September 8, 2026 - Last week, Assemblymember Dawn Addis signed on to the following letter to Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior.

The Honorable Doug Burgum
Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240

Dear Secretary Burgum:

We, the undersigned members of the California Legislature, urge you to immediately halt and reject the proposed land exchange at Yosemite National Park now under consideration to benefit a private developer. Yosemite belongs to no one and to everyone. It is held in trust for generations yet to come, and this deal would break that promise.

This is not a close call. It is a proposal to transfer land inside one of the most treasured public spaces in America to a private company for its own commercial benefit. No land swap of this kind should be on the table. Yosemite is not a subdivision, and it is not for sale.

That principle is as old as Yosemite’s federal protection. In 1864, in the middle of the Civil War, President Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act, setting aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias for public use and protection. It marked the first time the federal government set aside scenic land specifically for preservation and public use, and it laid the groundwork for the national park system that followed. What is being proposed now runs directly against that founding principle, more than a century and a half later.

This is also not a new idea. A previous owner sought private road access through park land beginning in the 2000s. The National Park Service refused, and the owner sued. In 2012, a federal appeals court upheld the rejection of the owner’s claims to road access after years of litigation. That should have ended the matter.

Instead, after the current developer purchased the adjacent parcels in 2024 and renewed efforts to obtain direct access through Yosemite, the same underlying proposal has returned. Not through the courts this time, but through a land exchange negotiated directly with officials in your Department.

We are further concerned by reporting that the Department has considered using the Land and Water Conservation Fund to help pay for this exchange. That fund exists to acquire and protect public land, not to underwrite its handoff to a private developer.

Earlier this month, the California State Legislature adopted AJR 9, a resolution urging full funding and staffing for the National Park Service and opposing the transfer of federal park lands. We write in that same spirit. Our national parks belong equally to every American. They are not the Department's to trade away, and they are not for sale.

The existence of a land-exchange mechanism does not make this an appropriate use of it. Protecting Yosemite requires no creative interpretation of federal law, just the judgment to say no.

We respectfully request that you confirm immediately that the Department will not proceed with this exchange.

Sincerely,

Greg Wallis
Assemblymember, 47th District

Robert Rivas
Assembly Speaker

Chris Rogers
Assemblymember, 2nd District

Cecelia Aguiar-Curry
Assemblymember, 4th District

Joe Patterson
Assemblymember, 5th District

Maggie Krell
Assemblywoman, 6th District

Josh Hoover
Assemblymember, 7th District

Heath Flora
Assemblymember, 9th District

Damon Connolly
Assemblymember, 12th District

Anamarie Ávila Farías
Assemblymember, 15th District

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
Assemblymember, 16th District

Diane Papan
Assemblymember, 21st District

Juan Alanis
Assemblymember, 22nd District

Marc Berman
Assemblymember, 23rd District

Ash Kalra
Assemblymember, 25th District

Dawn Addis
Assemblymember, 30th District

Jeff Gonzalez
Assemblymember, 36th District

Steve Bennett
Assemblymember, 38th District

Juan Carrillo
Assembymember, 39th District

Pilar Schiavo
Assemblymember, 40th District

John Harabedian
Assemblymember, 41st District

Celeste Rodriguez
Assemblywoman, 43rd District

Nick Schultz
Assemblymember, 44th District

James C. Ramos
Assemblymember, 45th District

Robert Garcia
Assemblymember, 50th District

Rick Chavez Zbur
Assemblymember, 51st District

Jessica M. Caloza
Assemblymember, 52nd District

Isaac G. Bryan
Assemblymember, 55th District

Lisa Calderon
Assemblymember, 56th District

Leticia Castillo
Assemblymember, 58th District

José Luis Solache, Jr.
Assemblymember, 62nd District

Cottie Petrie Norris
Assemblymember, 73rd District

Laurie Davies
Assemblymember, 74th District

Dr. Darshana R. Patel
Assemblymember, 76th District

Tasha Boerner
Assemblymember, 77th District

Christopher M. Ward
Assemblymember, 78th District

Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins
Assemblywoman, 79th District

David Alvarez
Assemblymember, 80th District

Brian W. Jones
Senate Minority Leader

Megan Dahle
Senator, 1st District

Christopher Cabaldon
Senator, 3rd District

Marie Alvarado-Gil
Senator, 4th District

Jerry McNerney
Senator, 5th District

Roger Niello
Senator, 6th District

Scott Weiner
Senator, 11th District

Josh Becker
Senator, 13th District

Anna M. Caballero
Senator, 14th District

John Laird
Senator, 17th District

Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Senator, 19th District

Caroline Menjivar
Senator, 20th District

Susan Rubio
Senator, 22nd District

Suzette Martinez Valladeres
Senator, 23rd District

Ben Allen
Senator, 24th District

Maria Elena Durazo
Senator, 26th District

Henry Stern
Senator, 27th District

Bob Archuleta
Senator, 30th District

Kelly Seyarto
Senator, 32nd District

Thomas Umberg
Senator, 34th District

Tony Strickland
Senator, 36th District

Catherine S. Blakespear
Senator, 38th District

Akilah Weber Pierson, MD
Senator, 39th District

Source: Assemblymember Dawn Addis   NPS photo