“Coalition launches campaign demanding better, more inclusive plan for Rock Creek Park Golf Course this Thursday at 7:30 on the golf course”

From a press release:

“During the hottest April on record, the National Park Service (NPS) approved a plan to cut down over 1,200 trees from Rock Creek Park, including hundreds of heritage and canopy trees from 33 different native species, amounting to one third of the trees on the golf course. The chainsaws will start whirring this fall, followed by heavy machinery that will regrade up to 32 acres of land and build a new 50-bay driving range that will be lit until 10pm, further disrupting ecosystems and wildlife.

One of the stated goals of this over the top plan to be funded by wealthy donors is to “broaden course appeal to the local community,” yet the local community was not engaged in the planning, and most of the golfers are opposed to a renovation that would significantly alter the “charm” of the place and leave them without a playable course for years. Another of the stated goals is to allow more youth to play golf, but ”no one asked us if we want to, let alone if we’d be ok sacrificing a ton of trees for it” said Jaiya Joubert, a student at School Without Walls.

None of the organizations that care for our parks, wildlife and watershed, including the District Department of Energy and Environment, have been included in the visioning for this plan, and over 90% of those who submitted comments to NPS, including a majority of those who identify as golfers, are strongly opposed to it.

On May 2nd, a coalition of neighbors, NPS volunteers, scientists, golfers, youth leaders and local nonprofits like Sierra Club, Washington Parks and People, Nature Forward, DC Bird Alliance, Anacostia Coordinating Council, City Wildlife, Ward 8 Woods, and DC Youth Climate Corps successfully asked the the National Capital Planning Commission to postpone final approval of the plan. Now, the coalition is launching a campaign to ask Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland to direct NPS to come up with a better, more inclusive alternative plan. A kick off event for the community will take place on the golf course this Thursday 5/30 from 7:30pm.

“We are in the midst of a climate emergency; we need all the carbon sequestration, cooling effect, stormwater retention, and wildlife habitat we can get,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and Brightwood Community Association Vice President Kim Patterson “This failure to engage communities in the planning sets a dangerous precedent for the communities surrounding Langston and Hains Point which are scheduled to be renovated next.”

Rock Creek Park Golf Course For All is a collective of people and organizations advocating for a more thoughtful, inclusive, pragmatic, and environmentally sound rehabilitation that preserves this historic course as a place of natural wonder, recreation, and enjoyment for all.”

From the National Park Service:

“The National Park Service (NPS) invites the public to an information session on June 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., about the rehabilitation of the historic Rock Creek Park Golf Course. The meeting will feature information about the golf course’s more than 100-year history, project alternatives considered, how the NPS and National Links Trust (NLT) incorporated public feedback, and the status of the tree removal plan, forest and landscape restoration plans and the lighting plan.