Judge Orders 24-Hour Halt After 430 Trees Cut at East Potomac Golf Course
A federal judge ordered a 24-hour pause on cutting trees at the East Potomac golf course in Washington after crews removed hundreds of trees over the weekend.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued the order on Monday, Oct. 12. It bars any further tree removal until Tuesday, or until the court issues another order, according to WJLA.
The number at issue is 430. The government filed notice that it planned to remove 430 trees at 4:55 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, hours before the work was set to begin, according to Town & Country. Crews then cut trees on Saturday, Oct. 10, while litigation over the property was still active.
East Potomac Golf Links is a municipal course. That means it is publicly owned and open to everyday golfers, not a private club. It sits on parkland in southwest Washington, near the Potomac River.
The lawsuit dates to February. Two Washington residents and the DC Preservation League, a local nonprofit focused on historic places, sued to stop the Trump administration's proposed redevelopment of the course. They have argued the project should not move ahead while their challenge is still before the court.
At Monday's hearing, Reyes pressed administration lawyers on why the cutting went ahead on that schedule. She repeated the figure back to them, 430 trees, according to ABC News. She also said the removal of hundreds of trees from the course is permanent, according to The Guardian. That work cannot be undone.
Reyes serves on the Federal District Court in Washington, the federal trial court that hears cases arising in the nation's capital, according to The New York Times. Her order, reported Monday by The Associated Press, applies only to further cutting. It does not decide the larger fight over redevelopment.
What makes this stand out is the timing. A late Friday notice gave the plaintiffs and the court little window to respond before work started Saturday. The one-day freeze gives the judge time to weigh whether a longer pause is needed while the February case moves forward.
