President Donald Trump set Tuesday, Sept. 1, as the start date for a major renovation of East Potomac Golf Links in D.C., where about 60 trees have already been removed. The project has drawn a lawsuit from the D.C. Preservation League and a court status hearing is set for Thursday.
East Potomac Golf Links
Alex Rosen, who started Save East Po to stop the announced plans, said the course work has moved ahead without the normal procedures for a project of this scale. He said the project has not received the required historic place protection and environmental protection approvals.
Rosen also said the basic shape of the redesign has already been shown. A map posted on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s X account in May showed a championship-level course replacing the current course.
Alex Rosen
Rosen said he has watched the course himself and has seen trees cut down. “I’ve walked the course I’ve watched them cut down trees that in my understanding are not invasive trees,” he said to WTOP News. He added, “They have not done any of the required approvals historic place protection, environmental protection,” and, “They will be breaking the law, and it will be challenged in court,” and, “This boils down to whether we the people own our public lands or if the temporary president does,”.
National Park Service
The National Park Service said the tree work is routine removal of hazardous, dying, or invasive trees rather than construction tied to the redesign. That distinction now sits at the center of the dispute: one side says the tree work is maintenance, while Rosen says the removals are part of the project’s start.
For readers affected by the course, the practical question is whether the renovation moves ahead under the judge’s limits or gets slowed by the challenge in court. Thursday’s status hearing is the next point where that dispute can be addressed.
