In particularly dusty conditions the cotton/oil type filter manufacturers recommend adding some oil w/o cleaning to prevent just what you discribe. I have even done what Peter mentioned on very dusty outtings, plus added a little oil.

I had an oilbath filter on my first vehicle ever, a 69 VW Karmann Ghia ! No I'm not that old, we found it in '80. After tearing apart the case my father and I were amazed at how little damage there was to the seals and bearings, relatively speaking for a vehicle that had a frozen engine and tranny while sitting in a garage for almost 5 years.