Parks Department Asks Attorney General to Block Draft Agenda on Boca Chica Land

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department asked the Attorney General’s Office on Friday to withhold a draft commission agenda that listed a closed-door discussion of state land in Cameron County, The Texas Tribune reported.

The Tribune requested the draft on October 19, after Texas Monthly reported that commissioners planned to discuss selling 1,300 acres of public land there in private at their November meeting. SpaceX was reported as the potential buyer. The Tribune said it reviewed the draft language through a person familiar with the agenda process, who asked not to be named, and that the item was pulled before the final agenda was posted.

No sale is on the agenda. The posted agenda for the November 4-5 meeting lists six land and easement items for action, and none is in Cameron County. A department spokesperson told Texas Monthly the commission “is not considering the sale of the Boca Chica property at its November meeting.” Gov. Greg Abbott said October 19, “that’s not coming up for a vote anytime soon.”

The Records Dispute

In its letter to the Attorney General’s Office, the department argued that the draft is exempt under the open records law’s protection for the deliberative process. Department attorney Eric Trimble wrote that the draft is “inextricably linked” with the agency’s policymaking.

“Because this record is a preliminary draft of the agenda intended for public release in its final form, it necessarily represents the advice, opinion, and recommendation of the drafter,” he wrote.

Department staff have not answered the Tribune’s questions, including whether a sale could happen later. The eight commissioners the Tribune tried to reach did not respond.

The Park

Boca Chica State Park covers roughly 1,060 acres of dunes, flats, marshes and coastal grassland near the mouth of the Rio Grande. The Nature Conservancy bought the land in 1992 and conveyed it to the department two years later. The park surrounds SpaceX’s South Texas site, and the city of Starbase annexed a large portion of it in September. Annexation does not change who owns the land, the Tribune reported.

“Boca Chica State Park provides enduring benefits for wildlife, habitat connectivity and outdoor recreation, while helping preserve the unique character of our Texas coast,” said James McGuire, the Nature Conservancy’s Texas director.

What a Sale Would Take

Texas law lets the department’s director sell land, with the commission’s approval, if owning it “is no longer in the best interest of the department.” Proceeds must go toward improving or buying land dedicated to the same purpose, according to the Tribune.

The commission approved a swap with SpaceX in 2024 that would have traded 43 acres of the park for 477 acres near Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. SpaceX later withdrew.

If commissioners took up a sale of the park, the final vote would have to happen in open session.