Photo:© Chant Thomas
Little Applegate Valley above Buncom.
Forests of the proposed Buncom-Boaz Wilderness in background.

 The Little Applegate Valley is Important to Us!
 ALERT! BLM's proposed Nedsbar timber sale SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE
Whether we live in the Little Applegate, come to visit friends and family here, or arrive
in these beautiful mountains for hiking, horseback riding, running, hunting, fishing,
bicycling, bird watching, botanizing, dipping in the river, or taking scenic drives,
the Little Applegate fills a beloved place in hearts of folks near and far.


Photo:© Chant Thomas
Looking down the Little Applegate River canyon to Yale Creek confluence,
Buncom-Boaz Wildland in middle-ground, Siskiyou Crest rising beyond.
From Trillium Mountain in the shadows on the left over to the Buncom Boaz Wildland is part
of the landscape proposed as the 21,200 acre Dakubetede Primitive Backcountry Area.

    The Little Applegate represents clear blue skies, wilderness trails and scenic beauty.
A quiet refuge where we can picnic with family and friends in a splendid forest,
on a river-bank, or in a meadow lit with a rainbow of wildflowers.
A home to wild animals, rare plants, old-growth forests, diverse ecosystems.
Rich in the history of Native Americans and early settlers. Our home!


Photo:© Chant Thomas
View from Sterling Ditch Trail up the Little Applegate River Canyon
 in the proposed Dakubetede Wilderness to Wagner Butte.

We know how peaceful, quiet, and rewarding life in the Little Applegate can be,
how this hidden valley serves as a sunny winter refuge above the fog in lower valleys,
with trails that are open all winter, below the snow-pack up in higher elevations.
We recognize the value of forested mountains, clean air, clear water,
and a functioning environment to maintain our quality of life
and the property values of our homes, farms, and ranches.


Photo:© Chant Thomas
Public dirt road access through a ranch to the Little Applegate River Canyon.


Beginnings

In 1978 residents of the Little Applegate Valley became concerned about BLM plans to clearcut forests
above the Little Applegate River between Grouse Creek and Yale Creek
 right down to the property lines of ranches, farms and residences.
The forests in question cloak steep ridges, providing a scenic amenity
that drew many of the residents to settle in the beautiful little valley.
After a tense meeting at the Circle G Ranch that drew dozens of residents,
 Chant Thomas and Diane Albrechtsen founded a group named Protect Our Scenic Environment
(POSE) to protest and appeal the Grouse Creek Timber Sale.
After the protest was denied by Medford BLM, the appeal was researched, written and submitted to the
Department of Interior Board of Land Appeals, which denied that appeal later that year.

As POSE strategized about the potential of filing a lawsuit, a couple of new neighbors moved
built a cabin atop a knob directly across the river from the mouth of Grouse Creek.
Actress Leslie Parrish and her husband, writer Richard Bach, had diligently researched several
locations across the West before settling on the Little Applegate to build their dream.
Chant convinced Diane that she would be the best representative of POSE to contact the new
neighbors and let them know what BLM had planned for the little valley they had come to love.

 The meeting alarmed Leslie and Richard, who quickly realized the seriousness
 of the proposed BLM logging, and worked with Chant and Diane to organize a new group:
Threatened & Endangered Little Applegate Valley (TELAV) in 1979.
Leslie had years of experience in running protests and political campaigns
and was undaunted by the fact that no protests had ever stopped BLM timber sales.
With the unique activist and writing skills of Leslie and Richard, TELAV produced an unprecedented
600-page protest document-- the first ever that actually did stop a BLM timber sale.
That protest was used as the basis for many subsequent BLM timber sales, blocking or modifying them.
During this period, TELAV grew to over 700 members, attracted by the allure of success.
Original organizers of TELAV during news conference explaining the content of the 600-page
Grouse Creek Protest Statement of Reasons. Left to right: local rancher Diane Albrechtsen,
local forester Chant Thomas, actress Leslie Parrish, writer Richard Bach.
Photo courtesy of the Ashland Daily Tidings, April 15, 1981.


Continuings

Threatened & Endangered Little Applegate Valley (TELAV) was started in 1979
by a group of concerned neighbors to monitor and address the activities
of the largest landowner in the watershed: we the People, the U.S. Government.
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (B.L.M.) each
control approximately one third of the Little Applegate River Watershed.
Policies of these federal land management agencies have the greatest potential
of any land-owner to enhance, or to degrade, our quality of life on a watershed scale.


October 1982 photo of TELAV Board from Oregon Magazine feature story on TELAV.
L-R: Jenny Windsor, Richard Bach, Leslie Parrish, Diane Albrechtsen, Chant Thomas.
Not pictured: Dave Willard, Connie Fowler.

