Wildland Firefighter Memorial Walk

Not sure what they were doing burning some of the last remaining shrub steppe as a "demonstration" but I guess they can see with their own eyes how well native shrubs like Purshia tridentata and Artemisia tridentata fair with only a little bit of fire. Not well. So I had to dock it one star for the fire ecology part in the desert instead of the actual forest- but otherwise its a nice place to pull over and walk through if its not too hot. I've seen it grow from just a little trail in the woods and a couple signs to what it is today- and am glad that some of the old lookouts can find a place as well as being a great resource for the public learning about wildfires. Perhaps they can also talk someday about the shrub-steppe (also called scab lands historically in Washington State), some of North America's most endangered ecosystems that utterly collapses when fire is introduced and is very different from the forest which it has evolved to withstand and thrive with it, if not depend upon. People I don't think understand that about the American West and just think "fire good"- overly simplifying to huge problem- mainly because of all the fire education without even realizing there are two vastly different ecosystems here. I also think it would be great to have a trail extension to up on the ridge above the center and what appears to be a mountain meadow that might bring in more people interested in the outdoors to the area and center.