YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Administration officials have proposed that the National Park Service give up the land in exchange for equally valuable land elsewhere in California. Sources cited by Notus state that the Interior Department’s top political leaders support the proposal.

Jeff Pori is the CEO of Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based private developer. Pori wants to construct a short road to connect the parcel to a central Yosemite route. The current access road to the land is more than 10 miles from the nearest park entrance.

Documents submitted to Congress indicate Kingsbarn would purchase land of equivalent value and hand it over to the Park Service. The Interior Department notified Congress it was considering paying for exchange costs via the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Former park service officials stated that political appointees at the Interior Department have discussed the proposed land exchange for more than a year, calling it a top priority. The Interior Department stated that no final decisions had been reached.

Aubrie Spady, an Interior Department spokesperson, stated there has been no political pressure to reach a predetermined outcome. She said suggesting the Department is secretly working to hand over National Park Service land to a private developer is false. The Interior Department stated 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.

California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla have expressed opposition to the proposal. Senator Adam Schiff said Yosemite is one of California's natural wonders and noted that the courts struck this project down once, but this administration appears hell-bent on moving forward. He said they will fight this again. Senator Padilla posted on X that Yosemite is not for sale. Representative Jared Huffman expressed opposition to the efforts to develop the road.

Jared Huffman said the parks belong to all of us and that these places should be protected for every generation, not sold off to Trump’s ultra-wealthy friends to profit off of. He added that he will fight this, both for Yosemite and for every treasured park that would be up for grabs if this domino falls. Jayson O’Neill, spokesperson for Save Our Parks, described the proposal as part of a push to sell off public lands and privatize America’s national parks by US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. O’Neill said that 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 also said national parks belong to the American people, not monied developers who are part of Trump’s donor class. Mark Rose, the senior Sierra Nevada program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, called the move an unlawful attack.

Federal election records show Pori has donated frequently to the Republican National Committee and Trump-aligned fundraising committees. Pori made regular small-dollar donations to President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, contributing more than $4,000. Pori made regular, mostly small-dollar donations to President Donald Trump’s campaign committee between 2024 and 2025. Pori has no history of donating to national political campaigns before October 2024.

Timeline

Lewis Geyser, a developer from Solvang, California, purchased land on Yosemite’s western border in the late 1990s and proposed building a resort called Hazel Green Ranch. Lewis Geyser sued the federal government in 2007 seeking an easement through park property after the Park Service refused his request. A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled against Lewis Geyser in 2012.

Kingsbarn Realty Capital purchased the land for $4 million through a limited liability corporation called Sanctuary at Yosemite in 2024. Kingsbarn Realty Capital purchased the 83-acre parcel in 2024. Jeff Pori has no history of donating to national political campaigns before October 2024. The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) is issuing this final rule to adopt the interim final rule (IFR) published on January 10, 2025, with a few changes made to respond to public comments, to clarify procedures, and to correct typographical errors.

What's New

In the early 2000s, the National Park Service appeared interested in working with Geyser as part of a broader plan to reduce development pressure on the Yosemite Valley, but the plan collapsed and the Park Service refused further development within Yosemite. Geyser sued in 2007 to force the issue, losing first in district court and again on appeal in 2012. Padilla posted on X: "Yosemite is not for sale."

A limited-liability company controlled by Kingsbarn purchased the undeveloped land outside Yosemite for $4 million in 2024, calling the property 'Sanctuary at Yosemite' in records reviewed by NOTUS. California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that national parks are not the property of any one administration and that his office is monitoring the situation. Kingsbarn Realty Capital purchased the land for $4 million through a limited liability corporation called Sanctuary at Yosemite.

How Sources Differ

Sources differ on details regarding the undeveloped land. The Notus report states Kingsbarn Realty Capital owns an 83-acre plot of undeveloped land immediately outside Yosemite National Park. The notus.org report states a limited-liability company controlled by Kingsbarn purchased the undeveloped land outside Yosemite for $4 million in 2024, calling the property 'Sanctuary at Yosemite' in records reviewed by NOTUS.

Sources differ on details regarding Kingsbarn Realty Capital. Property records state Kingsbarn Realty Capital purchased the land for $4 million through a limited liability corporation called Sanctuary at Yosemite.

The Notus report citing agency documents states the Trump administration is considering a land swap involving a parcel of land inside Yosemite National Park and Kingsbarn Realty Capital.

The Notus report citing agency documents states National Park Service staff have explored giving a quarter-mile parcel of land to a company operated by Kingsbarn Realty Capital.

Why It Matters

The proposal involves a potential transfer of public land within a major national park to a private entity, raising questions about the protection of federal natural resources. The involvement of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which exists to safeguard natural areas, adds a layer of complexity to the financial mechanics of the exchange.

Critics characterize the effort as an attempt to privatize public assets for the benefit of wealthy donors, pointing to recent campaign contributions by the developer involved. The Interior Department maintains that standard legal procedures and environmental reviews will govern any final decision, emphasizing that no determination has yet been made.