Billy Berler, billy.berler@sierraclub.org
LAS VEGAS, NV. — Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter and community members gathered Friday outside the Las Vegas headquarters of Kingsbarn Realty Capital for a demonstration opposing a proposed land exchange in Yosemite National Park. Participants called on the company and Interior Secretary Burgum to abandon the deal and urged federal lawmakers to protect Yosemite’s public lands.
“Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a Las Vegas-based developer, should not be able to turn a piece of one of our nation’s most iconic national parks into a private amenity,” said Olivia Tanager, director of Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter. “Nevadans and people across the West understand what it means to fight to protect public lands because we live with these landscapes every day. We won’t stand for a precedent that puts corporate interests and profit ahead of the public’s right to enjoy and protect these places for generations to come. Communities across our region have made it abundantly clear: this proposal, and any other attempt to privatize public land for private gain, will not stand.”
Opposition to the proposed Yosemite land exchange has continued to grow. Last month, Sierra Club and 155 organizations called on Interior Secretary Burgum in a letter to end the consideration of the land deal. A separate letter signed by 157 members of Congress also urged the administration to abandon the proposal and keep Yosemite intact.
For pictures and video of today's rallies, click HERE
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.