A new road to Juniper Dunes is nearly done. But what about toilets and garbage service?

The new road to the Juniper Dunes Recreation Area north of Pasco will soon make it far easier for the public to access the 4,000-acre slice of four-wheeling heaven.

But the promise of crowds streaming to the remote playground raises a slew of management questions for the Bureau of Land Management, which owns the 19,600-acre Juniper Dunes Wilderness, and Franklin County, which provides law enforcement and other emergency services to the area.

Construction is nearly complete up on a $3.8 million, 4.7-mile road from the Pasco-Kahlotus highway, northeast of Pasco.

Juniper Dunes visitors previously relied on private roads to reach the sand dune area. Land owners occasionally closed off access because of damage by passersby.

A modern, public road promises a smoother ride and to drive up interest in Juniper Dunes in the off-roading community.

Public can weigh in

To prepare, BLM will hold what it is calling “listening sessions” to guide planning for what promises to be a popular new destination for off-road enthusiasts.

The sessions are 5:30-8:30 p.m. on July 22 and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. July 23 at the Red Lion Columbia Center in Kennewick, 1101 N. Columbia Center Blvd.

This week, Lindsey Babcock, BLM’s acting district manager for Spokane, updated Franklin County commissioners.

Professional moderators will lead the two listening sessions. Babcock said BLM hasn’t started planning for Juniper Dunes. Instead, it wants to hear from users about what they like, don’t like and want to see to guide planning.

Garbage, toilets and fees?

Managers will need to plan to manage garbage, developing restroom facilities, and even consider if it makes sense to charge fees to use Juniper Dunes.

Babcock said it’s clear the recreation area needs year-round pit toilets. And regular visitors report they remove garbage abandoned by other users.

A statewide working group cautioned against charging users, but she said the topic is worth discussing. Fees would stay in the district and could lead to more staff on site and a greater ability to complete projects.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office provides limited patrols at Juniper Dunes, chiefly on weekends. The contract, worth about $25,000 a year, is being renewed this summer after a lapse. The lapse didn’t affect patrols, said Babcock.

Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier said he hopes Juniper Dunes stays more of a playground for local residents, saying he’s concerned about saddling county taxpayers with costs to serve non-local visitors.

He suggested BLM refrain from advertising about the new road.

“If we advertise that, we’re going to have an onslaught of west side people coming over here,” he said.

Commissioner Brad Peck disagreed.

The county paid for the road with a $1.6 million Western Federal Lands Highway Division grant and $1 million from BLM.

“It doesn’t belong to Franklin County. It belongs to the people of the United States,” he said.

Peck said Franklin County can take the lessons from other communities with recreation facilities. He said he’d prefer to generate revenue by awarding a concession contract near the entrance to the recreation area over charging fees to users.

Goodman And Mehlenbacher Enterprises (GAME) of Kennewick is building the road.