John E. Frampton earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine
Biology from the College of Charleston in 1970 and a Master of Arts in
Teaching from the Citadel in 1972. In 1974, he began his career with the
former S.C. Wildlife and Marine Resources Department after receiving his
Master's degree in Wildlife Biology from Clemson University.
His first assignment with DNR was as a field biologist in Union County. Frampton was promoted to Chief of Wildlife Management in 1985. Some notable achievements in this position include the establishment of the ACE Basin Task Force comprised of public and private partnerships. The ACE Basin Project protects more than 150,000 acres of diverse wildlife habitat around the confluence of the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers in Charleston, Colleton and Beaufort counties.
He also negotiated with Duke Energy and the Conservation Fund for the acquisition and perpetual protection of the 44,000 acre Jocassee Gorges Wildlife Management Area property in Pickens and Oconee counties in the South Carolina upstate. Through private donations and Federal legislation, he generated $18 million to fund the project.
In 1999, he was promoted to DNR assistant director for development and national affairs. This new position allowed him to devote his efforts, full-time, to securing private and federal funds for agency projects while coordinating the DNR's statewide habitat protection strategy. He has also directed the state's participation in the Forest Legacy Program and obtained federal and private funding of over $100 million for habitat protection including projects such as the 571-acre Shooting Tree Forest Legacy Area in the upstate and the purchase and protection of the 7,200 acre Edisto River Forest Legacy Project. Through private funding he raised $278,000 for the Jocassee Gorges Trust Fund, secured $20.5 million in federal funds to purchase Morgan Island in Beaufort County, as well as the 1,049-acre Landsford Canal Forest Legacy Project in Chester County and the 12,500-acre Santee Forest Legacy Project in Williamsburg County.
With budget cuts already hurting the agency and likely to hit even harder, he knows his work is cut out for him. He has numerous priorities. "Immediate attention must be given to managing and restoring the agency's dwindling budget. It's imperative that we ensure adequate funding for the protection, management and on-going research of the state's natural resources during these tough economic times. We've done a good job of that in habitat protection. Now we have the opportunity to bring that into other areas of the agency."
In addition to protecting South Carolina's natural resources and those who enjoy and utilize them, the DNR Law Enforcement Division has the added responsibilities of Homeland Security and counter-terrorism patrols. "Our Natural Resources Enforcement Officers have taken on significant and substantial duties associated with Homeland Security, DNR officers are responsible for patrolling and ensuring the safety of the state's waterways, bridges, nuclear facilities, harbors and ports. It's a natural fit because we're equipped to do so, but these additional duties have come without an increase in state funding. It's imperative that we address and ensure these critical funding needs."
He places great emphasis on continuing to develop public and private partnerships and obtaining federal and alternative funding sources to support agency projects, the state's habitat protection initiative and Homeland Security. "These are probably the toughest times this agency has experienced, but I have a history of building partnerships."