FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: 202-930-0440

Email: rcpgolfcourseforall@gmail.com

Environmental Group Condemns National Park Service’s Sudden Tree Removal at Rock Creek Golf Course

NPS begins tree removal despite recent assurances of winter timeline and incomplete contractor selection

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 18, 2024) – Rock Creek Park Golf Course for All (GCA) strongly condemns the National Park Service’s premature commencement of tree removal at Rock Creek Golf Course, directly contradicting written assurances provided by NPS officials just days ago.

In an email dated November 6, 2024, Tammy Stidham, Associate Regional Director for Lands and Planning at NPS, explicitly stated that tree removal would not begin until winter and that a contractor had not yet been selected. She further indicated that the project was still awaiting final construction documents and Fish and Wildlife Service approval.

“The National Park Service’s actions represent a shocking breach of trust and transparency,” said Sterling Washington, spokesperson for GCA. “Just 12 days ago, we received written confirmation that work wouldn't begin until winter, pending multiple reviews and approvals. Today, they’re already cutting down trees. This rush to destroy valuable parkland raises serious questions about NPS's commitment to environmental stewardship and public accountability.”

This sudden action comes amid ongoing concerns of illegality with respect to the NPS’s 50-year lease with National Links Trust (NLT). GCA contends the lease was executed without proper environmental and historic preservation reviews, as documented by the group’s attorney Andrea Ferster in an October 11, 2024, letter to NPS’s National Capital Region – a letter that NPS has yet acknowledged or answered. 

Stidham’s email about the initial phase of tree removal claimed no start date was “available yet”, but neighbors expressed shock to see that removal was ongoing on Friday November 15th. GCA is deeply concerned about the lack of transparency in the current removal process and whether proper reviews by Rock Creek Resource Management staff and NPS regional staff have been conducted as promised.

GCA calls for:

  • Immediate halt to all tree removal activities

  • Review of the legality of the 2020 lease by the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General 

  • Explanation of why work commenced despite contrary assurances

  • Independent verification of trees marked for removal

  • Full public disclosure of the contractor selection process

  • Adherence to promised review processes by Rock Creek Resource Management and NPS regional staff

“This premature action perfectly illustrates why we’ve been fighting for proper oversight and transparency,” added Sterling Washington. “How can the public trust NPS to protect our parkland when they can't even honor their own stated timeline and procedures?”

Photos and videos of the first razed trees, as well as a map of the site, are posted at: saverockcreektrees.org, and on social media:

·       Instagram @rockcreekparktrees, 

·       Facebook @rcpgolfcourseforall

·       and on GCA’s gofundme page.

For more information about Rock Creek Park Golf Course for All and its mission to protect this vital public space, visit rockcreekgolfcourseforall.org or contact 202-930-0440 or rcpgolfcourseforall@gmail.com