A proposed land exchange involving Yosemite National Park has sparked controversy in California. The National Park Service has been discussing a potential deal with Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based developer that owns the roughly 83-acre Hazel Green property immediately outside Yosemite’s western boundary. The Interior Department says no final decision has been made.
Kingsbarn is seeking a much shorter connection between Hazel Green and Big Oak Flat Road inside Yosemite. The developer says the proposed driveway would be roughly 700 feet long, replacing an existing route that requires approximately 11 miles of travel on forest roads. Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori told The Washington Post that the company plans lodging and short-term rental cabins for Yosemite visitors on its property.
The proposal involves exchanging federal park property for other land rather than simply selling Yosemite acreage. Kingsbarn’s representatives say the exchanged property would be of equal value and argue that the arrangement would reduce driving and environmental impacts. Conservation advocates and lawmakers challenging the proposal argue that facilitating private development through an exchange of national-park land could establish an undesirable precedent.
For now, Yosemite’s boundary has not been changed and the proposed exchange has not been approved. The Interior Department says that if the proposal moves forward, it would be subject to applicable federal laws, environmental review and public-notification requirements. The dispute therefore remains about a proposal under consideration rather than a completed transfer of Yosemite land.
