Trump administration pushing to hand parcel of Yosemite land to private developer – report – theguardian.com

Trump administration pushing to hand parcel of Yosemite land to private developer – report  theguardian.com

Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital seeks to acquire land to construct private road to development outside park The Trump administration is reportedly pushing to give a parcel of land inside Yosemite, one of the country’s most popular national parks, 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