A bipartisan group of California lawmakers, led by a Coachella Valley Republican, is urging the Trump administration to stop a proposal that would give a parcel of Yosemite National Park land to a Nevada-based developer.
NOTUS and The New York Times reported on Friday, Aug. 28, that the Trump administration has been working on an exchange between the National Park Service and Kingsbarn Realty Capital. The latter firm owns land just outside Yosemite’s western border and would use the newly acquired land to create a private road that connects to the main road in the national park.
As part of the arrangement, Kingsbarn Realty Capital would buy land of the same value to trade with the National Park Service for the Yosemite parcel. But California legislators
are expressing opposition to this plan.
Assemblymember Greg Wallis, R-Bermuda Dunes, said Wednesday, Sept. 2 that he and 60 other lawmakers have signed a letter urging Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to stop the exchange. Wallis' is the lead signature and the letter is on his letterhead. The politicians signed a letter to Burgum that expressed their objections and asked him to confirm the United States Department of Interior, which oversees national parks, is not accepting the proposal.
“Yosemite belongs to no one and to everyone,” the letter said. “It is held in trust for generations yet to come, and this deal would break that promise.”
Wallis also introduced a joint resolution that was adopted by both the Assembly and the California Senate this year calling for the Trump administration to "immediately restore full and consistent funding and staffing for the National Park Service."
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California lawmakers oppose Trump's Yosemite land swap with developer
