Trump administration faces backlash over Yosemite park giveaway

The US administration is being criticized for considering the transfer of a small section of Yosemite National Park to a private developer. According to a report by NOTUS, the government has secretly been working on a deal to transfer roughly 400 meters of the park to a company with links to Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital.

This follows other recent actions by the Trump administration to weaken conservation protections of public lands, such as reducing the size of two Utah national monuments and ending a rule on logging and road-building in national forests.

In 2024, a Kingsbarn-controlled company bought a 33-hectare plot outside the park, and the company's CEO wanted to build a road connecting the land to Yosemite’s main roads. The National Park Service would receive an equal-value parcel of land in another part of California, though the exact location hasn't been determined.

The Interior Department confirmed negotiations had taken place but denied any pressure to reach a specific outcome, stating that any land exchange would follow federal laws, regulations, and policies, including environmental review and public notification processes. Federal election records show that Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori has donated to Republican National Committee and Trump-aligned fundraising committees.

The National Parks Conservation Association called the proposed deal an "unlawful attack" on America's conservation legacy, with their senior Sierra Nevada programme manager stating that the administration's efforts to dismantle conservation efforts are targeting Yosemite with this "secretive, back room deal." The Yosemite National Park Employees Union was "appalled" by the proposed land exchange, calling it "antithetical to what we stand for."

Previous attempts to develop a road through Yosemite were rejected by the administrations of both Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama. Courts previously rejected appeals by the then-owner of the 33-hectare parcel outside the park. Yosemite, first protected in 1864, is renowned for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, sequoia trees, and wildlife.

The park's management is facing an overcrowding crisis, and the Trump administration's decision this year to scrap a vehicle registration system to limit traffic has further exacerbated the issue. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California, a strong critic of Trump, said in a statement that Yosemite must be protected from further development, and the administration is motivated solely by the prospect of money. He vowed to fight the proposal.