GOLF/SCOTLAND/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The sand dunes on the Trump International golf course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, are expected to lose their protected conservation designation, the government said Friday [6-28-19]. Scottish Natural Heritage said that about a third of the dunes on the Menie Estate have been damaged in the development of the course. The remainder of the habitats in the area have been ‘significantly fragmented, and ecological processes disrupted,’ the agency said. The dune habitat covers about 154 hectares, or about 0.6 square miles. Development has damaged about 15% of the area, and the conservation group is removing the area from the Foveran Links Site of Special Scientific Interest, pending a three-month consultation…The site is a ‘very high quality example’ of a sand dune system typical of northeast Scotland, the agency said, important for the wide variety of coastal landforms and processes in the region.”
–Michelle Lou, “Why the dunes at Trump’s Scottish golf course may lose their protected status,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 28, 2019 3:24 pm