@outdoorwiseliving: Yosemite Land Exchange update: 1) A bipartisan group of 61 California legislators formally demanded that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum halt and reject the Yosemite exchange. 2) The developer has now publicly clarified what it wants: roughly an acre of federal land/access to connect a proposed lodge and rental cabins to a park road, improving access from the 83-acre Hazel Green property. Here’s some Yosemite history for you: More than a century ago, America had an argument over whether part of Yosemite should remain protected as it was or serve another public purpose. Hetch Hetchy was a glacier carved valley along the Tuolumne River, with meadows, waterfalls and huge granite walls. San Francisco wanted the valley for its water supply. But John Muir and other preservationists fought fiercely against the project. The battle became one of America’s first major national debates over preserving natural places. Congress ultimately passed the Raker Act in 1913, allowing San Francisco to dam Hetch Hetchy. That history is important as it relates to the current Yosemite controversy, but raises a different, related question: How should we decide when land inside a national park can be exchanged for another use? A developer currently wants direct road access across less than two acres of Yosemite National Park to an 83-acre private property near Highway 120. The company has offered other California land in exchange. What precedent we set now makes every difference for the future preservation of the park. More than 100 years after Hetch Hetchy, people still debate what Yosemite gained and what it permanently lost. That’s why I drove to the proposed road location myself this Labor Day weekend. Share this story with someone who believes our public lands are worth saving. And check out my most recent Substack blog with more details and action you can take (along with my Eastern Sierra roadtrip idea). #yosemite #yosemitenationalpark #hetchhetchy

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Tuesday 08 September 2026 00:55:57 GMT