The Trump administration is reportedly pushing the National Park Service to execute an unprecedented land exchange that would cede a quarter-mile strip of Yosemite National Park to a Nevada-based private developer, according to reporting from Notus and confirmed by the Washington Post, New York Times, and the Guardian. The proposal has been under consideration since spring 2025 and marks a potential reversal of more than 150 years of federal policy protecting America’s first national park.
Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a real estate investment firm, owns an 83-acre plot of undeveloped land immediately outside Yosemite’s western boundary, which it purchased for $4 million in 2024 through a limited-liability company called Sanctuary at Yosemite. Jeff Pori, the company’s CEO, wants to construct a short private road connecting the property to one of Yosemite’s central thoroughfares, according to Notus sources and agency documents. Without such a road, visitors to the property would face a circuitous route of more than an hour and a half to reach Yosemite Valley.
The National Park Service proposal would have the agency give up the land or an easement interest in exchange for land of equivalent value elsewhere in California, according to the sources. Interior Department political leadership is backing the deal, creating what Notus sources describe as unusual pressure on park staff, who are required to send regular updates on progress and are occasionally berated for moving too slowly.
This proposal resurrects a bid that has been repeatedly rejected for over two decades. The land’s previous owner, California developer Lewis Geyser, sought permission from the Bush and Obama administrations to build a private road through Yosemite as part of a resort development plan. Geyser sued in 2007 to force the issue, losing in federal district court and again on appeal in 2012, when judges ruled that while the federal government must provide an exit for private properties completely enclosed by federal lands, it does not have to allow new roads when an existing access route—however long or indirect—already exists. The land’s current access road runs more than 10 miles from a park entrance through Forest Service lands.
When Kingsbarn took over the property in 2024, it immediately approached the Interior Department to revive the road proposal. “We got an email from the new owner, reopening this issue that we felt was long closed,” said Cicely Muldoon, a 40-year veteran of the Park Service who served as Yosemite’s superintendent and retired shortly after President Trump took office in 2025. “Whoever bought the land hadn’t done their due diligence and realized that this was not a possibility by law, to build a new entrance essentially into Yosemite National Park for private purposes.”
The Trump administration’s support for the deal contradicts public commitments made by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. During his 2025 confirmation hearing, Burgum stated: “The national parks, absolutely we need to support and protect every single inch of those.” Trump also declared on August 24 during National Park Week that his administration is “committed to protecting every acre of our lands and preserving the cleanest air and water in the world,” according to a White House presidential message.
Muldoon emphasized the historical significance of any reversal. “The national park idea started in Yosemite with Abraham Lincoln’s preservation of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Our basic purpose in the national parks is to preserve these places unimpaired for future generations, not letting go of that for the purpose of private profit,” she said, according to Notus.
The proposal has triggered swift opposition from environmental groups and elected officials. The Sierra Club stated the deal would break a government commitment of more than 150 years. California Senator Alex Padilla said: “The Land and Water Conservation Fund exists to acquire land and interests in land in order to safeguard natural areas, water resources, and cultural heritage — and to provide recreation opportunities for all Americans. Projects should be chosen on merit, not on an applicant’s connections to high-ranking Trump Administration officials.” Senator Adam Schiff added that while courts have struck down similar proposals, “this administration appears hellbent on moving forward in the face of opposition from the public, Congress and the courts.”
The National Parks Conservation Association said it strongly opposes the plan. “After a century of protecting Yosemite, the National Park Service is now working in overdrive to turn over land to a private developer in a secretive, backroom deal. This is an attack on the American people that own this national park. It would also be unlawful and a court previously rejected a road development proposal,” said Mark Rose, the group’s Sierra Nevada program manager.
The Interior Department has denied that the process is secretive. In a statement to the Guardian, Aubrie Spady, an Interior Department spokesperson, said there “has been no political pressure to reach a predetermined outcome” and called claims that the department is secretly working to hand over park land to a private developer “false.” The National Park Service stated that “no final decisions have been made” but that any land exchange “would be subject to all applicable federal laws, regulations, and Departmental policies, including required environmental review and public notification processes.”
Pori has business ties to Trump administration figures. In April 2025, Kingsbarn closed a deal to acquire the Los Angeles headquarters of Kim Kardashian’s lingerie company Skims, working with the Newmark Group and Hankey Capital—both linked to the Trump administration. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick chaired Newmark before joining the administration and did not fully divest until May 2025. Don Hankey, chair of Hankey Capital, also chairs an insurance company that underwrote Trump’s $175 million bond in his 2024 appeal of a New York civil fraud judgment, according to Notus. Between 2024 and 2025, Pori made monthly donations to Republican committees and Trump’s campaign, though he had no history of national political donations before October 2024.
If the land exchange proceeds, it would likely face legal challenges from conservation groups. The park service can move forward without further congressional involvement under existing land exchange authorities, though Senate appropriations leaders were not supportive when notified of the proposal earlier this year.
Sources
- Notus — Original reporting on the Trump administration’s efforts to arrange a land exchange with Kingsbarn Realty Capital since spring 2025, including internal NPS documents, sourced interviews, and Pori’s business ties
- The Guardian — Confirmation of the proposal, developer details, Interior Department statement, and political opposition from California senators and conservation groups
- Washington Post — Reporting on the Trump administration’s consideration of the deal and NPS land exchange process
- Sierra Club — Statement opposing the proposal as breaking 150 years of precedent
