(CNN) The sand dunes on the Trump International golf course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, are expected to lose their protected conservation designation, the government said Friday.

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.

A Scottish conservation agency says development of the golf course has damaged about 15% of a protected sand dune habitat.

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 denotification of SSSIs is unusual, however in this case we have found there is no longer a reason to protect the dunes at Menie as they do not include enough of the special, natural features for which they were designated," Sally Thomas, director of people and nature for Scottish Natural Heritage, said in a news release.

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