Lawmakers and Advocacy Groups Urge Trump Administration to Block Yosemite Land Deal
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More than 150 members of Congress and a coalition of environmental groups wrote to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, urging the rejection of a proposal to transfer a quarter-mile of Yosemite National Park to a private developer.
Hundreds of advocacy organizations and a bipartisan group of over 150 members of Congress sent letters to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Tuesday, urging the administration to reject a proposal that would exchange a quarter-mile strip of Yosemite National Park for land owned by Kingsbarn Realty Capital. The lawmakers, including California senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and representatives Jared Huffman and Jim Costa, said the transaction offers no public benefit and appears to serve a private developer’s interests.
The developers, operating through a network of limited-liability companies, own 83 acres adjacent to the park and seek to build a short road that would provide private access to Yosemite’s central thoroughfares. The congressional letter warned that the Department of the Interior had not identified any public land to offer in exchange and that the proposal relied on funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is intended to protect, not sell, public lands.
"We are extremely concerned that the Department of the Interior is considering selling off portions of the park to private development, and we strongly oppose the proposed land transfer," the lawmakers wrote.
"This transaction does not seek to expand public access to Yosemite, improve visitor services, or address transportation deficiencies in park access. Rather, it seeks to cut down driving time for a select few on private property," they added.
A coalition of more than 150 advocacy groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, issued a similar letter. The coalition cited the park’s historic status as a cornerstone of American conservation and warned that ceding any part of Yosemite could set a precedent for future privatizations of public lands.
"Trump wants to carve off a chunk of Yosemite so a private equity firm can turn it into a playground for billionaires," said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The groups also noted that Kingsbarn’s CEO Jeff Pori contributed to President Trump’s campaign and that the firm is represented by a lawyer with political connections, suggesting potential conflicts of interest. They urged Burgum to honor his earlier testimony that the administration must protect every inch of the nation’s parks.