U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes told the Trump administration not to cut down more than 10 trees at the historic East Potomac Golf Course in southeast Washington, D.C., without first providing notice to the parties in a lawsuit seeking to block renovations there, the Associated Press reported Monday. The remote hearing came after the DC Preservation League filed an emergency petition to stop work at the course, citing news reports that major construction was set to begin that day.
During the hearing, National Park Service superintendent Kevin Griess said there was no plan to start such work on Monday but confirmed that a safety assessment of the property was under way. When the judge said she had been told that closure signs had gone up at the site, Griess checked and reported back that none were present. Reyes instructed that if any signs were found, the government’s lawyer should be notified immediately.
The complaint filed against the Department of the Interior contends that President Donald Trump’s planned reconstruction of East Potomac Park—including the century-old golf course that opened in 1919—would violate the law that established the park in 1897 for “the recreation and the pleasure of the people.” The DC Preservation League is asking the court to enforce that original promise.
Reyes, making clear she was not trying to act as a park manager, told the parties, “I’m no Amy Poehler,” referencing the sitcom “Parks and Recreation.” She nonetheless signaled that she would not tolerate the removal of significant numbers of trees before the case had run its course. “I don’t want trees being bulldozed,” she said.
Trump, an avid golfer, also intends to renovate a military golf course just outside Washington that has been used by past presidents for decades, though no lawsuit has yet been filed challenging that project.