Petition Against Yosemite Land Swap Sees Jump In Signatures

Published Oct 8, 2026 6:18 pm

Visitors at Yosemite National Park near Half Dome—US Park Service photo

Yosemite, CA – Organizers of a petition against a proposed Yosemite National Park land swap to a developer are reporting an increase in signatures gathered, including from Tuolumne County and areas surrounding the park.

The nonpartisan Yosemite Rivers Alliance announced that its petition has passed 13,600 signatures, double the 6,800 signatures it had in late September, when the first signatures were delivered to decision-makers. They shared that the additional signatures were delivered on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, to Interior Department leadership, California’s congressional delegation, the State Legislature, and Governor Gavin Newsom.

As reported here in August, the Department of the Interior is considering trading a small parcel of property on Yosemite’s western boundary to a private developer in exchange for yet-to-be identified acreage of comparable value in California. Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Nevada-based developer, hopes to use the site to build an access road to its 83-acre property, the Hazel Green Ranch. The developer has also stated that park visitors could use the roadway. The Interior Department has stated that no final decision has been made. Petition organizers noted that signers are asking federal leaders to settle the question and keep Yosemite whole.

“We hoped for 5,000 names. We’re past 13,600, and they keep coming,” said Patrick Koepele, executive director of Yosemite Rivers Alliance. “People from the foothills, the Central Valley, the Bay Area, and the Eastern Sierra are all saying the same thing. Yosemite belongs to all of us, and it should stay whole for the next generation.”

Yosemite Rivers Alliance says the signatures have come from all 58 California counties and 49 states. They noted that support for the petition is strongest near the park, with more than 300 Tuolumne County residents having signed, which is roughly 1 in every 170 people who live there, and Mariposa County has signed at a similar rate.

“I was born and raised around Yosemite. I grew up the child of a state park ranger. We cannot let this happen.” – Shelley Schaal, Sonora

In September, 61 California state legislators and 157 members of Congress urged Interior Department leadership to reject the proposal, according to Yosemite Rivers Alliance, which pointed to Yosemite’s high country as the source of the Tuolumne and Merced rivers, which carry drinking water to more than 3 million Californians, irrigate Central Valley farms, and sustain salmon runs downstream. They have set their new signature goal at 20,000. For more information regarding the petition and signage, click here.