A “furious” judge on Monday blasted the Trump administration for removing more than 400 trees from East Potomac Golf Linksthe historic Washington, DC, where the Department of the Interior controversially took control at the end of last year.
The judge’s anger stemmed from a previous court order by which he had ordered the Department of the Interior to notify in advance of substantive construction work on the property, including any plans to cut down 10 or more trees.
Friday at 4:55 pm, the government submitted only such notice of the pending tree removal – both to the court and to the plaintiff, the DC Preservation League – but only hours before the work. Before any dissenters or the court had time to weigh in, the tree was under way.
In all, 430 trees fell, the government said, with the stated goal of improving safety and restoring the original intent of Walter Travis’ 1920s-era design, which was mostly treeless. (It should be noted, the preliminary plans of the designer Tom Fazio for the renovated course it looks nothing like Travis’ original design.)
Reyes, who raised his voice on several occasions during the three-hour Zoom hearing, wasn’t all that interested in the for what as much as the how – as in how Could the Department of the Interior so blatantly ignore his order?
“More than being angry and furious right now, I’m just very disappointed in the government,” he said. “In what universe did someone in your office think this was acceptable?”
Justice Department attorney Marissa Piropato told Reyes that the government had done its best to provide plaintiffs with details about weekend tree removal plans.
“You didn’t do your best,” Reyes said. “You did your absolute worst.”
Reyes’ anger was palpable; the more he learned about the government’s decision, the more enraged he seemed to become. (“I’ve never heard a judge scream at the top of his voice at a lawyer before. Not like that,” Meidas Touch reporter Scott MacFarlane noted on Xwhere he was chronicling the hearing in real time. “Trump Admin’s lawyer has become disillusioned.”)
In a particularly tense moment, Kevin Griess, who is the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, told Reyes that the removal of the tree had been ordered by Frank Lands, the deputy director for operations of the National Park Service.
“Okay, I ordered Mr. Lands to appear at this hearing. Ms. Piropato, get him with him, get him there ASAP,” Reyes said.
When Lands called, he said the buck, in fact, didn’t stop with him. Lands said Greg Wischer, the Interior Department’s deputy chief of staff for policy, had told Lands to proceed with the removal. Reyes, in turn, said he wanted Wischer to testify; The court could not immediately reach Wischer, who reports to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgrum, but is expected to testify on Tuesday.
“The question is, did I lie about the timing of things?” Reyes said. “And what kind of notice was the court supposed to receive?”
Reyes issued a 24-hour halt to any further tree removal and said the order could be extended to 14 days if necessary.
Griess said the recommendation to remove the trees predates the 2026 plans for the course. He said the tree removal program was part of a broader National Park Service plan from 2019 called the “Cultural Landscape Report” or “CLR.” But the actors don’t have it. In a court filing, they argued, “In light of the defendants’ acknowledgment that they are working quickly to fulfill President Trump’s directive to fundamentally revise the courses in East Potomac, it extends the plausibility that the ongoing farm is primarily motivated by the recommendations of the CLR to ‘preserve(e)’ course.'”
Among those who took note of Saturday’s tree removal was Timothy Zurybida, director of agronomy for the National Links Trust, the DC-based nonprofit that until recently oversaw East Potomac. “There was nothing that could have prepared me for my (Saturday) afternoon drive around East Potomac Golf Links,” wrote about Xnext to the photos of the felled trees.
“My pictures do not do justice to what happened yesterday. This was a rip and run. Get them to the ground as soon as possible. I have been at this for almost 3 decades. What I felt yesterday was a new emotion that I never hope to experience again.”
The tree removal and Monday’s hearing were just the latest flashpoints in a project that has been full of them.
Until the end of last year, the National Links Trust owns a 50-year lease on East Potomac and the city’s other two munis, Langston and Rock Creek, with plans to restore all three. But in December, the Trump administration I announce the rental of the NLTciting the unpaid payments and the failure of the organization to improve the capital in a timely manner, which the NLT refuted.
In May, the administration reversed course again, announcing that the National Park Service would partner with several private and public entities, including the NLT, to begin “immediate renovations” of East Potomac, while returning management of the Langston and Rock Creek restorations to the NLT.
The president has big plans for the property — and so does Fazio, Trump’s self-appointed designer. As Fazio told GOLF earlier this year“There’s not a golf course I’ve ever done that (the developer) didn’t think we could hold a major championship. We’re going to build the best golf course — the equivalent of the Aronominks and the Quail Hollows and the Shinnecocks. It’s going to be that quality, whether you have an event or not.”
This high-end vision has raised concerns among many East Potomac regulars, who can now play the Blue course for about $40. expressed concerns about how the construction plans for the course could pave over its rich history.
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