The world-famous Yosemite National Park in Mariposa County, California.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has been quietly considering a proposal to give away a section of the renowned Yosemite National Park in California to a private developer, a report claims.
According to the News of the United States (Notus) outlet, the Government has spent more than a year looking
for ways to transfer a roughly 400m strip of land in the park to a company that, through a web of other companies, is operated by Nevada-based real estate developer Kingsbarn Realty Capital.
It was the latest move by the Trump administration to roll back conservation protections and open public lands to development. In July, the President signed orders slashing two Utah national monuments by more than 90%, and this month his administration moved to end a rule that barred logging and road-building in national forests.
A limited liability company controlled by Kingsbarn purchased an 83-acre plot just outside the park in 2024, and Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori wants 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.
In a statement to AFP, the Interior Department appeared to confirm negotiations had taken place but denied any political pressure to reach a predetermined outcome.
The agency said: “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… No final decisions have been made.”
Kingsbarn Realty Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy organisation, called the move an unlawful “attack.”
The association’s senior Sierra Nevada programme manager Mark Rose said: “The Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle America’s conservation legacy are now taking aim at Yosemite with this secretive, backroom deal.”
There was a previous proposal to develop a road through Yosemite when the 83-acre parcel outside the park had a different owner.
That plan was rejected by the Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama administrations. Courts rejected appeals by the then-owner, Lewis Geyser.
First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains is internationally acclaimed for its granite cliffs, glaciers, waterfalls, sequoia trees and wildlife.
