Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori paid $4 million in 2024 for 83 acres just outside Yosemite National Park. Now, the Trump administration is considering a controversial land swap that could allow Pori to build a private access road through a small section of Yosemite, giving his property a much more direct route into the iconic national park.
The proposal has drawn criticism from conservation groups and former Yosemite officials, while the Interior Department says “no final decisions have been made” and denies that political pressure is driving the process, according to news outlet KQED.
The proposal involves Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based real estate company that owns the land. The Trump administration is considering whether the National Park Service can exchange a roughly quarter-mile strip of Yosemite for land of equal value elsewhere in California.
The idea has triggered opposition from conservation groups and former Yosemite officials, while the Interior Department says no final decision has been made.