MDC honors George Seek with Master Conservationist Award

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri Conservation Commission and Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently honored retired MDC employee George Seek of Meadville with their Master Conservationist Award. Seek was presented with the award at a special ceremony at Fountain Grove Conservation Area near Meadville in north-central Missouri on Oct. 24. Seek worked for MDC for more than 30 years, retiring as chief of the Private Lands Division.

The Master Conservationist award was created in 1941 to honor living or deceased citizen conservationists, former MDC commissioners, and employees of conservation-related agencies, universities, or organizations who made substantial and lasting contributions to the fisheries, forestry, or wildlife resources of the state.Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/about-us/awards-honors/master-conservationist-award-nomination.

Before joining MDC, Seek earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture with a major in Fish and Wildlife Ecology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He also received additional military training and education, including a Master of Science degree in Strategic Planning from the U.S. Army War College.

Seek joined MDC in 1972 as a research assistant for deer and waterfowl biologists. He then served as a wildlife area assistant for the Schell-Osage Conservation Area in southwest Missouri before becoming the assistant manager of the area. Seek was then promoted to a wildlife area manager in 1979 for the Fountain Grove Conservation Area, and helped manage portions of Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge. His responsibilities grew to include managing Grand Pass, Franklin Island, Cooley Lake, and Bob Brown conservation areas and supervising 16 staff persons. He was then promoted to a wildlife district supervisor in 1983 with responsibilities for the 10-county Grand River District. During that time, he was instrumental in major wetland developments at Grand Pass and Fountain Grove conservation areas. Seek became a wildlife regional supervisor in 1997 for MDC's 19-county Northwest Region. He then became the division chief for the Department's newly formed Private Land Services Division in 1999 until his retirement in 2003.

During his time with MDC, Seek was also instrumental in developing the Department's first Wetland Management Plan, providing important insights from an experienced manager's perspective on the challenges of wetland restoration and management. Seek also led MDC's initial effort and report on the "Evaluation of Waterfowl and Waterfowl Hunting on MDC Areas," which provided an important basis for the evolution of public hunting to follow. He also wrote part of the Department's "Waterfowl Hunting and Wetland Conservation in Missouri" book, considered the most contemporary historic overview of waterfowl and wetlands management in Missouri ever published.

After retirement from MDC, Seek focused on helping Ducks Unlimited establish the Confluence Focus Area near St. Louis for land protection to secure donatedconservation easements on 25,000 acres of waterfowl habitat.

Seek is also the founder and primary manager of Massasauga Flats, LLC, a private 250-acre wetland in north-central Missouri that provides diversenatural shallow wetland habitat where more than 160 different wetland birds have been documentedand is a model for how to manage wetlands without dependance on crops.

He has also served as a member, vice-chair, and chair ofthe Wetlands and Waterfowl Resource Advisory Committee for the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the state's oldest grassroots

conservation organization. As chair of the committee, Seek helped to develop and gave the welcome address at the Missouri Wetlands Summit in 2023.

In addition to his extensive conservation work, Seek also retired as a colonel from the U.S. Army Reserves after more than 30 years of service in the Reserves and the Missouri National Guard from 1972-2003.

"George Seek's contributions to Missouri's wildlife conservation efforts have been numerous, far-reaching, and lasting," said MDC Director Jason Sumners at the event. "His efforts spanned a career of more than 30 years, and continue today, even in retirement. At each step of his career, George demonstrated excellent leadership, planning, supervision, innovation, and team-building skills, both internally and with outside partners."

Conservation Commission Chair Margy Eckelkamp added that Seek has left his mark on conservation across Missouri, and beyond.

"The nomination of George Seek for our Master Conservationist Award was accompanied by many letters of endorsement, including three from former conservation commissioners," said Eckelkamp. "We thank George for his many decades of service to both conservation and our country, and wholeheartedly congratulate him on this well-deserved award."

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CAPTION FOR GROUP PHOTO: The Missouri Conservation Commission and MDC recently honored retired MDC employee George Seek of Meadville with their Master Conservationist Award at a special ceremony at Fountian Grove Conservation Area on Oct.24. Shown l-r: Commissioner Margy Eckelkamp, Commissioner Ray Wagner Jr., MDC Director Jason Sumners, former Commissioner Jeff Churan, George Seek with his wife Connie Seek, Commissioner Mark McHenry, Commissioner Steven Harrison, and former Commissioner Chip McGeehan.