The federal government is moving to hand over a quarter-mile strip inside Yosemite to a real estate firm, a bad deal for anyone who thinks public land should stay public.

• Kings Barn Realty Capital, which already owns 83 acres just outside the park, wants a private driveway connecting its property to the park highway.
• The firm plans short-term rentals for tourists — earlier proposals on the site included cabins and a 150-room hotel.
• The land swap would trade 1.1 acres of Interior Department land for property of equal value.
• Park advocates warn Yosemite is already jammed with cars and hours-long entry lines after the daily reservation system was scrapped.
• Kings Barn's CEO began donating to Trump's campaign in late 2024, and the firm has closed deals alongside companies tied to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and to the chair who underwrote Trump's $175 million civil fraud bond.

Outlook: The deal is not final, and legal challenges are likely — a court already rejected a similar access claim by the property's former owner.