East Potomac Tree Cutting in Court: What the Record Shows

TL;DR: U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered the federal government on Monday, Oct. 12, to stop all tree removal at East Potomac Golf Course in Washington, D.C. Two days earlier, National Park Service crews began cutting trees there. On Friday, Oct. 9, the government told the court it expected work to start Saturday, with 169 trees in the first zone and up to 529 in total. By Sunday, an NPS document said 200 more trees than estimated had been removed in that first zone. The plaintiffs, the D.C. Preservation League and two golfers who play the course, say they were told 529 trees came down Saturday. Government lawyers put the figure at about 430 at Monday’s hearing, The Washington Sun reported; NBC Washington reported the government said about 400. The government says the work carries out a 2019 plan to restore the course’s mostly treeless “links” design. The plaintiffs say it is an early piece of the larger redesign they are suing over. The next evidentiary hearing is set for Monday, Oct. 19.

This report reads the court record itself: the government’s notice and sworn declaration, the plaintiffs’ emergency motion, and the judge’s orders on the docket. For another recent court fight over an administration project, see what the order blocking taxpayer-funded DHS ads says. More politics read from the documents is on the Politics & Government hub.

What happened, in order

The case is DC Preservation League v. U.S. Department of the Interior, No. 1:26-cv-477 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It was filed on Feb. 13, 2026, under the Administrative Procedure Act. The defendants are the Interior Department, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the National Park Service and Jessica Bowron, who exercises the NPS director’s delegated authority.

• Friday, Oct. 9. The government filed a two-page “Notice of Activity.” It says the judge had asked, at hearings on July 2 and Sept. 3, for adequate notice before any “imminent, significant construction or destructive activities of an irretrievable character” at the course. It says the government “anticipate[s] that work will begin on Saturday, October 10.” The plaintiffs’ filings say it was filed at 4:55 p.m.; Reyes said the same at Monday’s hearing, according to NBC Washington and The Washington Sun.
• Saturday, Oct. 10. Crews began cutting. The plaintiffs’ filing says workers “had arrived in full force” by 8 a.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 11. Griess signed an NPS “Determination of NEPA Adequacy” covering extra trees removed in Zone A (see below). The plaintiffs filed an emergency motion for a 14-day temporary restraining order, or a 14-day stay under the Administrative Procedure Act.
• Monday, Oct. 12 (Columbus Day). Reyes held an emergency hearing by video. Before it began, she issued a minute order stopping all tree removal until 7 a.m. Tuesday.
• Monday, Oct. 19. The continued evidentiary hearing is now scheduled for 10 a.m.

Background: the redesign

The plaintiffs sued in February 2026, alleging the government had adopted a plan to replace the course with “an ahistorical, championship-style venue” (ECF 76-1). In June, President Trump announced plans to turn it into a championship-level course, NBC Washington reports. WTOP reports two related NPS contract steps: a roughly $390,000 compliance contract awarded in September, and a planned construction contract of up to $49 million, with the solicitation expected on Jan. 31, 2027. The question in this week’s hearings is whether the tree cutting is part of it.

What the government told the court

The notice is short. A sworn declaration from Dr. Kevin Griess, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks, carries the detail. He describes the work as a “tree management and cultural landscape rehabilitation project” that carries out the NPS’s June 2019 Cultural Landscape Report:

• Why now. Griess says the region now has temporary help from about 20 to 50 trained workers. Because that help is temporary, he says, he directed staff to speed up long-deferred work.
• What the 2019 report says. The course’s designer, Walter J. Travis, laid it out as a links course. A 2017 park inventory the declaration quotes calls that design “generally treeless.” The 2019 report recommends minimizing trees growing between the fairways.
• How many trees. Zone A, an overgrown area NPS staff call “Trash Island,” had 169 trees planned for removal starting Oct. 10. Zone B, next in line, had 90. In total, the NPS “estimates that up to 529 trees that do not contribute to the historic landscape will be removed.” It also says no healthy contributing trees, “such as healthy, historic cherry trees,” would be cut.
• Not the redesign. Griess says the project “is not a part of any potential project to redesign or renovate the Golf Course.” He says it involves no changes to holes, greens, bunkers or grading, and no full closure of the course.

