Park service could remove more than 500 trees at historic golf course Trump wants to redesign

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service has begun a caller circular of tree-cutting astatine a historical play people adjacent the National Mall arsenic the Trump medication proceeds with a program to renovate the East Potomac Golf Links into a championship-level course.

More than 500 trees “that bash not lend to the historical scenery volition beryllium removed” arsenic portion of the rehabilitation project, the National Park Service said successful a tribunal filing Friday. “No steadfast trees that are contributing features of the humanities play course” — including historical cherry trees — volition beryllium removed arsenic portion of the project, the parkland work said.

A full of 169 trees volition beryllium removed starting Saturday, with different 90 trees slated for removal later, the bureau said.

The histrion removals travel arsenic President Donald Trump has moved to crook the people into a world-class play venue — portion of his expansive imaginativeness for Washington, D.C., wherever helium has torn down storied structures, remade oregon renamed others and deployed the National Guard for much than a year.

Some residents fearfulness the planned changes to the play people — wherever Trump has visited with a furniture member, a well-known play people designer and blueprints — hazard altering the quality of a spot that has served Washingtonians of each income levels for much than a century. Turning the parkland into an upscale play people volition mean costlier fees and a apt nonaccomplishment of nationalist space.

"The National Park Service is yet implementing a 7-year-old program to code histrion overgrowth astatine East Potomac Golf Course,'' the Interior Department said successful a connection Saturday. The section oversees the parkland work and different agencies that negociate national lands.

The renovation enactment volition see selective histrion and vegetation enactment to reconstruct the course, the Interior Department said, adding that the enactment is intended to “help reconstruct the course’s historical quality and reopen views toward landmarks, including the Washington Monument, National War College, Potomac River and Washington Channel."

The parkland work “recognizes the value of trees to the parkland and its visitors. This cautiously planned enactment is portion of our required stewardship of the park,” the connection said.

The play people volition stay unfastened to the nationalist passim the renovation effort, though idiosyncratic holes whitethorn temporarily adjacent portion enactment is underway, the bureau said.

The 106-year-old nationalist people has been embroiled successful a suit since February. Plaintiffs including the DC Preservation League accidental the Trump administration’s reconstruction would interruption the legislature enactment that created the parkland successful 1897. The radical sought an exigency stop-work bid this outpouring due to the fact that of concerns that enactment was expected to statesman instantly connected the course.

Trump, an avid golfer, has posted astir the people connected societal media, “When completed, this Course volition person the quality to big Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and different apical PGA Tour events,” helium wrote successful precocious June.

It’s unclear erstwhile the people could big immoderate large tournaments, arsenic locations are chosen respective years up of the events.