FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Environmental Advocates Call National Park Service’s D.C. Golf Course Lease Illegal
1,000+ trees will be bulldozed starting in November if illegal development isn’t stopped
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Environmental advocates from Rock Creek Park Golf Course for All (GCA) sent a letter today to the National Park Service, challenging the process it used to sign a 50-year lease for three D.C. golf courses, including the one at Rock Creek. NPS signed the lease with National Links Trust (NLT) on September 30, 2020, for extensive alterations to the historic golf course. Now more than a thousand trees are at risk for being bulldozed, starting as early as November, if the illegal development is not halted.
“We believe the NPS failed to comply with crucial environmental and historic preservation laws before committing to this long-term lease,” said Sterling Washington, spokesperson for GCA. “The damage that will be done is significant, irreparable and environmentally disastrous. Our goal is to ensure that any changes to this beloved public space benefit the entire community while protecting its natural and historic resources. Our community has repeatedly been victims of environmental injustices, and we won’t allow the NPS to perpetrate another one.”
GCA’s attorney Andrea Ferster sent a letter today to Lisa Mendelson, Acting Regional Director of NPS’s National Capital Region, outlining the group’s concerns. It stated in part:
· “The execution of the Lease was not preceded by any of the environmental assessment, biological assessments, or historic preservation reviews required by federal law before taking any major federal action or undertaking that could significantly affect the environment, endangered or threatened species, or potentially affect historic properties.”
· “The EA [environmental assessment] disclosed, for the first time, that NLT’s plans required the removal of 1,262 trees.” It is notable that the disclosure came only in 2023, although the lease was signed in 2020.
· “The Lease made irretrievable commitments to NLT’s grandiose plans for development of the Golf Course and foreclosed the consideration of reasonable, less harmful alternatives to these plans.”
GCA is calling on the NPS to halt any approvals for construction or tree removal until these issues are thoroughly addressed and an alternative, environmentally sound plan is adopted. The full text of GCA's letter is here. For more information about Rock Creek Park Golf Course for All and its mission, visit rockcreekgolfcourseforall.org or contact 202-930-0440 or rcpgolfcourseforall@gmail.com.