VOTE in November 2026 is the Message on this Colorfl Sign by Mainer Lynn Beasley at the August 15, 2026, Protest Against Collins-Trump in Monument Square, Portland. VOTE to Take Back and the House and the Senate From Republican CControl.
Congresswoman Chellie PIngree (D-ME) is pushing back against the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) proposed land exchange in Yosemite National Park. The project is listed as DOI’s sixth most important priority – even though Interior has acknowledged that it has not identified the parcel it intends to exchange.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Pingree warns that the Department is seeking approval without identifying the property involved or demonstrating any public benefit..
“Given the complete absence of any demonstrated conservation or other public benefit, the unavoidable conclusion is that this project has been deemed a departmental priority to advance a private transaction rather than a public purpose,” Pingree said. “The Land and Water Conservation Fund exists to safeguard land for the American peope – not to serve as a federal concierge for a private landowner’s real estate ambitions. Absent compelling evidence to the contrary, which has not been provided by the Department, this project should not move forward.”
The proposed Yosemie exchange involves KIngsbarn Realty Capital, which owns the approximaely 93-acre Hazel Green Ranch along the park’s western boundary. The developer has said it is seeking approximately 1.1 acres of federal land to construct a roughly 700-foot road connecting a planned lodging development to Big Oak Flat Road inside Yosemte. In return, it would acquire and transfer property of equal value in California, but that replacement property has not been identified. A previous owner of Hazel Green Ranch pursued separate easement claims seeking more direct access through Yosemite, but a federal district court dismissed those claims and the Ninth Circui affirmed the dismissal in 2012.
Rep. PIngree is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Please visit post herein dated April 21, 2026 for information on Congresswomen Pingree’s posiion on Secretary Doug Burgum’s renewal energy stance.