Protect Yosemite National Park
Protect Yosemite National Park
Yosemite is one of our county’s most iconic national parks. Join us to protect this precious landscape!
Yosemite Is the Crown Jewel of Our National Park System
Right now, Trump is trying to carve up Yosemite and sell out this irreplaceable landscape to developers. He wants to give a private development company access to a portion of the park through a secret proposal.
Yosemite is not Donald Trump's to give away!
What is Trump Doing to Yosemite?
Trump has spent over a year quietly pressing the National Park Service to give up land inside Yosemite National Park so a private developer can build a road connecting its own property to park land. They're planning to use public funds to help cover the costs of the exchange, turning money meant to protect public lands into a tool for selling them out.
This is a continuation of the Trump administration's ruthless attempts to dismantle irreplaceable parks, forests, monuments, waterways, and other public lands – handing them over for mining, logging, and oil and gas development.
This is an all hands on deck moment. We will not allow our parks to become playgrounds for billionaires and corporate polluters!
Yosemite and the Sierra Club
For more than 130 years, Yosemite National Park has been a symbol of Sierra Club's work.
In 1890, John Muir worked with Congress and public activists to establish Yosemite National Park. Two years later, Muir founded the Sierra Club to protect more public lands and natural resources, like Yosemite.
Defending Yosemite from this proposed giveaway continues a responsibility Sierra Club has carried for more than 130 years. We'll do everything in our power to ensure that this extraordinary public place is protected from private interests seeking to profit from it.
Why Is it so Important to Protect Yosemite?
If Trump can trade away part of Yosemite to benefit a developer, every national park and other protected landscapes become vulnerable to the next well-connected private interest.
This backdoor proposal could create a blueprint for developers to purchase land near national parks and then pressure the federal government for roads, easements, or land exchanges that increase the value of their investments.
At a time when so much divides us, public lands remain one of the few places that all Americans share.
Frequently asked questions
Submit a comment here! Add your name to demand Congress oppose any land exchange or sale that would allow for private development through Yosemite National Park.
If you can, take an extra minute to personalize your comment and share why you care. Personalized comments are weighted more heavily.
Yes! Calling your Members of Congress is critical. Dial 202-730-9006 to automatically be connected to your Member of Congress.
Here's a short script you can use:
"Hi my name is _____ and I live in _____ .
I urge you to oppose any land exchange or sale that allows for private development through Yosemite National Park. Please do everything you can to protect all national parks, forests, and monuments. These public lands are what make our nation great and should not be sold out to the highest bidder.
Thank you for your time."
The Sierra Club has protected Yosemite through public, legal, and legislative advocacy for every year of our 134-year history. We won't stop now. We will use every tool at our disposal. And we can't do it alone. We need your help, and the support of millions of other advocates nationwide, to keep fighting to protect our lands, air, water, and future.
Together, we'll make sure that public lands like Yosemite remain public and accessible for generations to come.
Public lands like Yosemite represent the shared nature, culture, and history that connects us all. They play a critical role in educating future generations about our nation's legacy, natural places, and people.