The Trump administration has set aside $1.2 million in national park visit fees to remove trees at a Washington golf course that President Donald Trump is set on overhauling, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
But the spending plan is already facing pushback.
“This is an incredible misuse of these funds that should be going to improve national parks for Americans, not cut down hundreds of trees,” Ed Stierli, vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, told the outlet.
Documents reviewed by the Post show the money comes from entrance fees collected at major parks, including Yellowstone and Yosemite.
“This is not just maintenance,” Stierli said. “This is reshaping the landscape to essentially pave the way for this golf course expansion.”
The funding disclosure comes amid an escalating court fight over East Potomac Golf Links, where crews cut down more than 400 trees over the Oct. 10 weekend. Park Service officials testified that those trees were healthy and noninvasive, according to the Post.
The funding revelations come as Justice Department lawyers argued that complying with parts of a court order restricting work at the course would be “nearly impossible.”
In a Thursday filing, government attorneys said a requirement to notify the court “without delay” about proposed changes to the park exposed them to sanctions if they failed to comply.
Interior Department spokesperson Katie Martin defended the clearing as addressing “tree overgrowth at the course” under Trump’s D.C. Safe and Beautiful Initiative.
“The National Park Service determined the funding source for this D.C. Safe and Beautiful project,” Martin told the Post, without answering further questions about the funding.
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