Since the 1970s, TELAV has protected the natural values of the Little Applegate
by working to halt or modify many ecologically damaging government projects, including:
~  stopping a dam on the Little Applegate River just below Yale Creek,
~  working to support a successful litigation to the U.S. Supreme Court stopping
all aerial applications of herbicides and pesticides on federal lands nation-wide,
~ lobbying to prevent a logging road from being built along the Sterling Ditch,
~  preventing herbicide applications on the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail system,
~  stopping or modifying several B.L.M. timber sales that would have roaded and
clear-cut the forested ridges south of the river from below Buncom up to Duncan Gap,
~  stopped USFS timber sales that would have roaded and clear-cut the roadless areas
 on Wagner Butte and Big Red Mountain in the Little Applegate's upper watershed,
~  worked with other organizations to prevent a strip mine on Big Red Mountain,
~  eliminating open-range grazing on a 28,000 acre allotment
 including the entire Sterling Mine Ditch Trail system,
~  proposed the 10,650-acre Dakubetede Wilderness in 1980 to protect
outstanding wildland values in the spectacular Little Applegate River Canyon.

   
Photos:© Chant Thomas
Big Red Mountain on the Siskiyou Crest: one of several Monogram Lakes; summit rocks.


Photo:© Chant Thomas
Diverse ecosystems in the proposed Dakubetede Wilderness.
View from Tunnel Ridge Trail across Little Applegate River Canyon.

However, much work remains to be accomplished! We are still working for the
Dakubetede Wilderness designation; suction dredge mining threatens the river;
and B.L.M. is still planning a massive Off-Road Vehicle play area on Anderson Butte.

Federal elected officials and land management agency managers arrive and then
move on like the seasons of the year while we stay put here in the Little Applegate.
 What would have been unthinkable to our Congressman of 20 years ago (Weaver)
is now actively advocated by our current Congressmen (Walden & DeFazio).
Their O&C Trust, Conservation, and Jobs Act would take nearly all of the B.L.M. forests in
the Applegate and place them in a trust to be managed by the timber industry for
maximum short-term financial return with no recourse for citizens to appeal,
 and be exempt from most federal environmental laws, allowing short rotation
clear-cutting and aerial applications of herbicides and pesticides.

Locally, our U.S. Government is presently hatching various plans that could drastically
alter all or portions of the Little Applegate River Watershed and adjacent areas.
The Sterling Sweeper Project plans for logging beginning this summer in many
of the forest stands on B.L.M. lands in the Sterling Creek Watershed and nearby areas.
While Sterling Sweeper became one of several B.L.M. timber sales in our area that failed
to draw any bids at auction, B.L.M. successfully offered it again in 2013.

Meanwhile, next time you're driving west on Hwy. 238, check out the recent logging
on the south side of the Applegate River between Ruch and Applegate.
Those "sloppy clearcuts" (VARIABLE RETENTION HARVEST!) are the controversial Pilot Joe project,
which B.L.M. looks to replicate across the Applegate as the new "scientific" method
to extract yet more timber and leave less forests on our local landscape.
Next comes the Pilot Thompson project up Thompson Creek, then more up Bishop and Forest Creeks.
These pilot projects provide an indication of the logging we can expect in the future
on forested B.L.M. lands in the Little Applegate River Watershed.

B.L.M. has opened the scoping process for their next Medford District Resource
Management Plan (RMP), which plans for the Little Applegate's next few decades.
We'll have info on this site to inform you about the process & how you can participate.

WASHINGTON D.C. ALERT! Oregon Reps. DeFazio, Walden, and Schrader
have introduced their legislation in the House that would hand over most of the Applegate's
B.L.M. forests to a "timber trust" for clear-cutting these forests to raise revenue for O&C counties.

Late in 2013, Sen. Wyden unveiled  the Senate's version of the legislation, which doubles logging on western Oregon BLM forests that would remain managed by BLM instead of the timber industry trust.
The Senate bill does propose several "Primitive Backcounty Areas" in S.W.Oregon, including
a 21,200 acre Dakubetede Primitive Backcountry Area in the Little Applegate River Canyon and nearby areas, including the proposed Dakubetede and Buncom Boaz Wilderness Areas and Woodrat Mountain.

IMMEDIATE THREAT: B.L.M.'S proposed NEDSBAR Timber Sale
BLM is planning yet another enormous logging project in the Little and Upper Applegate Watersheds.
Logging could occur on up to 3,400 acres, increasing fire danger on over 5 square miles of our forests.
Nedsbar is basically a re-run of the Bobar (2003) and Bald Lick (2005) timber sales that failed to draw any bids in the timber auctions. Check out details of the proposed NEDSBAR Timber Sale here.

 If you love the Little Applegate, then TAKE ACTION to protect our public forests.


Threatened & Endangered: Little Applegate Valley
PO Box 1330
Jacksonville, OR 97530

telav@deepwild.org
(541) 899-6906
Please write "TELAV Inquiry" in subject line of e-mail!

TELAV would love to hear from you. 
If you have any questions regarding the web site, the campaign, or technical questions, 
or for information about the B.L.M.'s plans for the area near your home, send us an email.
If you want the personal touch, give us a call at 899-6906.  
We hope to talk to you soon!

About TELAV

The Little Applegate    Dakubetede Wilderness    Roadless Areas

Take Action!    Letter Writing Guide    Join and Donate to TELAV!