More than 500 trees have already come down at East Potomac Golf Links, and preservationists are asking a federal judge to step in before hundreds more are removed as President Donald Trump pushes ahead with plans to remake the historic Washington, D.C., golf facility.
Attorneys challenging Trump’s proposed overhaul filed an emergency motion Sunday night seeking a 14-day halt to additional tree cutting. They said government lawyers informed them that crews moved “faster than anticipated” Saturday and removed all 529 trees on the National Park Service’s original list in a single day.
And that may have been just the beginning.
The D.C. Preservation League and others have said the Park Service has since acknowledged its original inventory missed hundreds
of additional trees that are now slated for removal. According to the plaintiffs, only Sunday’s rain prevented more trees from coming down.
According to a story from the Washington Post, they are asking U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes to issue a temporary restraining order preventing additional removal and require the administration to provide three business days’ written notice before making any irreversible changes at East Potomac.
The latest fight is part of a much larger battle over the future of one of the best-known public golf properties in the nation’s capital.
Trump announced plans earlier this year to overhaul East Potomac after calling the facility “virtually unplayable.” In a social media post, he said renovations would begin Sept. 1 and outlined a much grander vision for the property, which sits along the Potomac River with views of Washington’s monuments.
“It was determined that, on this fantastic site, with water and unparalleled views of D.C.’s Monuments, we will build one of the Greatest Golf Courses anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote.
The plan calls for prominent golf architect Tom Fazio to reimagine East Potomac as a championship-caliber course, with Bethpage Black in New York and Torrey Pines in California cited as models. Trump has said the finished product could be capable of hosting major tournaments.
Getting there has become considerably more complicated. Before work could begin, the administration faced a lawsuit seeking to block the project. The government also reached an agreement in May with National Links Trust that allowed the nonprofit to continue operating East Potomac until federal officials overhaul the facility.
Now the removal of hundreds of trees has become the latest focal point.
In a sworn declaration filed Friday, National Mall and Memorial Parks Superintendent Kevin Griess said crews initially planned to remove 169 trees Saturday, with another 90 expected to follow and field inspections eventually bringing the total to 529. By Sunday, according to the plaintiffs, all 529 were gone.
The plaintiffs also allege that healthy, mature oaks and maples were among the trees removed. The Park Service had said Friday that no healthy trees considered contributing features of the historic course, including historic cherry trees, would be taken down.
At issue is whether the tree work should be treated as a stand-alone maintenance and restoration project or as part of Trump’s larger plans for East Potomac.
The administration continues to describe the Fazio redesign in court filings as a “potential project,” and it has not released a final design, cost, funding plan or construction schedule. The government maintains the tree cutting is a separate project that would proceed whether or not the larger golf-course renovation moves forward.
The preservationists see it differently. They contend the administration is improperly dividing the work into smaller pieces rather than considering the environmental impact of the proposed overhaul.
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek and the golf coordinator for the USA Today Network.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: More than 500 trees cut down at D.C. golf course as legal fight over Trump renovation intensifies