An Interior Department spokesperson told NBC Washington the work “will help restore the course’s historic character and reopen views toward landmarks.” An NPS spokesperson told WJLA the golf course would stay open, “although individual holes may temporarily close while work is underway.”

What the plaintiffs told the court

The emergency motion and its memorandum make three claims:

• The count. The plaintiffs say the government told them before a Sunday call that the work was going “faster than anticipated.” They say they were told 529 trees “had already been destroyed on Saturday alone,” with hundreds more to follow. That is their account. The government’s own written figure came the same day, in the NPS document described below.
• The law. The plaintiffs’ core argument is “NEPA segmentation.” Under the National Environmental Policy Act, an agency can’t split one project into small pieces to avoid reviewing the whole thing. They say the tree cutting is part of what they call the “Washington National plan,” a planned overhaul of the course. Their emergency memorandum quotes a statement by President Trump that “[w]ork on the new course, which will go quickly, will begin on September 1st.”
• The ask. A 14-day halt to “any further tree felling at East Potomac Park.” They also asked for at least three business days’ written notice before any irreparable change to the park.

A statement from the D.C. Preservation League’s director, quoted by NBC Washington, says the government had promised the court it would seek all legally required approvals first, and that “this action directly violates those promises.”

The government’s Sunday revision

The plaintiffs attached an NPS document to their motion: a “Determination of NEPA Adequacy,” signed by Griess on Oct. 11. It says the first zone was undercounted. The initial assessment “estimated approximately 169 trees” in Zone A, but “an additional 200 trees were identified and removed beyond the original estimate.” The document describes those as “small-diameter, immature trees, generally ranging from 3 to 5 inches in diameter at breast height.” It says Zone B “did not experience a discrepancy.” The document then reviews the extra removals and concludes that the existing categorical exclusion “remains an appropriate basis” for the action and that “preparation of additional NEPA documentation is not anticipated to be necessary.” Griess signed it to “approve and authorize the proposed action.”

What the judge ordered

One of Reyes’s Monday minute orders, issued before the 10 a.m. hearing, directs the government “to cease all tree removal at East Potomac Golf Course until 7:00 am on October 13, 2026, or further order from the Court.” It adds that “tree removal for routine maintenance is not exempt.” The order’s reasoning is two sentences: the plaintiffs “are likely to suffer immediate and irreparable harm,” because removing hundreds of trees “is permanent,” while a short delay won’t hurt the government, given that weather “might continue to prevent it from proceeding in any event.”

The same order told Griess to come ready to explain “who ordered the tree removal and when he received that order,” when preparations began, and when government lawyers learned of the plan. A separate minute order required him to appear at the hearing and testify under oath.

The docket’s summary of the hearing lists two witnesses: Griess and Frank Lands, the NPS deputy director of operations. It also records that the court granted the plaintiffs’ renewed motion for an advance notification requirement. The parties were told to agree on the wording and submit a proposed order. Reports of the hearing described it differently: three business days’ notice (WTOP), 72 hours’ notice (The Washington Sun), or reasonable notice before removing more than 10 trees or closing the course (NBC Washington).

According to WTOP’s and The Washington Sun’s reports of the hearing:

• Government lawyers said about 430 trees had been cut, with about 299 more planned (The Washington Sun).
• Witnesses testified that the decision followed an Oct. 5 meeting, and Lands testified there was “no specific urgency” (WTOP).
• Reyes said she was “thoroughly unamused” and that the episode had “cost the government all of its credibility” in the case (The Washington Sun).
• Reyes said she would extend the halt through 2 p.m. Tuesday to hear from Greg Wischer, the Interior Department’s deputy chief of staff (WTOP).

