|
Jeanette LeTourneux
Jeanette grew up in Salem, Oregon, with a family who loved camping, hiking, downhill skiing, singing songs around the campfire, and reading anything and everything. After her son was born with developmental disabilities (eventually diagnosed with autism), she became a special education assistant with the Salem School District. She earned a teaching degree at Western Oregon University, became part of a treatment team at a day treatment center for emotionally disturbed adolescents, and earned her master’s degree. After retiring, she and her husband, Steve, traveled for three years before settling on Humbug Creek in Applegate. They loved the botanical diversity and wildness of the Siskiyous and found that the people of the Applegate Valley were as fascinating and diverse as the botany! In 2018 a neighbor told them about a new group, including some members of the Applegate Trails Association, about to hold their first meeting. Their goal: helping to protect the Wellington Wildlands, which borders Humbug Creek. There Jeanette met the founding group of the Wellington Wildlands Council (WWC). It was impossible to resist the passion and vision of this group, and Jeanette has been happy to be actively involved with the WWC ever since. |
Audrey Eldridge
Audrey moved to the Applegate in 1993, completing her migration from New England after a brief stay in Portland. Mother of three, and grandmother of nine, she splits her “retirement” time between caring for her property and animals, engaging and keeping up with local nonprofits, playing with family and friends, and exploring and hiking in this incredible area. Her background in groundwater has helped to educate adults and children of the importance of protecting this less understood but incredibly important resource. She has enjoyed many days wildflower-viewing in the Wellington Wildlands (you can ask her about the location of Calypso orchards found there last year—she might share!). Her love of the natural beauty of the Wellington Wildlands combined with a dread of the proposed upcoming logging efforts of this area led to a group effort to establish the Wellington Wildlands Council, Inc., the newest (as of October 2021) nonprofit in the Applegate! She invites you to join in the ventures of the council and help to preserve this valuable wildland. |
Liza Crosse
Liza was born in the US, but grew up in Australia, where she fell in love with watery places—oceans, estuaries, and rivers. After landing in the San Francisco Bay Area in her twenties, Liza began her career with a 13-year stint as an administrator with the University of California. She then served for two decades as a legislative aide to a Marin County supervisor, working on wide-ranging environmental, agricultural, and land-use issues. Liza has served on the boards of several nonprofit environmental and community organizations as well as on agency committees focused on fishery, watershed, and ocean protection. After retirement, Liza and her husband, Tim, purchased a “fixer” property near Applegate that was damaged by historic gold dredging. They’ve been working to restore the land ever since. Drawn to Applegate Watershed issues, Liza was inspired to get involved with protecting the Wellington Wildlands after joining a hike led by the late David Calahan. Liza and Tim have two adult sons and are adventurous travelers. |
|
Founding Group
David Calahan, Jack Duggan, Audrey Eldridge, Karen Giese, Stuart Heaslet, and Marlene Javage. |
|