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The administration seeks to cede a quarter-mile strip of Yosemite National Park to private developer Kingsbarn Realty Capital

The administration announced a proposal to cede a quarter-mile strip of land within Yosemite National Park to Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based real estate company. The deal would allow the company to construct a private road connecting its 83-acre plot outside the park's western boundary to a central Yosemite thoroughfare. In exchange, the National Park Service would receive land of equal value elsewhere in California. While the administration is pushing for the deal, the proposal has faced significant opposition from environmental advocates and lawmakers. Critics argue that the move breaks with 150 years of precedent, as the federal government has historically focused on expanding rather than ceding land within crown-jewel parks. California senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff have expressed opposition, noting that the project was previously rejected by courts. The Department of the Interior has defended the proposal, stating that no final decisions have been made and that any land exchange would follow established federal laws and environmental reviews.

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