Yosemite National Park Land Transfer Sparks Congressional Pushback From Bipartisan Lawmakers
The proposed land exchange aims to facilitate private access to and development of an 83-acre parcel adjacent to the park known as Hazel Green Ranch, sparking intense pushback over public land protection and private benefits.
Proposed Land Exchange Threatens Public Access at Yosemite National Park
The controversy centers on a potential plan by the Trump administration to convey an interest in an approximately quarter-mile strip of federally managed public land inside Yosemite National Park. According to reporting cited by lawmakers, the transfer would grant access to private property owned by Kingsbarn, a company. “At its core, this proposal appears to provide a private benefit at the expense of land that belongs to all Americans,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
The congressional coalition argued that any decision to relinquish public land to private ownership requires a clear and compelling public benefit rather than the economic interests of a private party. The lawmakers also questioned the Department of the Interior’s proposal to use Land and Water Conservation Fund authority to facilitate the exchange. Previous attempts to advance the project stalled when the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee declined to move forward due to congressional objections.
Bipartisan Lawmakers Rally Behind National Park Protection
Opposition to the Yosemite land transfer spans both chambers of Congress and crosses party lines. In the Senate, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA)—all members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works—spearheaded the opposition alongside 31 other Democratic and independent senators. Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA-21), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), and 123 additional representatives.
“Public lands belong in public hands,” the lawmakers concluded in their letter to Secretary Burgum. “Protection of public lands is a bipartisan issue, overwhelmingly supported by the American people from all walks of life.” The Department of the Interior has not yet issued a final decision on whether to proceed with the exchange, leaving the status of the federal land strip uncertain as congressional pressure mounts.
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