WASHINGTON, D.C. — In Washington, tree crews at East Potomac Golf Course must stand down through Oct. 26 after a federal judge widened an emergency pause on the public links.
Judge Ana Reyes issued the longer stop Tuesday. A day earlier she had allowed only a one-day freeze while lawyers scrambled to put a senior official on the record about why so many trunks came down over a holiday weekend with scant warning to the court.
Her new order also forces the government to give three business days of written warning before altering any lasting feature of the grounds. The DC Preservation League and two area golfers filed the challenge; Democracy Forward, assisting as co-counsel, welcomed the extended block.
According to case filings, the National Park Service posted notice only minutes before the Oct. 9 holiday close, then felled at least 400 trees and prepared to take hundreds more. Reyes said the sprint looked driven by presidential pressure for a redesign rather than sudden enthusiasm for a 2019 cultural landscape report.
East Potomac Golf Links anchors East Potomac Park, a stretch Washington residents use for picnics, cycling, and waterfront walks near Hains Point. The White House has called the course worn down and pushed a major upgrade; opponents say that vision threatens open space beside the fairways.
The pause is temporary. Plaintiffs say they will keep seeking longer protection while the redesign fight continues in Washington.
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