National Park Service staff have been examining options for transferring approximately a quarter-mile of land within Yosemite National Park to Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based private development company, according to reporting by Notus that cited agency documents and unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Kingsbarn currently owns an 83-acre undeveloped parcel immediately outside the park boundary. The company’s CEO, Jeff Pori, has expressed interest in constructing a short road to connect the external property to a central Yosemite route, according to the outlet’s reporting. The current access to the land, which Kingsbarn acquired in 2024, requires travelers to take a longer, indirect path of more than 10 miles from the nearest park entrance. The previous landowner had similarly sought federal approval for decades to build a private road through the park for resort development purposes, but those efforts were unsuccessful.
Administration officials have proposed that the National Park Service relinquish the land in exchange for land of equivalent value elsewhere in California, according to sources cited by Notus. Interior department political leadership supports the proposal, and the situation has created internal tensions within the park service. An interior department spokesperson rejected the reporting in a statement, stating that there has been no political pressure toward a predetermined outcome and characterizing suggestions of a secretive land transfer to a private developer as false.
The reporting has generated significant opposition. Environmental advocates and park protection groups have criticized the proposal as part of efforts to privatize national parks. Democratic lawmakers from California, including both of the state’s senators and Congressman Jared Huffman, have publicly opposed the road development effort. Critics argue that national parks should remain public assets protected for future generations.
The interior department stated that no final determinations have been made and that any land exchange or access proposal would require compliance with applicable federal laws, regulations, and departmental policies, including environmental review and public notification processes.
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