re: SpaceX to acquire 30,000 acres in Vermilion Parish for Spaceport?

#FTD

frickThemDucks

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This makes sense as most eastern launches follow a trajectory that would put them flying over south Louisiana. Like how launches at the Cape follow Easter seaboard.

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That’s only because of the ISS and it’s only there for easy access for the Russians while avoiding flying over China.


We are unlikely to partner with the Russians again like that and the possible facility would be completed just in time for the ISS to be dismantled.

Most inclinations from Cape absent other factors are due east to maximize fuel efficiency/lift capacity and I imagine most manned launches using starship would be leaving earth’s orbit.

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It’s easier than that. Tboy can still hunt after SpaceX builds their facilities. This should not affect him much. Certainly it will make little difference to the ducks.

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Not true. If SpaceX uses 30,000 acres for its facility then the remainder of the 125,000 will likely be used for mitigation with no hunting.

Apparently, you’re unaware of noise and vibration. It will certainly affect the 220 bird species that inhabit Rainey, which is adjacent.

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How to destroy some of the finest duck hunting land in one easy step

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Nope. Already done by marsh canals, Hurricane Rita, and Ducks Unlimited. Area's been punch drunk, this is just a knockout punch

Here’s an article that pieces together a bunch of the rumors.

LINK

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Something big is happening in the marsh south of Abbeville and almost no one is talking about it on the record. Over the last few weeks I’ve fielded dozens of phone calls from clients, friends, and fellow sportsmen asking the same question: did SpaceX really buy 136,000 acres in Pecan Island and Freshwater City?

I’ve called everyone I could think of who might know — government officials, longtime Pecan Island locals, energy insiders, hunting-lease holders. No one is denying it. A few are quietly confirming it. But not a single official document has surfaced. So I went down the rabbit hole myself. Here is everything I’ve learned about the rumor, what makes it credible, what it would mean for property owners and investors across Acadiana, and what I think you should do about it right now.

The Rumor That’s Shaking Acadiana

The rumor — repeated in private group chats, in coffee shops in Abbeville, and in hunting camps from Forked Island to Grand Chenier — is that SpaceX has acquired or is in the process of acquiring approximately 136,000 acres of coastal Louisiana marshland straddling Pecan Island and Freshwater City in Vermilion Parish. The footprint reportedly stretches from south of Highway 82 down to the Gulf of America, encompassing some of the most ecologically rich and economically untouched wetlands in North America.

If true, this would be the single largest private land acquisition in the modern history of Vermilion Parish. To put it in perspective: 136,000 acres is roughly 212 square miles — bigger than the entire city of New Orleans. SpaceX’s existing Boca Chica/Starbase facility in South Texas, which has reshaped Brownsville’s economy and real estate market in just five years, is built on a footprint of less than 100 acres. A 136,000-acre Louisiana site would not be a launch pad. It would be an industrial campus on a scale never before seen in American aerospace.

Why I Believe This Rumor Is Real (The Exxon Connection)

The single most credible piece of evidence supporting the rumor isn’t a leak from inside SpaceX — it’s a verifiable public record about ExxonMobil. In October 2022, ExxonMobil announced plans to develop a 125,000-acre carbon-capture-and-storage project in Vermilion Parish, on land it controls through long-standing mineral and surface leases dating back to the Humble Oil era. That land is managed on the surface by the Vermilion Corporation, a private entity that has historically run hunting and fishing leases across the marsh.

Here’s what changed in 2025: ExxonMobil quietly withdrew its key wetlands permits for that carbon-capture project. Public records show the permitting effort has stalled. If Exxon has shelved its CCS plans, it now holds an enormous, contiguous block of South Louisiana real estate with no clear path to monetization — until a buyer like SpaceX walks in. Dealing with a single corporate seller like ExxonMobil makes a 136,000-acre transaction infinitely easier than negotiating with hundreds of private landowners. That’s exactly the kind of deal Elon Musk’s team would chase.

Two more pieces fit the puzzle:

The hunting lease intel. A trusted local source on Pecan Island has told me — and verified through other contacts — that hunting access south of Pecan Island will be changed for the 2026 season. If Vermilion Corporation’s surface lease is being terminated to facilitate a sale, the immediate consequence would be exactly that: cancelled hunting leases.

The 10x land offers. Multiple property owners in the Freshwater City area report receiving unsolicited offers from out-of-state investors at roughly ten times appraised value. This perfectly mirrors SpaceX’s 2019 Boca Chica playbook, where SpaceX (and speculators tracking SpaceX) offered three to ten times appraised value to secure the perimeter around their launch site.

None of this is a confirmation. But three independent signals — Exxon’s stalled CCS project, the hunting changes, and the premium land offers — all point in the same direction. My honest, professional opinion: this rumor is more likely true than not.

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Jim Keaty is VERY well respected and doesn't go around popping off stuff, especially publicly like on his company's blog, without having legit facts and reason. He has a strong reputation to uphold for himself and his company.

May as well be on a barge. Much of that is actually floating turf with need to drive extensive piling to support a slab for just a 250 ton crane.