The Esto’k Gna Fight to Protect #SacredLands from #SpaceX Expansion

Oct 14, 2025

Key takeaways:

- Tribal nation challenges #SpaceX expansion: The Esto’k Gna, or #CarrizoComecrudo Tribe of #Texas, oppose SpaceX’s ongoing expansion at Boca Chica, saying the project desecrates sacred lands and harms protected ecosystems.
- #EnvironmentalDamage documented: Tribal leaders and #conservationists report that rocket launches have caused #fires, #debris fallout, and #HabitatLoss in an area home to #EndangeredSpecies.
- Lack of consultation and oversight: The Esto’k Gna say they were never properly consulted by federal or state agencies, despite legal obligations to consider Indigenous rights and cultural heritage in environmental reviews.
- Broader fight for recognition: The Tribe’s concerns highlight ongoing struggles for federal acknowledgment and protection of #IndigenousSovereignty in the face of high-tech industrial expansion.

Excerpt: "On the southernmost edge of Texas, where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf, the Esto’k Gna Tribal Nation — also known as the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas — still hopes to protect what remains of its ancestral lands from Elon Musk’s expanding SpaceX base.

The tribe says the company’s operations at Boca Chica — rebranded 'Starbase' — have devastated fragile #ecosystems, desecrated #SacredSites, and cut off traditional access to the coastline that forms the heart of their creation story. What SpaceX hails as a gateway to Mars, tribal leaders call a continuation of the centuries-long #erasure of Indigenous peoples in the name of progress. As Tribal Chairman #JuanMancias recently told Decatur Metro, 'They dream of reaching Mars. We’re just trying to stay on Earth.' "

Read more:
https://icmagazine.org/the-estok-gna-fight-to-protect-sacred-lands-from-spacex-expansion/

Watch video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPcDYLEKc0c

#CulturalGenocide #EstokGna #IntercontinentalCry #ReaderSupportedNews #SacredLand #BocaChicaBeach #RocketLaunch #Pollution #CarrizoComecrudoTribe #ProtectTheSacred #Colonialism
#CorporateColonialism #OccupySpaceX #TwoHeartedPeople #GarciaPasture #EndangeredSpecies #AncestralLand #ElonSucks #StarbaseCity

The energy transition is a prerequisite for an independent Europe, but please not at the expense of our fellow earth dwellers. Discuss ways to preserve their habitat at the Small Mammal Conservation Conference.
https://smcc.habitatfoundation.org/

#mammal #SMCC #energy #LIFE #habitatloss #rodent #shrew #wind #sun #solarpark #hamster #souslik #vole #squirrel #mouse #rabbit #hare #saveraptors #Bulgaria #discovermammals

#Africa - #Coexistence That's Built to Last

"For two decades, African People & Wildlife has partnered with communities across #Tanzania to protect wildlife, restore landscapes, and support sustainable livelihoods. See how this work has grown and where it’s going next.

Landscape Restoration and Connectivity

We lead collective efforts to restore and connect a flourishing mosaic of lands that benefits people, parks, and wildlife while building local #ClimateChange #resilience.

#HabitatLoss and #fragmentation pose one of the greatest threats to the future of Africa’s people and #wildlife. Without urgent action and collaborative partnerships, our most critical landscapes and their natural resources could be lost forever.

Support Local Corridors

We engage communities in the conservation of critical corridors for wildlife and livestock that link protected areas with communal and private lands.

Revitalize #DegradedPastures

The #overgrazing of local pastures can lead to #SoilErosion and inadequate food for wildlife and livestock. Together with local communities, we monitor and manage the long-term health of vital habitats that benefit people and wildlife.

Layer Programming to Maximize Impact

We overlap our rangeland management programming with the observed range of lions, leopards, and cheetahs to ensure the health and connectivity of vital big cat habitat. We also enhance the health of these pastures with an increased beehive presence through our Women's #Beekeeping Initiative.

Leverage Partnerships to Enhance Connectivity

We work with multiple partners – including government authorities – across large landscapes like the #Ngorongoro Conservation Area to identify shared goals and implement joint programming with local community members."

Learn more:
https://www.africanpeoplewildlife.org/key-issues/our-priorities/landscape-restoration-and-connectivity

#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeCorridors #ClimateChangeAdaptation #Stewardship #EnvironmentalStewardship #SoilRestoration

In spring 2025, 215 volunteers surveyed more than 100 road sites across Tompkins County, documenting 7,000 amphibians. Approximately 3,000 of those had been killed.

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/03/human-patrols-boost-migrating-amphibians

#amphibians #HabitatLoss #climatechange #pollution

Saw a Northern Parula up close today gleaning insects in a magnolia tree. 🙂

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Parula

Be sure to click on the "Listen" link to get their little song in your "bird brain" because you will hear them much more often than you will see them!

Second item explains what we where confused about, the odd east/west break in their breeding range...

"Northern Parulas have an odd break in their breeding range. They breed from Florida north to the boreal forest of Canada, but skip parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and some states in the Northeast. The reason for their absence may have to do with #habitatLoss and increasing #airPollution, which affects the growth of moss on trees that they depend on for nesting."

Third item is the page from my 40+ year old bird book with the #phonogram of their song.

Because of this I was able to ID this bird a few years before I ever saw one!

(Note the photo was taken in northern #Wisconsin in 2012.)

#Birds #Warblers #Parula #NaturePhotography #Books #Florida

From the perspective of carrion ecology, carcasses are not waste but rather #biodiversity hotspots:a single dead animal teems with bacteria,fungi,insect larvae,carrion beetles,scavenging birds/mammals. Researchers describe them as veritable "nutrient islands" that massively boost plant growth...
We mourn the individual visible animal while largely ignoring the often invisible consequences of our lifestyle—#climatecrisis, #habitatloss, #pesticides, power lines

https://wildbeimwild.com/en/why-dead-birds-are-more-than-just-a-sad-sight-in-the-ecosystem/