steppie at wolfenet.com wrote:
>
> Alan, Nope, I haven't been down there yet or know anybody who has.
> Andy>
> >
> >Andy S wrote, on 07/01/96:
> >
> >I've just got off the phone with Margaret Pounds, i/c biologist at the
> >Yakima Training Center. She reports a 10,000 acre fire now burning at the
> >Juniper Dunes NE of Pasco. I'm very sad to hear that the entire area was
> >razed and only hope the fire proves to be less damaging that the rumors.
> >
> >Andy Stepniewski
> >Wapato WA
> >-----
> >
> >Andy -- any new news / assessment on this?
> >
> >Alan
> >alanr at orednet.org
> >================================
> >1
> >
> >--
> >
> >
> >

The following article was in the July 4 Spokesman-Review, by outdoor editor Rich
Landers.

___________________________________________
Juniper blaze won't inflame experts' anger.
The Spokesman Review, July 4, 1996
Rich Landers

If you're too cheap to buy charcoal for your summer camp outs, you'll find plenty of
it in the Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area northeast of Pasco.

A human-caused fire went wild about a mile outside the wilderness Saturday. Winds
fanned the blaze directly into the roadless public land. By the time the smoke
subsided, flames had rampaged over 8,500 acres in 11 hours.

The charred area encompassed about 6,000 acres of the 7,140-acres wilderness.

While hot spots continue to smolder, investigators are trying to find the culprit who
sparked a costly weekend of firefighting and took 2,500 acres of private range out of
production for the summer.

But shed no tears for the land. The fire appears to have been an illegal but
well-timed blessing.

The Juniper Dunes, the only wilderness in Washington managed by the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management, was given federal wilderness status in the 1980's to keep roads and
development out of a landscape unique in this state.

This parched natural area is distinguished by sand dunes that have been swept and
shaped up to 130 feet tall by dry desert winds. Among the dunes are basins of sage,
bitter brush and grass, plus the largest concentration of western juniper trees
remaining in Washington.

The fire, according to early reports, has merely assured that this natural attraction
will continue to flourish.

Perhaps if this fire had occurred in Idaho, a congressman or senator would be seizing
the moment to pass a "rangeland health law" enabling ranchers to mow down all
remaining sagebrush and junipers to prevent future fires.

Instead, the fire occurred in what most people consider an arid wasteland of
Washington. The blaze received little attention out side the local area.

This wasn't Yellowstone Park. On a much smaller scale, the incident rekindles debate
over fire's natural role in renewing ecosystems.

"We're in an awkward situation," said Bill Carleton, BLM fire-control manager in
Spokane. "We'd like to let fire do it's natural job in wild lands, but, unfortunately,
a growing human population makes it difficult. We can't burn up the neighbors."

Fire hasn't groomed the Juniper Dunes since 1981. Grass has been able to take hold and
grow at the top of the dunes, anchoring sand and halting the natural flow of this
moving landscape.

The recent fire, however, has burned the grass and liberated the dunes.

Although the wilderness is a critical nesting area for ferruginous and Swainson's
hawks, the fire occurred after most of the chicks had fledged.

About 10 percent of the junipers were lost, BLM officials say. That's a small price to
pay for revitalizing the ecosystem.

Junipers are no strangers to fire. Each juniper has evolved to emit a chemical that
inhibits growth of surrounding vegetation. This reduces the competition for moisture
in the desert while creating a natural fire break around each tree.

"Some of the outside landowners probably don't agree, but the fire will help the range
in the long run," said Lou Juhrs, BLM rangeland specialist.

Like most wildfires, the flames skipped and jumped through the wilderness. The flames
didn't burn a swath of destruction. They created a mosaic of new and old growth, vital
components to a naturally diverse ecosystem.

"Some basins burned hot, charring all the sage and bitter brush to ashes," Juhrs said.
"Some areas burned lightly. A few hundred yards away, on the other side of a dune, the
fire might have skipped through and hardly burned anything."

About 250 firefighters from federal, state and local crews plus local landowners
worked to snuff out the fire and minimize the effect on surrounding private range
land.

But no fire lines were left within the wilderness boundaries, Carleton said.

The flames that raged through Franklin County last weekend have left few lasting scars
on the land.

Nor did the fire destroy plans sensible people might have had for visiting the area
over the Fourth of July.

"It was 105 degrees when we were assessing the fire," said Juhrs. "This isn't the most
pleasant time of the year in the dunes."

Access to the wilderness is closed for a few weeks, and surely until the next soaking
rain, Carleton said.

But put the Juniper Dunes Wilderness on your hiking agenda for next spring. See for
yourself the rejuvenation of an ecosystem.




--
Don Woodworth
http://www.televar.com/~donew
Wenatchee Native Plant Society
http://www.televar.com/~donew/wwnps.html