2022 Conservation Leadership Award – Liz and Rusby Seabaugh

Liz Seabaugh accepts the 2022 Conservation Leadership Award presented by Executive Director Paul Travis and Board President Bill Corwin.

We are thrilled to announce that the Flathead Land Trust Conservation Leadership Award has been awarded to Liz Seabaugh and her late husband, Rusby (who passed away earlier in 2022). The award was presented at the Flathead Land Trust holiday and member appreciation party on December 13th.

Landowners are the heart and soul of our work. They are the integral piece that makes private-land conservation possible. Any landowner that chooses to conserve their land through a conservation easement is taking a bold step and is a hero in our book, but some landowners go above and beyond in their commitment to conservation.

Liz and Rusby Seabaugh are exemplary partner landowners who not only conserved their farmland in the lower valley in 2004, but also served as advocates for other landowners to do the same and pioneered efforts to restore riparian vegetation along the Flathead River.

The Seabaughs first moved to the Flathead Valley in 1970 where Rusby started a urology practice. In 1973, they moved to their home on lower valley to farm and ranch.

About twenty years ago, Flathead Land Trust and our Flathead River to Lake Initiative partners were putting to use new funding sources from the Bonneville Power Administration and the Natural Resources and Conservation Service to conserve private land in the Flathead. It took a leap of faith for landowners to work with us in implementing these complicated and time-consuming funding programs. Liz and Rusby stepped forward to be among the first landowners in the lower valley to conserve their land using these programs. In fact, the Seabaughs delayed the closing for the conservation easements on their properties to ensure that available funding went first to some of their neighbors also conserving their land with this funding.

In the years that followed, Rusby and Liz publicly advocated for the need to conserve the farmland in the valley and steered their friends and acquaintances to Flathead Land Trust’s door. They also contributed greatly to our community through other organizations over many years including Rusby’s service on the Flathead River Commission and Liz’s service on Foy’s to Blacktail Trails, among others.

Many farms along the Flathead River have historically cleared vegetation all the way to the river bank. This has reduced available habitat, negatively impacted water quality and caused bank instability. The Seabaugh farm suffered from this historical clearing as well and Rusby took it upon himself to do something about it. He spent a lot of time and money planting new native vegetation along a third of a mile of their farm’s river bank to address these impacts. Now you might think this involves just planting some vegetation and walking away, but of course, it is not so simple. You have to protect the vegetation from browsing deer and beaver, from the gnawing teeth of voles and from the smothering competition of noxious weeds. When the vegetation is young, you have to water them regularly during the summer heat and you have to accept and replace a great deal of vegetation loss not only from all of the above, but also from the eroding river bank caused by fluctuations in lake levels from Kerr dam and from boat wakes on the lower river. It is not an easy endeavor and by being among the first to do it in the valley, the Seabaughs provided us with many lessons learned through trial and error that allowed our partners to do it right the first time on other farms along the river.

Since 2014, this annual award has recognized individuals that have gone beyond the call of duty for the benefit of Flathead Land Trust’s conservation efforts. Whose leadership, vision, support, volunteer service and stewardship of our incredible land and water resources has furthered meaningful conservation throughout the Flathead Valley and across NW Montana. Liz and Rusby are true conservation champions and we are proud to honor them with this year’s award.