The disappearing dunes of 'Dune'

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 February 2024

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A century ago, coastal dunes threatened to overwhelm the city of Florence, Oregon. The sand swallowed roads, highways, and houses. When “Dune” author Frank Herbert visited the area in 1957, he was stunned by the awesome power of the sand. Eventually, it inspired his fictional desert planet, Arrakis. But now, the dunes that inspired “Dune” are disappearing. To solve the sand problem, the US Forest Service planted dunes with non-native beachgrass, hoping its strong roots would keep the dunes in place. The strategy worked… too well. The grass spread, out-competing native species and transforming the dunes. At one popular spot, roughly 60% of what was once open sand is now gone. Producer Justine Paradis traveled to the Oregon Coast to see the mountains of sand which inspired a sci-fi classic, and meet the people working to save them. Featuring Dina Pavlis, Patty Whereat Phillips, and Jesse Beers. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS These aerial photos demonstrate the dramatic changes in the Oregon dunes since 1941. Dina Pavlis’ Secrets of the Oregon Dunes Facebook page The Oregon dunes are the setting of an episode of “Lassie” (1964), in which a little girl gets lost in a sand storm. New hires at the Forest Service in Florence are shown this film during orientation. The Siuslaw Public Library in Florence is home to the eclectic Frank Herbert collection, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting. These are books donated by Herbert’s daughter which he was reading at the time he wrote ‘Dune,’ and are available to the public. Fans make the pilgrimage to browse the collection, which includes titles on the desert, politics in the Middle East, computation, Scottish folk singing, rug hooking, and much more. Frank Herbert originally visited Florence to research a proposed magazine article on the Forest Service’s dune, as reported on the Siuslaw News. His (unsuccessful) proposal, “They Stopped the Moving Sands,” can be read in “The Road to Dune.” An episode of Endless Thread about the time a six-year-old boy fell into a tree hole (he’s fine now) in Michigan City, Indiana. CREDITS Outside/In host: Nate Hegyi Reported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis Edited by Taylor Quimby and Katie Colaneri Our team also includes Felix Poon. NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca Lavoie Special thanks to Meg Spencer, Kegen Benson, Armand Rebischke, and Kevin Mittge. Music by Sarah the Illstrumentalist, Elm Lake, Chris Zabriskie, and Blue Dot Sessions. Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Over a hundred years ago, giant sand dunes threatened to overwhelm parts of Florence, Oregon.
0:07.0	The sand came from the Cascade Mountain Range.
0:10.0	Over millions of years, it tumbled down rivers and the wind blew it back onto the coast.
0:15.0	Roughly 50 miles of folding, rolling, snaking sand,
0:20.0	around four times the footprint of Manhattan.
0:23.5	Some dunes are taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
0:27.0	And that sand moved. It swallowed forests, buried roads and railways, engulfed houses, even entire villages.
0:40.0	When writer Frank Herbert visited the area in 1957, he was stunned by the awesome power of the sand.
0:47.0	Sand dunes pushed up by steady winds build up waves like ocean waves, every bit as devastating to property as a seismic wave.
0:59.1	But it wasn't just the sand that inspired Herbert. The people that lived near these dunes, they were trying to stop the sand from moving.
1:07.0	To fix the dunes in place. And to Herbert? It looked like they were winning.
1:14.0	The small Oregon coastal town of Florence is the scene of an unsung victory
1:18.0	in the fight that men have been waging since before the dawn of recorded history.
1:22.0	The fight is with moving sand. since before the dawn of recorded history.
1:23.0	The fight is with moving sand, with dunes.
1:30.6	For Herbert, an idea had taken root, one that would eventually give rise to a science fiction classic.
1:37.0	Dune. My planet Aracus is so beautiful when the sun is low.
1:49.0	Rolling over the sands, you can see spice in the air.
1:55.0	The outsiders ravage our lands in front of our eyes.
2:01.0	Dune is the our lands in front of our eyes.
2:10.7	Dune is the story of a desert planet, a world of sand and storms, colonization, and deadly political intrigue. He who can destroy a film and TV a number of times.
2:35.2	But the dunes that inspired dune, these days they are not so enduring.
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