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At the meeting, TPWD commissioners acknowledged that SpaceX had already alienated some locals. There's clearly a frustration among the people there about the road closures and all that kind of stuff, Commissioner Paul Foster said.

They stressed they were only approving negotiations and that the land deal could still fall apart. Because of the other processes here, this could still be turned down, Vice-Chairman Oliver Bell explained.

Since TPWD initially acquired land in Boca Chica through a National Coastal Wetlands grant, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will need to sign off on the deal. A FWS spokesperson said TPWD has not yet started an environmental assessment that would be required to finalize the sale.

Then theres the lawsuit, brought by nonprofits like the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, Save RGV and the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. It argues TPWD does not have authority to make the land deal and seeks to have a judge declare it unlawful.

When TPWD applied for a National Coastal Wetlands grant in 1992, the agency said it would permanently preserve the land to protect it from imminent development threats, the lawsuit states. Among the exhibits in the case are comments the agency submitted to the FAA in 2021, in which it expressed concerns about direct loss of habitat and unexpected anomalies (e.g., explosions) due to SpaceX.

The crux of this lawsuit is about giving away what belonged to the people, said Marisa Perales, a partner at Austin-based Perales, Allmon & Ice who is representing the plaintiffs. Its about the government not so much SpaceX, but our elected officials and appointed officials giving away what belonged to the people.

One plaintiff in the case says its had plenty of experience with the government giving its land away. That plaintiff, the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, has fought to preserve wildlands in the region for years.

Tribal Chair Juan Mancias says the group has around 1,600 enrolled members. While not a recognized tribe, the groups they claim lineage from undeniably lived in this region. As early as 1940, the Smithsonian Institute had gathered linguistic data on Comecrudo people here. These days, the group prefers to call itself the Estok Gna, a phrase that roughly translates to the human person.

Mancias traveled to the TPWD meeting in Austin to speak against the land deal. I don't consent or give consent to any of the swapping or land sale, he told commissioners in March. This land is our ancestral land.

In an interview, Mancias said Boca Chica beach was sacred the place where the Creator made the first woman. Then, later, he created the first man with the leftovers," he said.

Mancias seemed largely unbothered by the Esto'k Gnas unrecognized status. I would say the white man cant tell me who I am, he said. I know who I am. I know how I grew up. I had a good pair of grandparents who told me who I was.

The group first asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition in 1998 but being unrecognized had its benefits. Because were not recognized, Mancias added wryly, we dont have the opportunity for them to take our federal contracts away. They cant threaten us like that and tell us to be quiet.

On a recent afternoon, Basald wandered along Boca Chica beach, collecting seashells. He comes out here when he can, sometimes to pray with other Estok Gna.

Growing up in what he calls an assimilated family, Basald said reconnecting with his Native heritage was a gradual process. It started as a teenager, with questions like: Where are we from? What kind of Native are we? He threw himself into studying Native groups, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Arizona in 2009. In 2017, he formally enrolled in the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation.

Like Mancias, Basald sees the proposed SpaceX land deal as part of a long legacy of land-taking in the area. White people from another part of the world came over here and projected the fallacy that there was nothing here, he said. In their minds, because there was nothing here, they could create whatever they wanted.

Leaving Boca Chica beach, Basald drove past the sites of new LNG terminals another environmental fight in which the Estok Gna are involved. Not long ago, he said, this land had mangroves. They are continuing to destroy the world, and thats how you get climate catastrophe, he added later. Its all connected.

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In South Texas, SpaceX looms over iconic beach - Courthouse News Service