The giving Back Awards: 15 People Who Make America Great

It wasn't too long ago that Randy Rusk considered "environmentalist" a dirty word. Like many of his fellow ranchers in Colorado's Wet Mountain Valley, a high prairie in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Rusk resented outsiders' telling him how to manage his land. But as he watched one ranch after another--land that was once the domain of cattle and elk--disappear into housing developments, he had a change of heart. In 2002, Rusk teamed up with the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit, and set up a conservation easement on his family's 1,500-acre spread. He sold his land's development rights to the TPL for less than half its $4 million market value. What's in it for him? He can count on the trust and its local partners to keep the property intact forever, ensuring that his grandkids can continue to ranch. "It's hard to walk away from half of your net worth," says Rusk, "and it sure didn't make me real popular around here at first. But if you love the land, you want to keep it whole."

Once Rusk made his deal, saving the range became a personal crusade. In the years since, he's persuaded other area ranchers to make similar arrangements. The concept has become so popular that some landowners are simply donating the easements, allowing the land trusts to use their cash to buy up more acreage in the Wet Mountain Valley. "Randy was able to show people around here why it makes sense," says Doug Robotham of the Trust for Public Land. "He's the validator in this community." By 2007, more than 11,000 acres of Wet Mountain Valley land will be protected from subdivision. "People are starting to realize that open space is valuable--no matter what developers think," says Rusk. With his help, it's becoming priceless.

—Karen Breslau

4 - The Celebrity

Brad Pitt
Los Angeles

He lured the paparazzi to Africa, where people really needed the attention.