Trump administration considers trading Yosemite land to private developer

The Trump administration is considering a controversial land swap to trade a parcel of Yosemite National Park to private developer Kingsbarn Realty Capital. The deal would allow the firm, owned by Republican donor Jeff Pori, to build an access road connecting its adjacent 83-acre property to Yosemite's main thoroughfare, cutting a 90-minute commute. While the Interior Department denies political favoritism, reports indicate officials are pressuring the National Park Service to approve the deal. California Democrats and conservationists are actively mobilizing to block the transaction.

Yosemite land exchange proposal

• ▪The U.S. Department of the Interior confirmed a land deal is under consideration but denied any inappropriate White House influence or political pressure
• ▪The proposed land exchange would grant Kingsbarn Realty Capital a parcel or easement of Yosemite National Park land to build a road connecting its adjacent property to a park service road
• ▪The Trump administration is considering a proposal to trade a parcel of Yosemite National Park land to private commercial developer Kingsbarn Realty Capital

Kingsbarn Realty Capital development plans

• ▪Kingsbarn Realty Capital Chief Executive Officer Jeff Pori is a donor to Donald Trump, the Republican National Committee, and other Republican groups
• ▪Kingsbarn Realty Capital seeks to build upscale, single-family houses on its property, which currently requires a 90-minute drive to reach Yosemite Valley
• ▪Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital owns 83 acres consisting of two undeveloped 40-acre parcels along the western border of Yosemite National Park in the Stanislaus National Forest

Interior Department political pressure

• ▪Trump administration political officials have reportedly pressured the National Park Service since Spring 2025 to facilitate and approve the land exchange with Kingsbarn Realty Capital
• ▪Anonymous National Park Service sources described the political pressure from the Department of the Interior to accommodate Kingsbarn Realty Capital as highly unusual

Congressional opposition efforts

• ▪California Congressman Jared Huffman and California Attorney General Rob Bonta publicly opposed the land deal, vowing to protect Yosemite National Park from private development
• ▪Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California are working to block the Yosemite land deal through the Senate Appropriations Committee

National park preservation precedent

• ▪Environmental advocacy groups, including the Center for Western Priorities and the National Parks Conservation Association, condemned the proposed land swap as a threat to wildlife and wildfire safety
• ▪Former Yosemite National Park Superintendent Cicely Muldoon stated that the basic purpose of national parks is to preserve public lands unimpaired rather than ceding them for private profit

3 sources