Trump Administration Budgets $1.2 Million to Remove Trees at D.C. Golf Course

Trump Administration Budgets $1.2 Million to Remove Trees at D.C. Golf Course

Records show $1.2 million set aside for tree removal

The Trump administration has budgeted $1.2 million to remove trees at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., according to internal Park Service funding documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The documents show the money comes from visitor fees collected at major national parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. A separate request seeks $500,000 for East Potomac tree removal in fiscal year 2026.

Park Service says it is restoring a 1920s links landscape

The National Park Service says the clearing implements a 2019 report on D.C. municipal golf courses, which found that successive waves of tree planting over the past century had obscured views and altered the course's original 1920s links-style character. Kevin Griess, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, told the court the plan "isn't just about safety" but about "restoration of the park to its original historic state."

About 430 trees felled in a single day after Friday-night notice

On Oct. 10, Park Service crews removed about 430 healthy, non-invasive trees in a single day. Government lawyer Marissa Piropato acknowledged notice was filed shortly before 5 p.m. on the Friday of a three-day holiday weekend, with work starting the next morning, less than 15 hours later. The plan covered 529 trees in total, with about 99 more identified for removal; only a rain delay prevented hundreds more from coming down that weekend. In late August the administration had already removed about 150 dead, dying or invasive trees.

Judge bars further cutting without a court order

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes first barred further tree removal through Oct. 26, then ruled the administration may not cut, damage or impair any more trees at East Potomac Park without first obtaining a court order, and may not close the course without notice. In a 70-page opinion she wrote that the government "decided to remove over 500 healthy, non-invasive trees," waited until 4:55 p.m. on the Friday of a holiday weekend to give notice, and removed nearly 430 trees in one day. Preservation groups argue the work was split into small projects to avoid federal environmental review; the Interior Department says renovation plans remain conceptual.

Course to close Nov. 15 for a 15-month rebuild

Trump announced Oct. 18 that the 106-year-old course will close Nov. 15 for about 15 months to become a "world class" championship venue able to host the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. "The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect," he wrote, citing "falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees" and "a collapsing and hazardous seawall." On Oct. 28 the Justice Department told the court the Park Service has signed a new lease with the National Links Trust under which the nonprofit will stop operating East Potomac as of Nov. 15. The 36-hole public course, whose weekend green fees top out at $48 for the 18-hole layout, also includes two nine-hole courses and a miniature golf course that will close during the renovation, along with Ohio Drive.