Dune and gloom? Trump's proposed site.

If you thought real estate and casino magnate Donald Trump's new golf course would be ready to play on your Scotland golf vacation, don't bet on it.

Trump's ambitious plan calls for two championship golf courses, a spectacular, sea-facing clubhouse, a Victorian-style, 450-room luxury hotel, and nearly a thousand homes on a jaw-dropping, 1,400-acre stretch of linksland called Menie Estate that he purchased in March 2006. Tom Fazio II (the nephew of the other Tom Fazio) has been commissioned to build the two "Donald J. Trump Signature Designs" layouts near Aberdeen, Scotland, on the country's northeasteast coast.

Unfortunately, the project, which is already a year behind schedule, is indefinitely bogged down due to opposition from environmental groups. The problem, say members of The Ramblers Association of Scotland (an 8,000-member walking enthusiast group) and the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), is that the development, which is proposed to cover a third of a protected nature reserve, will irrevocably harm it.

In part, Trump's plans call for stabilizing a network of sand dunes so they don't encroach on his golf courses, but

Aberdeen is poised to become a Scotland golf vacation hotspot.

the SWT says the natural movement of the dunes is an essential part of the habitat. Another group, the Scottish Natural Heritage has until the end of this month to submit its findings.

Along with the great layouts at Royal Aberdeen, Murcar, Cruden Bay, and the reconstruction of Hazlehead in Aberdeen proper, Trump's project has the potential to help turn the northeast region into a Scotland golf vacation destination to rival St. Andrews. He is hoping that, by bringing significant economic benefit to the area, which he estimates at more than $50 million and 7,000 full and part-time jobs, he will be granted a "pass" on the environmental restrictions.

Do you think he'll get it? Share your comments.

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