A later minute order moved that continued hearing to Monday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. It orders Wischer and Bowron to attend “and be prepared to present sworn testimony.” It also sets a fast schedule for a preliminary injunction:

Filing	Deadline
Motion for preliminary injunction	Wed., Oct. 14, 12:00 p.m.
Opposition	Fri., Oct. 16, 12:00 p.m.
Reply	Sat., Oct. 17, 9:00 p.m.
Evidentiary hearing	Mon., Oct. 19, 10:00 a.m.

A docket entry on Oct. 13 confirms that schedule, and a memorandum in opposition was also docketed that day; its text was not yet available to us. The docket entries we could read don’t spell out whether the stop order runs all the way to Oct. 19. WTOP’s headline says the judge “extends pause on tree-cutting.”

What is not settled

• How many trees are down. The figures don’t line up: up to 529 planned in total (government declaration, Oct. 9); 200 more than the 169 estimated for Zone A (NPS document, Oct. 11); 529 felled Saturday (plaintiffs’ account of what they were told); about 430 (government lawyers in court, per The Washington Sun) or about 400 (the government, per NBC Washington).
• When the decision was made. According to WTOP, Griess testified that he submitted the tree plan on Oct. 5 and that Bowron signed off a day later; The Washington Sun reports he testified that the decision was made last Wednesday (Oct. 7). WTOP reports Reyes said the Justice Department learned of the cutting on Oct. 8.
• Who ordered the work. Reporters’ accounts of Lands’s testimony conflict. The Washington Sun reports he said Interior deputy chief of staff Gregory Wischer gave him the order on Oct. 5. WTOP reports he said the project was his idea and that no one had instructed him. Wischer is ordered to attend the Oct. 19 hearing and be prepared to give sworn testimony.
• Whether the cutting is separate from the redesign. That is the merits question. The judge hasn’t ruled on it.

What could go right / What could go wrong

Each side’s best case, as stated in the record.

For the government

• The government’s position is that the work carries out the 2019 Cultural Landscape Report as a separate decision, with its own environmental and historic-preservation compliance. If the court agrees, the cutting would not be tied to the redesign challenge.
• The declaration says no healthy contributing trees, such as historic cherry trees, are part of the plan.

For the plaintiffs

• If the court finds the tree work is part of the larger redesign, the government could have to review the whole plan under NEPA before more work proceeds.
• The court has already granted an advance-notice requirement and ordered sworn testimony on who ordered the cutting.

FAQ

Q Why did a judge stop tree cutting at East Potomac Golf Course?

A Judge Ana Reyes found the plaintiffs likely to suffer irreparable harm because removing hundreds of trees is permanent. She ordered the government on Oct. 12, 2026, to stop all tree removal, including routine maintenance, until 7 a.m. Oct. 13 or further order; reporters said she extended it to 2 p.m. that day.

Q How many trees were cut at East Potomac?

A The figures differ. An NPS document dated Oct. 11 says 200 more trees than the 169 estimated were removed in the first zone. Government lawyers said about 430 had been cut, according to The Washington Sun. The plaintiffs say they were told 529 came down on Oct. 10.

Q Is the tree removal part of Trump's golf course redesign?

A The government says no: a sworn declaration calls it a separate project carrying out a 2019 Cultural Landscape Report. The plaintiffs say it is an early piece of the redesign split off to avoid a full environmental review. The court has not decided that question.

Q Who sued over East Potomac Golf Course?

A The D.C. Preservation League and two golfers who play the course, Dave Roberts and Alex Dickson, sued the Interior Department, the National Park Service and their leaders in February 2026 in federal court in Washington.

Q What happens next in the East Potomac case?

A A preliminary-injunction motion is due Oct. 14, the government's opposition Oct. 16 and a reply Oct. 17. Reyes has ordered an evidentiary hearing on Monday, Oct. 19, with Interior's Greg Wischer and NPS's Jessica Bowron ordered to attend and be prepared to give sworn testimony.