Off-roaders taking steps for responsible use of Juniper Dunes

Seen on one hiker’s recent trek in the Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area — the first wildflowers of the spring, hundreds of blue birds and tire tracks where no off-roader should have been.

That’s the report that Holly Weiler of the Spokane Mountaineers posted to the Washington Trails Association earlier this month.

It was upsetting news to Dave Walters of the Tri-Cities Peak Putters.

“The majority of OHV (off-highway vehicle) users are well aware of the wilderness area, and respect the boundary,” he said. “However, there are those who, for whatever reason, wander off course and then we have damage control to deal with.”

He and other off-highway vehicle users were at Juniper Dunes to check out the damage a week ago.

They did not find any tracks in the wilderness area, possibly because the constantly shifting sands there could have obliterated them, Walters said. But they are still taking action.

Members of five Tri-City-area organizations will be at Juniper Dunes on Saturday to repair a fence that stretches for several miles to separate the wilderness areas of the dunes on the east from a popular area to the west where vehicles are allowed to bounce over the sandy dunes.

The local groups include the Tri-Cities Peak Putters, the Midnite Mudders, the Desert Rats, the Roamin’ Chariots and the Rattlesnake 4x4’s.

“It’s an area we use quite regularly and we want to maintain good relations with BLM — so, no, we can’t let that go on,” Walters said.

Chris Shafer of the Bureau of Land Management says the recent report of off-roading in the wilderness area appears to be a one-time event.

But his agency welcomes the help of Tri-City groups.

He estimates that 30 to 40 percent of the fence is in need of maintenance, and the groups have the vehicles to get to the areas of the dunes where fence repairs are needed.

In some places, the shifting sands of the dunes have covered the top of the wire fence and in other places the fence is hanging six feet above areas where the sand has blown away, Waters said.

The groups will also hang new signs making it clear to those who aren’t familiar with the area that no vehicles are allowed to the east of the fence.

“We are users and we take full responsibility for it,” Walters said.

The Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area in Franklin County, established by Congress in 1984, covers about 7,140 acres. It includes windswept dunes up to 130 feet high and western junipers that are as much as 150 years old.

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Off-roaders taking steps for responsible use of Juniper Dunes."