Trump’s Plan to Land SpaceX Rockets in Pacific Wildlife Refuge Spurs Lawsuit

The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the U.S. Air Force and Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to release public records detailing the Trump administration’s plans to build landing pads for SpaceX rockets in sensitive marine habitat in the Pacific Ocean.

In March the Air Force announced plans to begin reviewing the potential environmental harms of landing dozens of commercial rockets in the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, which lies within the protected Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. This project is part of an Air Force program called Rocket Cargo Vanguard intended to experiment with the use of commercial rockets for military logistics and materiel transport.

“Landing massive rockets in one of the most isolated and valuable habitats for seabirds would be as destructive and irresponsible as it sounds. That’s exactly why the military and SpaceX are trying to keep this project’s details hidden from the public,” said Maxx Philips, Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands director at the Center. “This project threatens to destroy a site that millions of seabirds need for nesting and overwintering, all in the name of military logistics and Elon Musk’s profit.”

The Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument protect vital nesting habitat for seabirds, shallow coral reefs and marine habitat for endangered species like green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals.

This plan would allow SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force to land up to 10 rockets per year over the next four years on Johnston Atoll.

The military is preparing a shortened version of an environmental analysis required by the National Environmental Policy Act to assess potential harms from the project, including the harms that rocket landings could have on fish habitat and migratory birds. However, there is a history of inadequate environmental review and recurring harm to sensitive and ecologically critical habitat on national wildlife refuge lands from SpaceX’s activities, including several explosions.

On April 20, 2023, a SpaceX rocket exploded next to the Boca Chica Wildlife Refuge in south Texas. The accident ignited a 3.5 acre brush fire and hurled concrete and metal into tidal flats. All shorebird nests surveyed after the accident showed damage or missing eggs, consistent with being hit with debris.

The Center responded by suing the Federal Aviation Administration for allowing the expansion of such operations without more detailed environmental study.

In April the Center submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for public records documenting the Trump administration’s plans to construct and operate the two Johnston Atoll landing pads. The requested records would help the public understand the project’s scope and whether the government’s environmental study adequately examines the project’s risks.

Since the start of Trump’s second term, the Center has pursued numerous strategic Freedom of Information Act lawsuits seeking public records about the administration’s destructive anti-environment agenda. The records sought include emails and other documents detailing plans to accelerate logging in national forests, carry out mass firings and dismantle protections for the nation’s wetlands.

The lawsuit was filed late Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. The Center expects to receive records from the suit in the next two to three months.