Trump administration looks to give a swath of Yosemite park to developer

The Trump administration has proposed giving a small parcel of land in Yosemite National Park in California to a private developer, according to federal officials and documents reviewed by the New York Times.

The potential deal, which has not yet been finalized, has alarmed conservationists and former federal officials, who say that Yosemite, the crown jewel of the nation’s park system, should be off-limits to development.

The proposal, details of which were first reported by the news outlet NOTUS, calls for transferring a small parcel just inside the western boundaries of Yosemite to a Las Vegas-based company. That firm wants to build a road and develop two 40-acre parcels near the park, according to documents submitted to Congress this year and reviewed by the Times.

In exchange, the company would purchase land of equivalent value, either near Yosemite or elsewhere in California, and hand it over to the National Park Service, the documents show.

The company is controlled by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a real estate private equity firm. The firm bought the parcels in 2024 for $4 million through a limited liability corporation called Sanctuary at Yosemite, property records show.

“This is so ridiculous, it makes you sick,” said Don Neubacher, a former supervisor at Yosemite who is now on the executive council of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, a nonprofit group. Neubacher said a similar proposal had been raised in the early 2000s by previous owners of the parcels and was rejected, first by the park service and later in court.

The proposed swap would effectively provide Kingsbarn with a shortcut into the park.

Aubrie Spady, a spokesperson for the Interior Department, the parent agency of the park service, said in a statement that no final decision had been made.

“Any land exchange or access proposal involving National Park Service lands would be subject to all applicable federal laws, regulations, and Departmental policies, including required environmental review and public notification processes,” Spady said.

The Interior Department notified Congress this year that it was considering paying for the exchange via the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The notification drew criticism from Democrats who said the fund was intended to pay for conservation programs on public lands.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) in a statement Friday called Yosemite “one of California’s natural wonders.”

“This administration appears hellbent on moving forward in the face of opposition from the public, Congress, and the courts,” he said. “But the only thing the administration cares about is whether there is money involved.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Times.