giveaway. They are offering substantially less acreage of significantly less important land. That’s why we’re suing them. If it was truly a ‘trade’ it wouldn’t be a violation of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act.”
[NOTE: This isn’t the first time the Center for Biological Diversity has sued a federal agency during the second Trump administration. In December 2025, the Center sued the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture, challenging the decision to replace the contest-winning America the Beautiful Pass photograph with an image featuring President Trump. The case remains unresolved.]
For 2026, American’s 250th anniversary, the national parks passes are getting a makeover. In this column, creator and outdoor adventurer Alec Sills-Trausch fills us in on how to avoid ending up with a Trump-branded pass: https://t.co/75oyXsCIn3 pic.twitter.com/RB3xarc95d
— Denver Westword (@denverwestword) November 26, 2025