Alice Elshoff, a tireless advocate for preserving Oregon’s High Desert landscape, grew up all around the West. In the rural, desert places of her youth, children entertained themselves by exploring the desert, and her love for wildness blossomed at an early age. “The
desert is just an incredible place,” she says.
In college, her passion for wild lands was cemented during a summer
spent working at a primitive camp in the Rocky Mountains. In 1956,
after earning a degree in education, Alice moved to Bend, Oregon where
she taught elementary school most of her career, along with junior high
science. Alice is known in the community for the field trips she would
take her 5th grade class on to explore the Badlands area, their own
“backyard wilderness” – though it lacks permanent protection.
Just 15 miles east of Bend, the Badlands area is one of the
most fascinating and rare geological sites in Eastern Oregon. In some
areas, rounded domes formed by ancient lava flows litter the landscape
and hide caves and tunnels for exploring. Beautiful river rocks,
sculpted hundreds of years ago by glaciers, line dry canyons. Stands of
old-growth juniper -- some as old as 1,200 years -- occupy the sandy
terrain. Mule deer, elk, bobcats, and many birds call the area home.
In 1980, during the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) original
wilderness inventory of the Badlands, they left out a particular
section, known to Alice, that included a dry canyon where Indian rock
paintings could be found. When she went to the BLM and pointed out
their error, they responded, “What canyon?” Thus began her first
campaign for Badlands wilderness protection. Alice formed a little
group called the “Badlands Bunch” to help educate local residents about
the values of the Badlands. The Badlands Bunch merged with another
fledging organization to become the Oregon Natural Desert Association
(ONDA) -- now a thriving Bend-based conservation organization. As a
founding member and board member, Alice has helped lead the
organization in its efforts to protect the fragile beauty of Oregon’s
high desert.
The effort to protect the Badlands as a designated wilderness
area has recently come to a climax. On January 31, the Deschutes County
Commissioners held a public hearing on creating a Badlands wilderness.
More than 300 people attended the hearing, where by a 2–to-1 margin
they spoke in favor of wilderness designation. Following the hearing,
the County Commissioners then kept the record open for 2 weeks to allow
the public to submit comments. According to the official tally from the
county commissioners, 1,032 people submitted comments in favor of the
proposal, and only 225 against. Included in the comments were the
results of a recent poll done in the area which revealed that support
for a Badlands wilderness area among Deschutes County voters had jumped
to a three-to-one margin, with 69 percent in favor of the proposal.
"Without Alice Elshoff, ONDA would not exist today. She is one of a
handful of forward-thinking wilderness champions that created the
interest in and passion for the truly wide and wild open spaces of
Oregon's high desert,” lauded Bill Marlett, director of the Oregon
Natural Desert Association. “Because of Alice Elshoff’s stalwart
commitment to wildlands protection, the proposed Badlands wilderness is
on the front burner today. Her interest for the Badlands 20 years ago
is now paying off in what we hope will be Oregon's next wilderness."
Today, Alice and her husband Cal reside in Frenchglen, OR,
where for the past eight years they have served as
caretakers-in-residence for a lovely old farmhouse located in the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Some of their caretaking duties
include working on habitat restoration projects, seasonal bird counts,
and assisting with tours for visitors.
In addition, Alice leads Malheur Wildlife Associates, a group
she co-founded in 1999 which assists the refuge in a variety of
projects. She also serves on the Steens Mountain Advisory Council, a
group which has helped to formulate management plans for the newest of
Oregon’s wilderness areas.
Alice’s advice to other volunteers is to “Just do it.” She
adds, “I don’t know anything else than to just do it and understand how
important this work is in the long run. The natural world is all we’ve
got.”
Our hats are off to Alice for “just doing it.”
