Trump considers giving away part of Yosemite to private company

The Trump administration is eyeing a land swap that would give part of Yosemite National Park to a private company, according to a document submitted to Congress.

In the document, obtained by The Hill, the National Park Service (NPS) states that a landowner is seeking to connect their property with a park service road in order to facilitate commercial development.

The agency said it is “working with the landowner on a land exchange that will … enable NPS to convey an interest in land.”

“This will require the landowner to purchase property inside the park or within other NPS units in California,” the document continued.

Separately, responses provided by the Interior Department to a Senate office that were shared with The Hill state that the land swap is a “priority.”

Asked about the proposed land swap, the Interior Department, which oversees the NPS, told The Hill that it had not made any final decisions.

“If a proposal advances, the Department will follow established procedures to ensure appropriate coordination, transparency and public involvement consistent with federal law,” it said in a statement.

“There has been no political pressure to reach a predetermined outcome, and claims suggesting the Department is secretly working to hand over National Park Service land to a private developer are false,” the department said.

The proposed land swap was first reported by NOTUS . The news outlet reported that the Trump administration was looking to give the land to a company operated by real-estate developer and investment firm Kingsbarn Realty Capital.

The Hill has attempted to reach Kingsbarn for comment. Lanny Davis told NOTUS that he was an attorney for Kingsbarn and said the company was seeking the land exchange.

“It wasn’t Donald Trump; it was me, liberal Democrat Lanny Davis, former counsel to President Clinton, went to the Department of Interior, and we made the argument that this is a pro-environmental decision to allow this road to be directly built to allow the residents of this privately owned property to gain entrance or exit to the park,” Davis told the news outlet. “The road we’re building is a direct pathway that does not endanger any endangered species, and is simply a road.”

Reports of the land swap nevertheless faced significant criticism from Democrats.

“This is the most corrupt administration in history,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said in a written statement to The Hill.

“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,” Padilla said.

His office said it was working with the Senate Appropriations Committee to try to block the project from advancing.

A spokesperson for Sen. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, told The Hill that he also objects to the swap.

Parks advocates also criticized the plan.

“The Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle America’s conservation legacy are now taking aim at Yosemite with this secretive, backroom deal that would turn over Park Service land to a private developer. This is an attack on the American people that own this national park,” Mark Rose, senior Sierra Nevada program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a written statement.