Trump Administration Pushes Yosemite Land Giveaway to Wealthy Developer, Faces Backlash from Officials and Conservationists
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
A Trump administration scheme to hand over public park land to a private developer for an access road at Yosemite has sparked outrage among elected officials, park workers, and environmental advocates, who warn this could open the floodgates to privatizing America’s cherished protected spaces.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, under the Trump administration, is pushing a land exchange that would allow a Nevada-based real estate giant to carve a road through National Park Service land, granting privileged access to an 83-acre parcel bordering Yosemite National Park. Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the developer, claims the road would make it easier for them to profit from building homes and retail outlets on land that should be preserved for the public good.
The National Park Service, caught in the crosshairs, has stated it cannot simply hand over public land to private interests, and that any such move would require compliance with federal law, environmental scrutiny, and public input. Yet, the very consideration of this proposal signals a dangerous willingness to undermine the agency’s mission.
Local officials in Mariposa and Tuolumne counties were kept in the dark, learning of the plan only after it was set in motion. State leaders, including Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic members of Congress, have condemned the proposal, calling it a direct attack on the integrity of national parks and a blatant giveaway to the ultra-wealthy.
"Our parks belong to all of us. These places should be protected for every generation, not sold off to ultra-wealthy friends to profit off," said Rep. Jared Huffman, ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee.
The Yosemite Leadership of the National Federation of Federal Employees Local 465 forcefully rejected the idea, declaring that sacrificing public land for private greed is fundamentally at odds with the Park Service’s mission.
Kingsbarn, which bought the Hazel Green Ranch in February 2024, claims it has not coordinated with the White House, but the developer’s interests clearly align with the administration’s ongoing efforts to prioritize private profit over public interest.
Environmental groups, including the National Parks Conservation Association, have sounded the alarm, warning that this land swap could set a disastrous precedent for future sell-offs of public lands and vowing to fight in court to defend Yosemite.
"This is sending the signal that any piece of land in our national parks is for sale," said Neal Desai, senior Pacific regional director for the NPCA.
This proposal is just the latest in a string of Trump administration attacks on federally protected lands, echoing their reckless plans in Utah and Texas, and has drawn fierce criticism from park rangers and outdoor recreation advocates determined to resist the privatization of America’s natural heritage.