Trump’s Scottish golf course environmental destruction

This 28 July 2017 video about Scotland says about itself:

Trump golf resort wrecked special nature site, reports reveal

The spectacular dunes system picked by Donald Trump for his golf resort in Aberdeenshire has been “partially destroyed” as a result of the course’s construction, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed.

Scottish Natural Heritage, which has been under pressure for years to speak out on the issue, now acknowledges that serious damage has been done to the site of special scientific interest (SSSI) at Foveran Links on the Menie estate, north of Aberdeen.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Monday, July 30, 2018

Trump’s Scottish golf course ‘has destroyed rare dunes’

ENVIRONMENTALISTS’ fears have been realised in Aberdeenshire, the Observer revealed today, as the dunes picked for Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf resort were “partially destroyed” in the course’s destruction.

Documents revealed under a Freedom of Information request show that serious damage has been done to the site of special scientific interest (SSSI) at Foveran Links on the Menie estate, north of Aberdeen.

Foveran’s SSSI status now “hangs in the balance”, the paper said.

A Scottish Natural Heritage report said: “Construction of the new golf course involved earthworks, planting of trees, greens and fairways, drainage, irrigation and grass planting.

“This has affected the natural morphology of the dunes and interfered with natural processes. Most of its important geomorphological features have been lost or reduced to fragments. Nearby marine terraces have also been reduced to fragments.”

Foveran gained its SSSI status because of its unusual shifting sands and plant life.

Scottish Natural Heritage, which has been under pressure to speak out on the dunes, has been reviewing the state of the site for years, promising to publish its findings late last year. But the public body has so far remained silent.

Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment policy director Bob Ward, who obtained the reports under FoI requests, said: “These documents show that considerable damage has been done to Foveran Links and that it is very unlikely that it will retain its SSSI status.”

Ward also asked the Scottish government to probe whether the site has been subject to proper environmental monitoring since 2012.

Trump, who was enthusiastically backed by then SNP leader Alex Salmond and the SNP government, won planning approval for his Aberdeenshire estate with a promise to create 6,000 jobs through a five-star hotel, shops, a sports complex, timeshare flats, two golf courses and housing estates.

So far, only one 18-hole course, open seven months a year, has been built, alongside a practice range and small clubhouse.

He got round the SSSI status by threatening to drop the entire project if he could not build his golf course on the dunes.

When the application was granted, RSPB Scotland said: “The development will cause the destruction of a dune system, with its precious wildlife, on a site which is protected by law and should continue to be available for future generations to enjoy.

“We, and the thousands of other objectors, consider that this is too high a price to pay for the claimed economic benefits from this development.”

TRUMP GOLF COURSE DESTROYING COAST Newly released documents revealed that Trump’s golf resort in Scotland has destroyed portions of protected coastal land. [HuffPost]

TRUMP’S COSTLY GOLF HABIT The president’s golf habit has cost taxpayers an estimated $106.9 million to date with his latest $1.1 million trip to one of his Florida resorts. In his first 881 days in office, Trump has spent 186 on the links. [HuffPost]

TRUMP INFLATED GOLF COURSE VALUE President Donald Trump has filed financial disclosure statements that appear to misstate the value and profitability of his Scotland golf courses by $165 million, a possible violation of federal laws punishable by jail time. [HuffPost]