Interior Department eyes land swap in Yosemite, sparking bipartisan backlash

For more than a year the Interior Department has negotiated a land exchange that would transfer roughly a quarter-mile of Yosemite National Park to Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based developer, to create a direct road to its ranch. The deal would involve the National Park Service relinquishing the parcel or an easement in return for land of equal value elsewhere in California, a location that has not yet been identified.

Opposition has mounted from nearly 150 bipartisan lawmakers and a coalition of conservation groups, who contend the swap serves private profit rather than public benefit and could establish a troubling precedent for future park management. Critics also point to the proposal’s reliance on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is intended to protect, not sell, public lands. Internal sources say Interior staff face pressure to accelerate the process, though a National Park Service spokesperson maintains that no final decision has been made and any action would follow legal and public-involvement requirements.