Yosemite National Park should never become a bargaining chip for a private real-estate developer. But National Park Service officials are reportedly considering a land exchange that would give Kingsbarn Realty Capital control of roughly a quarter-mile strip inside Yosemite so the company can construct a much shorter road to its 83-acre property outside the park.

Kingsbarn’s property already has access. What the company wants is something far more valuable: a shortcut directly through Yosemite. That road could support future private development on the property, which has been discussed for a resort that could include a hotel, stores, restaurants, and homes.

Trump’s tax law already delivered roughly $900 billion in new tax breaks to corporations. Public lands should not become the next corporate giveaway.

And this is hardly some unavoidable problem the federal government suddenly needs to solve. The previous owner fought for essentially the same access for years. The Bush administration refused. The Obama administration refused. The owner went to federal court and lost, then appealed and lost again. Kingsbarn bought the land in 2024, knowing the history. Now the Trump administration is reconsidering the deal anyway.

That tells us something about who gets heard in Washington. Working people pay their fair share in taxes to support public institutions and resources, including the protection and maintenance of our national parks. Wealthy corporations and investors have lawyers, lobbyists, and political connections to push the government for deals that make their private assets more valuable.

Tell Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and National Park Service leadership to reject the Kingsbarn land exchange, protect Yosemite from private development, and keep our national parks in public hands.