Trump administration seeks to transfer Yosemite park land to private developer
Quick Look
The Trump administration has spent over a year working to transfer a 400-metre strip of Yosemite National Park to a company linked to Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital, which seeks private access to adjacent land, in exchange for land of equal value elsewhere in California.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has previously reduced protections for Utah national monuments and moved to end logging and road-building bans in national forests, indicating a broader effort to roll back conservation measures on public lands.
An investigation published on Friday by NOTUS, a news outlet, said the government had spent over a year quietly working to transfer a roughly 400-metre (0.25-mile) strip of the park to a company linked through a web of other entities to Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital.
It is the latest move by the Trump administration to roll back conservation protections of public lands. In July, the president slashed two Utah national monuments by more than 90 per cent, and this month his administration moved to end a rule barring logging and road-building in national forests.
A Kingsbarn-controlled limited liability company bought a 33-hectare (83-acre) plot just outside the park in 2024, and Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori wanted to build a road connecting the property to one of Yosemite’s thoroughfares – giving the land “exceptionally rare private access”, NOTUS said, citing people familiar with the discussions.
In exchange, the National Park Service would receive land of equal value in another part of California that has yet to be determined.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The land transfer proposal will face legal challenges from environmental groups
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What specific land in California will the National Park Service receive in exchange?
- What is the exact value of the land being transferred and the land to be received?
- Have any environmental impact assessments been conducted for the proposed road?
- What legal authority allows the administration to proceed with this land transfer?
