Crews begin clearing 169 trees at DC golf course Trump plans to convert to championship course

Crews with the Interior Department on Saturday began a new phase of removing trees from the East Potomac Golf Course in Washington DC, the site of one of several Trump administration renovation projects wrapped up in litigation brought by groups seeking to stop those efforts.

On Friday, the National Park Service, a division of the Interior Department, said in a court filing that it planned to begin removing 169 trees on Saturday, part of what it said was routine maintenance to eliminate potential hazards from the public golf course. In all, the NPS plans to remove as many as 529 trees at the site, according to court documents.

The superintendent of NPS overseeing the National Mall said in the filing that the removal is not part of the administration’s proposed renovation, though plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit that seeks to prevent the renovation from happening have contended that the administration is pursuing separate maintenance projects as part of its larger plan.

“The planned tree management and cultural landscape rehabilitation project is not a renovation or redesign of the Golf Course, is not a part of any potential project to redesign or renovate the Golf Course, and would be carried out irrespective of any future renovation or redesign,” Kevin Griess, the NPS superintendent, said in the court filing.

Preservationists and DC residents have expressed anger about the tree removal. At a hearing last month , US District Judge Ana Reyes — who is overseeing the case — acknowledged that “people are pretty upset.” Reyes shared at the time that she had received threats, including one person who she said threatened to remove her if she didn’t “save the trees.”

Lawyers for the administration revealed at the time that about 150 trees were already cut down. After the 169 trees in a part of the course nicknamed “Trash Island” are removed, another 90 will be cleared out at a later date, the NPS said in its filing.

The Interior Department, which oversees NPS, said in a statement to CNN on Saturday, “The National Park Service is finally implementing a 7-year-old plan to address tree overgrowth at East Potomac Golf Course. The work will include selective tree and vegetation work to restore the course.”

“NPS recognizes the importance of trees to the park and its visitors. This carefully planned work is part of our required stewardship of the park,” the statement added.

In Friday’s filing, Griess also vowed that, “No healthy trees that are contributing features of the historical golf course (such as healthy, historic cherry trees) will be removed as part of this project.” Every spring, flocks of tourists visit the area around the golf course, known as Haines Point, to watch the cherry trees blossom.

CNN has reached out to lawyers for The DC Preservation League and two local golfers who brought the case against the administration for comment.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has attempted to reshape the Washington, DC, landscape with several construction and renovation projects. An avid golfer, Trump has said he intends to transform the East Potomac Golf Course into a championship caliber course.

NPS has said that the preliminary scope of the cost is estimated to be between $20 and $49 million. The agency is set to start soliciting bids to remake the public golf course in January 2027.

CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty contributed to this report.

周六，内政部工作人员开始在华盛顿特区的东波托马克高尔夫球场进行新一轮的树木移除工作。该球场是特朗普政府多个翻新项目之一，这些项目因一些团体提起的诉讼而陷入僵局，这些团体试图阻止这些项目。

周五，隶属于内政部的国家公园管理局在一份法庭文件中表示，计划于周六开始移除169棵树木，此举是例行维护工作的一部分，旨在消除公共高尔夫球场的潜在安全隐患。根据法庭文件，国家公园管理局计划在该地点总共移除多达529棵树木。

负责监管国家广场的国家公园管理局局长在提交的文件中表示，拆除工作并非政府拟议翻新计划的一部分，尽管在旨在阻止翻新工程进行的联邦诉讼中的原告声称，政府正在推进单独的维护项目，作为其更大计划的一部分。

“计划中的树木管理和文化景观修复项目并非高尔夫球场的翻新或重新设计，也不是任何潜在的高尔夫球场翻新或重新设计项目的一部分，无论未来是否进行翻新或重新设计，该项目都将照常进行，”国家公园管理局局长凯文·格里斯在法庭文件中表示。

文物保护人士和华盛顿特区居民对移除树木表示愤怒。上个月的听证会上，负责审理此案的美国地区法官安娜·雷耶斯承认“人们非常愤怒”。雷耶斯当时透露，她收到了威胁，其中一人威胁说，如果她不“拯救这些树木”，就要把她赶走。

当时，政府律师透露，已有约150棵树被砍伐。国家公园管理局在提交的文件中表示，在移除球场上被称为“垃圾岛”区域的169棵树后，还将择日清理另外90棵树。

负责监管国家公园管理局的内政部周六在一份发给CNN的声明中表示：“国家公园管理局终于开始实施一项历时7年的计划，以解决东波托马克高尔夫球场树木过度生长的问题。这项工作将包括有选择地清理树木和植被，以恢复球场的原貌。”

“国家公园管理局认识到树木对公园及其游客的重要性。这项精心策划的工作是我们对公园应尽的管理职责的一部分，”声明补充道。

格里斯在周五提交的文件中还承诺，“该项目不会移除任何对这座历史悠久的高尔夫球场具有重要意义的健康树木（例如健康的古老​​樱花树）。”每年春天，大批游客都会前往高尔夫球场周围的海恩斯角地区观赏樱花盛开。

CNN已联系华盛顿特区保护联盟的律师以及两名当地高尔夫球手，请求他们对此事发表评论。这两名高尔夫球手此前曾对政府提起诉讼。

自重返白宫以来，特朗普一直试图通过多项建设和改造项目来重塑华盛顿特区的面貌。作为一名高尔夫爱好者，特朗普曾表示，他计划将东波托马克高尔夫球场改造成锦标赛级别的球场。

美国国家公园管理局（NPS）表示，初步估计费用在2000万至4900万美元之间。该机构计划于2027年1月开始就公共高尔夫球场的改造工程进行招标。

CNN的Sunlen Serfaty对本报道亦有贡献。