Sawt Falasteen - Trump govt. mulls deal to give away part of Yosemite park

According to the News of the United States (NOTUS) outlet, the government has spent over a year looking for ways to transfer a roughly quarter-mile 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 percent, 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 that negotiations had taken place but denied any political pressure to reach a predetermined outcome.

"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," the agency said, adding: "No final decisions have been made."

"If a proposal advances, the Department will follow established procedures to ensure appropriate coordination, transparency and public involvement consistent with federal law. Anonymous speculation does not change those facts."

Kingsbarn Realty Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy organization, called the move an unlawful "attack."

"The Trump administration's attempts to dismantle America's conservation legacy are now taking aim at Yosemite with this secretive, backroom deal," Mark Rose, the association's senior Sierra Nevada program manager, said in a statement to AFP.

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 administrations of both Republican George W Bush and Democrat Barack Obama. 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 spectacular granite cliffs, glaciers, waterfalls, sequoia trees and wildlife.

Rose said the park was already facing an "overcrowding crisis" from years of lodging expansion in the area, as well as the Trump administration's decision earlier this year to scrap a vehicle registration system to limit traffic.

Q.Najjar--SF-PST