The Federal Aviation Administration sidelined concerns from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others about habitat damage when approving the Texas rocket launch site of SpaceX, according to an investigation from The New York Times. The launch site in Boca Chica includes mud flats, which is important migratory bird habitat. Boca Chica beach nearby also holds breeding habitat for the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii). Last month, a rocket launch on the site blasted debris into surrounding public land, causing fires and destroying bird nests. In other cases, SpaceX has restricted public land access to recreational users and wildlife biologists.
Read more at The Seattle Times.
Article by The Wildlife Society
