Ned and Marilyn Livingston Award

The Ned and Marilyn Livingston Award recognizes outstanding stewardship by a private landowner in Lake or Klamath County. The landowner must demonstrate a commitment to managing their property guided by an understanding of forest health and fire, and with a genuine interest in the responsibilities and rights associated with land stewardship. This landowner also demonstrates a commitment to inspiring other private landowners in land stewardship through demonstration, innovation, and/or engagement. In short, a landowner who models Ned and Marilyn Livingston in their dedication to land stewardship, healthy forests, and a respect for fire.

Nominations are currently open for the 2024 Ned and Marilyn Livingston Award. The deadline for submitting a nomination is March 31st. The instructions and nomination form are found here.

Ned and Marilyn Livingston - A Legacy of Land Stewardship

Ned and Marilyn were a driving force in the creation and development of the Klamath-Lake Forest Health Partnership in the early 90’s, and they stayed engaged in their board roles and attending meetings, even if online, until 2022. They rejoiced in the growing successes of the KLFHP, and Ned frequently reminded us to never forget the individual landowners in all of our planning – we can only hope that there will be other landowners that will give as much heart and insight to our group.

Ned was frequently philosophical, if not poetic, in his vision of the land and his role. The following is a quote from him from the Feb. 1999 Klamath/Lake Forest Health Management Guide:

 “When it comes to the spiritual, neither Marilyn nor I have thought that much about that. But what I can say is that I’m totally involved with that land. If I had to leave it, I’d be in dire straits. I’ve identified with it that much. And if I were totally in sync with the rhythm and pace of the land, that would be the ultimate. That would be about as close to nirvana as I think I could get. I’m not there, but almost every day of my life I can sense the potential for that. When I go out there on the land to do whatever I’m doing, much of the time it feels a little bit like putting on a very nice down coat on a very cold day – very easy, enveloping and comfortable, and there is contentment in it.”