Directions column— by John Frampton

This year marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the most successful wildlife conservation program in U.S. history. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, more commonly known today as the Pittman-Robertson Act. Pittman-Robertson, along with the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act passed in 1950 and amendments to both, have to date raised more than $14 billion for wildlife conservation — money that has preserved critical habitat for game and non-game species, funded state-level management and restoration projects, enhanced access to public lands and water, and educated citizens about the importance of natural resources conservation and stewardship.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration programs are essentially a "user pays, user benefits" strategy through which sportsmen and women have picked up the bill for these initiatives via federal excise taxes levied on shooting arms and ammunition, archery equipment and fishing tackle. These monies, along with excise taxes levied on motorboat fuels, are distributed to state fish and wildlife agencies to provide federal support for conservation, research and wildlife management programs funded at the state level by hunting and fishing licenses, permits and other user fees. And while a great deal of money and effort has been directed (very successfully) at the restoration of popular and economically beneficial game species such as white-tailed deer and wild turkey, non-game and endangered species have benefitted as well, particularly as program funds have been used to support habitat protection in critical areas. In South Carolina, acquisition and management of public lands has also provided outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities for hunters, anglers, hikers, backcountry campers, paddlers, birdwatchers and nature lovers of all stripes.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in January that it will be teaming up with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and other conservation groups to promote a yearlong celebration of this highly successful partnership. Retiring S.C. Department of Natural Resources Director John Frampton will help lead this effort for AFWA. Director Frampton served a term as president of the organization in 2009-2010. He announced his retirement from the DNR this past November.

John Frampton began a long and distinguished career with the DNR in 1974, serving first as a field biologist in Union County. He was promoted to chief of wildlife management in 1985, assistant director in 1999 and agency director in 2003. Frampton's tenure at DNR might best be remembered for the role he played in developing the public-private partnerships necessary for the creation of the ACE Basin project in the South Carolina Lowcountry and the Jocassee Gorges project in the Upstate. The ACE Basin effort rewrote the playbook on how large-scale habitat protection can be achieved by government and nonprofit agencies working with private landowners willing to protect land from development using conservation easements and other incentives, an approach which has since become a national model.

Of course, some of you will know John Frampton best as the author — for the last eight-plus years — of this "Directions" column. His straightforward style and willingness to candidly share his thoughts and opinions on a range of issues involving the DNR and natural resources conservation have been much-appreciated by our readers. In January, the DNR Board selected Col. Alvin Taylor, currently the deputy director of the DNR's Law Enforcement Division, to lead the agency after Frampton’s retirement on March 17.  A 1976 graduate of Clemson University, Taylor joined the then-S.C. Wildlife and Marine Resources Department in 1977. Prior to becoming deputy director, Taylor  supervised the DNR boating safety and hunter education programs, various law enforcement regions, and the agency’s coastal marine law enforcement operations.