Cyclists, anglers, joggers and bird-watchers showed up to East Potomac Park on Saturday, hoping to bring awareness to the island’s uncertain future ahead of President Donald Trump’s proposed start date on Tuesday for construction of a new golf course.
Wearing shirts with slogans like “Save Hains Point” and holding signs with phrases such as “Fore the People, Not the President,” dozens of people represented the activities — and communities — that could be at stake if Trump’s plans move forward.
The rally was organized by the Washington Area Bicycle Association and Save East Po, a grassroots coalition aimed at protecting the area. It took place at the park’s southernmost tip, not far from where a tree-removal crew was working Saturday. At least six trees around the golf course were removed by National Park Service employees. Several dozen others had been taken out in the days before the rally, alarming activists and preservationists
The Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service, said in a statement that arborists are doing routine maintenance, “with selective removal of hazard trees, non-native invasive trees, and declining and dying trees that cannot be brought back to good health through any degree of intervention.”
Trending
Sign up for the NOTUS Metro newsletter for essential coverage of the D.C. region.
But WABA Executive Director Elizabeth Kiker said she’s concerned that the three-day removal operation was “the beginning of them tearing this entire space out and building it to be something that is not for the public.”
Kiker said she and some other attendees watched a few of the trees being cut down.
“Maybe they were ailing, but boy they sure didn’t look like it,” she said.
There is still uncertainty about what will happen Tuesday, the date Trump highlighted in June as the start of construction. A lawsuit against the plans is currently at a standstill and, according to court documents, the government has not shared construction plans for the golf course, nor has it provided maps of trees slated for removal.
Save East Po founder Alex Rosen, who cycles, runs and golfs at East Potomac Park, said the lack of transparency has him concerned about the future of a beloved landmark.
“I sit on picnic benches at the very tip [of the park], just away from the hustle and bustle of downtown D.C.,” he told NOTUS. “I call my mom while I watch planes take off.”
When he heard of plans for a proposed takeover of the golf course, he felt moved to do something. Rosen began tweeting any information he could find about the future of the park, but substantial updates have been hard to come by.
“We want to see the trees that they’re planning on cutting down — they won’t release that,” he said. “There’s renderings of what the future golf course is going to look like, but they won’t release that. There’s clearly plans that exist right now, but this administration is acting without any semblance of transparency, and that’s the problem.”
Rosen was joined at Saturday’s rally by outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes. Bird-watcher Summer Delehanty said East Potomac is one of favorite places to engage with her community.
“We [once] had a fork-tailed flycatcher, which is like a South American bird, show up,” she told NOTUS. “It actually landed in one of the trees that I know was just cut down.”
Bob Hartt, a protestor from Alexandria who is legally blind, said he often rides a tandem bike through East Potomac Park with a captain, who calls out directions and upcoming turns. He said it’s one of the safest areas in the region where he’s able to do this.
“For people who are blind, if you’re learning to ride on a bicycle, you can stop and start and practice without the fear of the real heavy traffic you get in other areas,” he said.
Theresa Furnari, who has been cycling in East Potomac Park since childhood, rode 30 miles from Montgomery County to protest. She said she’s afraid the public will lose access to the park, which has unobscured views of the Washington Monument, the Wharf and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“When I got here, I saw people on their bikes, running, walking,” she said. “That’s all really healthy activities, and we should be encouraging that instead of taking away safe places where people can do it.”
Author
