WASHINGTON — The commandant of the Coast Guard said Tuesday that recreational paddlers can use the Maryland side of the Potomac River when the president or senior administration officials visit Trump National Golf Club, amending a controversial policy that kicked boats off the river whenever the president golfed.
Admiral Paul F. Zukunft announced the surprise policy change while testifying before a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee panel.
‘‘As long as they stay to the Maryland side of the Potomac River they can pass clearly when the security zone is in effect,’’ Zukunft said. The Trump National Golf Club is in Sterling, Va., along the river, which divides Virginia from Maryland.
In a minute-long exchange with Representative Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, Zukunft said the Coast Guard is working with the American Canoe Association and other groups to allow access for recreational paddlers. Boaters and paddlers have been infuriated by the shore-to-shore shutdown, which has taken place intermittently since March.
‘‘We listened and we are making that accommodation to the public,’’ Zukunft said.
DeFazio, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, sent a letter to the Coast Guard last week saying the newly established security zone along roughly 2 miles of the Potomac that borders the golf course is unfair to those who use the river.
During the hearing, he said he welcomed the changes as ‘‘very good news.’’
It remains unclear how the partial closure will be delineated or enforced.
Over the weekend, Coast Guard personnel at two river access points on the Maryland shore and on the river told boaters — canoers, kayakers, and stand-up paddle boarders — they could use the river as long as they stayed to the Maryland shore.
Adam Van Grack, a Bethesda, Md., attorney who chairs the US Olympic organization for kayakers and canoers, called the accommodation a step in the right direction, but said that until the policy is changed in writing, the Coast Guard has the right to deny access entirely.
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