Satellite imagery obtained by Bellingcat lays bare the extent of tree-felling at a Washington DC golf course that President Trump is reportedly seeking to transform into a championship-level course, despite moves to protect the site by conservationists.
The extent and circumstances surrounding the rapid changes prompted a judge to call an emergency hearing earlier this week, banning any further changes until later this month.
Reports on Wednesday detailed that 430 trees were cut down at the East Potomac Golf Links which is owned by the Federal government and managed by the National Park Service (NPS). This is despite a judge’s order issued earlier this year that required court approval to cut down more than 10 trees at the course.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes was reported to have said that the government’s actions had cost it “all of its credibility with me in this case.”
She is also reported to have said she was “furious” with the Justice Department for the lack of time afforded the court and plaintiffs before the tree removal was carried out.
NPR reported that officials notified the court just before 5pm on Friday Oct. 9 of plans to remove up to 529 trees in phases starting the very next day on Saturday Oct. 10. That prompted Reyes to call an emergency meeting on Oct. 12. By that time, 430 trees had reportedly been cut down.
Images taken at the course earlier this week show trunks and branches strewn out across fairways.
Just total devastation wrought on East Potomac Park this past weekend.
450+ trees. For an admin that professes to support “beautification” of DC, that’s sure not what we or anybody else who has seen what they did on Saturday would describe it as.
East Potomac is (was?) a thriving, beautiful gem in the heart of Washington DC. A beautiful, public, accessible place that hundreds of thousands use annually. The assault on this place should infuriate every American.
The impacts of what took place Saturday will take years to fix. We cannot sit idly by while this admin treats our public lands like they are for the taking.
— Save East Po (@SaveEastPo) October 13, 2026
But satellite imagery affords a broader look at exactly what sections of the course have been impacted.
The Image below from Planet Labs taken on October 8 shows the golf course before the tree-felling was carried out.
Planet Labs imagery captured on Oct. 13 shows large barren sections towards the south and west of the course, where trees were removed.
A before and after slider allows for easy comparison of the Oct. 8 and Oct.13 images.
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Reuters reported that an organisation called The DC Preservation League said in a February 2026 lawsuit that President Donald Trump was flouting environmental laws to “irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history” so he could “convert a public recreation space into an exclusive, high-end golf course.”
Kevin Griess, an NPS official, reportedly stated at Monday’s hearing that tree removal was part of a 2019 plan that predates Trump’s aims for the course and sought to restore links-style vegetation.
Bellingcat contacted NPS as well as the Department of Justice but did not receive a response before publication.
The changes to the golf course are not the only ones President Trump has sought in Washington DC and the surrounding area since the beginning of his second term. In October last year demolition began on the East Wing of the White House with the aim of building a new ballroom claiming it was “the safest building ever built.”
Trump has also proposed a 250-foot-tall “Triumphal Arch” to be built just outside the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
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