Overview
- Reports published over the weekend show National Park Service officials have discussed giving Kingsbarn Realty Capital rights to a roughly 400‑meter corridor from adjacent private land into Yosemite in exchange for other federal land.
- Kingsbarn’s lawyer Lanny Davis confirmed talks to AFP and said the shorter road would cut travel distance and emissions while complying with federal law, though no decision has been made by the Department of the Interior.
- Conservation groups, the Yosemite park employees union, and Democratic senators including Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff have sharply criticized the proposal and warned it would weaken park protections and set a dangerous precedent.
- Records and reporting show Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori has donated to Republican organizations and has business ties that have intensified concerns about political favoritism in the talks.
- Any swap would require statutory land‑exchange steps, formal NEPA environmental review, public notice and the likely involvement of federal courts given past rulings that blocked similar access efforts.