Trump administration pushing to hand parcel of Yosemite land to private developer - report | California | The Guardian
By: Kingsbarn Realty Capital (the Guardian)
YOSEMITE - ANSEL ADAMS
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Trump administration is reportedly pushing to give a parcel of land inside Yosemite, the country's first national park and one of its most popular, to a Nevada-based private developer.
Staff with the National Park Service have been exploring how the agency can give a quarter-mile parcel to a company operated by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the news outlet Notus reported on Friday, citing agency documents and unnamed sources "directly familiar with discussions".
The company already owns an 83-acre (34-hectare) plot of undeveloped land immediately outside the park. The previous owner of that land had hoped to create a resort and unsuccessfully lobbied the federal government for decades to allow him to construct a private road in the park, the outlet reported.
The current access road to the land, which Kingsbarn bought in 2024, is more than 10 miles (16km) from the nearest park entrance and would require travelers to take a longer, indirect route to reach popular park attractions. Jeff Pori, the company's CEO, wants to construct a short road to connect the parcel to a central Yosemite route, according to Notus.
Administration officials have proposed that the park service give up the land in exchange for equally valuable land elsewhere in California, the outlet reported. The interior department's top political leaders support the proposal, according to sources cited by Notus, and the situation has created tension inside the park service.
In a statement to the Guardian, Aubrie Spady, an interior department spokesperson, rejected the reporting, arguing there "has been no political pressure to reach a predetermined outcome", and said "suggesting the Department is secretly working to hand over National Park Service land to a private developer [is] false."
The report has sparked outrage among National Park Service supporters and environmental advocates. Jayson O'Neill, spokesperson for Save Our Parks, described it as part of a "push to sell off public lands and privatize America's national parks" by the US interior secretary, Doug Burgum.
"If mismanaging parks and stealing entrance fees for Trump's DC vanity projects wasn't enough, now Americans find out Doug Burgum and his cronies spent a year secretly negotiating to hand a piece of Yosemite national park over to a well-connected developer, all while lying to us about protecting them," O'Neill said.
"National parks belong to the American people, not monied developers who are part of Trump's donor class."
Both of California's senators have expressed their opposition to efforts to develop the road, as has Jared Huffman, the Democratic California congressman representing the state's north coast.
"Our parks belong to all of us. These places should be protected for every generation, not sold off to Trump's ultra-wealthy friends to profit off of," Huffman said. "I will fight this, both for Yosemite and for every treasured park that would be up for grabs if this domino falls."
The interior department said no final decisions had been reached and that any land exchange or access proposal would be "subject to all applicable federal laws, regulations and Departmental policies, including required environmental review and public notification processes".
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The evil, corrupt Trumpist regime is betraying American AGAIN.
Not really trumps to give away.... Jesus he thinks the USA belongs to him? Fucker needs a serious reality check.
one of my friends that's a diehard maga trump supporter and thumper is flipping out about construction on federal park land on FB. to clarify, we were a lot closer when she was a bartender, about 20+ years ago and not a thumper trumper. looks like I dodged a couple bullets back then. this trump initiated bullshit reeks of political payoffs and corruption.
How much of Kingsbarn Realty Capital do Uday and Qusay own?
One partner was in a different Corp where Howard Ludnick is/was the CEO....
The other partner is the questionable Bail Bond King wo put up $175 million Bond for Trump in one ov the New Ypork cases.
That's a really huge coincidence even in a really small world. /S
Just a REALLY HUGE coincidence, I'm sure.
I'd be willing to bet that there would damn well be a big buck in the deal for Trump personally..
I wouldn't bet against that.
fortunately, president obama made possessing firearms within national parks legal. now all those wealthy investors have to do, that want a shortcut to the park from their mansions, is find operators willing to expose themselves on slow moving heavy equipment among hundreds of hidden positions at any number of surrounding higher elevations along the route. it may prove to be an expensive proposition, after the first road crew is dissuaded from starting the construction project.
Cue MAGA to come chastise us for “overreacting” to Trump, who is “only trolling” us.
The GOP Trump endorsed clown running for NY Governor insists that trump is just bluffing, joking and yanking our collective chain because he's a happy jokester....
No, really...
As if trolling, bluffing, owning the libs or whatever were somehow a desirable thing in an elected official.
I don't understand conservative comedy, except for the unintentional kind, when they make complete fools of themselves ...
I remember when he tried this the first time with Bear Ears and other parks and federal lands.
Which means it really is true
I think the current stats are whatever paid maga sycophants say, the opposite is closer to the truth ...
Two things on this from a long time Yosemite park visitor. One, I think the road should be built through this corridor. And two, I think the park services should be the ones to do it and keep owning it like they do all the other access connections in the park to public roads. While it would take tax dollars to build and maintain, they could more than make that back in the increased park access and park fees. No one wins by making people drive from this town a long winding 10+ miles with the extra fuel costs and 10 miles of road upkeep for that number of travelers just to preserve a quarter mile of road impact which can be mitigated if the National Parks are the ones who actually run the project and own the access road up to the new point of park entry.
I also don’t think this is a huge deal, provided that there is an exchange of at least equal value and that no piece of shit subhuman with the last name Trump benefits from it personally. But we all know that that is never how it works in this administration. DJT wouldn’t even waste a minute thinking about it without some personal enrichment angle. Why would he? He has zero concern for improving the lives of anyone but himself.
And he'll want to rename the park after himself of course...