Minutes
Board of
the Department of Natural Resources
Ellison
Building
125
Regional Parkway
Orangeburg,
SC
10:00 a.m.
The regular meeting of the Board
of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources was held at 10:00 a.m. on
Friday, October 15, 2004 at the Ellison Building, 125 Regional Parkway,
Orangeburg, South Carolina. Notice of
the date, time and place of the meeting was posted and mailed to the news
media. Chairman Mike McShane presided
at the meeting. Board members present
included Michael Campbell, Stephen Davis, John Evans and Karen Floyd. Board Members Smith Ragsdale and Frank
Murray were absent. Mr. John Frampton
and staff members of the Department of Natural Resources were present at the
meeting, as were various guests.
Chairman McShane called the meeting
to order at 10:00 and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Chairman McShane asked Chaplin Ron
Kenyon to offer the invocation.
III. Pledge of Allegiance
Vice
Chairman Campbell led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Cary Chamblee introduced
Senator Brad Hutto.
V. Constituent Comment
There were no constituent comments
Chairman
McShane asked if there were any other corrections or additions to the minutes
of the September 17, 2004, meeting. Mr. Campbell made a motion to accept
the minutes of the September 17, 2004 meeting as presented. Mr. Davis seconded the motion and
the motion carried unanimously.
Chairman McShane presented Board Member John Evans with a framed State Waterfowl Stamp print for his office or Board room.
John Frampton noted that former Deputy Director Larry Cartee health condition was very serious and that he was home from the hospital.
John Frampton recognized the efforts of two
staff from the Marine Resources Division, Trey Zimmerman and Charles Farmer,
for their work in developing the new marine conservation license tag. Chairman McShane then called on Robert
Boyles to report on the press conference to unveil the new marine conservation
license tag. Mr. Boyles thanked Chairman McShane, Board member Evans, and
John Frampton for their attendance at the event, which included the release of
Red Drum by school children. Mr. Boyles displayed the poster &
brochure promoting the new license tag and informed the Board that the cost of
the new tag is $75, of which approximately $66 will be returned to the DNR for
use in marine conservation programs. Mr. Boyles also recognized the staff
of the SC Department of Motor Vehicles for outstanding cooperation in helping
to get the license tag program launched.
VIII. Advisory Committee Reports
A. Governor’s
Cup Billfishing Series
Robert Boyles
reported that the Governor's Cup committee had met on Thursday, October 7, 2004
and the topics discussed were the annual banquet and recommendations for
appointments to the committee.
Appointments were referred to Executive Session for discussion. The committee meeting dates will be March
17, 2005; July 14, 2005; October 20, 2005.
The tournament dates and locations will be provided to the Board.
B. Law Enforcement
Vice Chairman
Michael Campbell reported that the Law Enforcement Advisory Committee met on
October 13, 2004 at the Marine Resources Division Office. Mr. Campbell also recognized
and acknowledged the promotion of Major Glenn Ward previously a Captain in
Region 4 and Major John Watford previously a Captain in the Columbia
Office. Mr. Campbell then recognized
Major Gregg Smith for his work with the Law Enforcement Division. Mr. Campbell then reported that SCDNR was
very well prepared in the Emergency Preparedness Evacuation training. Mr. Campbell reported he regularly received
updates from staff on Homeland Security efforts, deer enforcement and problems
due to hurricanes.
C. Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries
Stephen
Davis reported that the Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Advisory Board met on
October 14, 2004 and recognized Val Nash, noting the great job he was
doing. Mr. Davis reported issues
discussed were generating revenue sources such as a decal on vehicle windows,
which will be brought to the DNR Board at a later time; opening day for public
dove hunting; Game Zone restructuring issues; that Tom Kohlsaat was making
progress in several Wildlife Diversity matters and Charles Ruth discussed
several deer issues.
D. Migratory Waterfowl
Chairman McShane
reported on the judging of the new Duck Stamp print, which was held on October
14, 2004. Billy McTeer will be bringing
the winning print for viewing. Chairman
McShane explained the judging process, reporting that there were 34 entries.
IX. Items
for Board Information
A. Schlumberger
Update
Chairman McShane
reported that he understood legal advice would be needed in this matter and
requested that it be deferred to Executive Session.
B. Proposed Impoundment Policy
Ed Duncan gave the Board
an update on the Proposed Impoundment Policy.
Chairman McShane reported that the Board asked the staff to review the
Department Impoundment Policy and make recommendations for any needed changes. The staff committee determined it needed to
pull important policy components out of the existing document into a clear and
concise policy. The technical
guidelines are still being compiled.
Essentially the items presented to the Board incorporated all the key
and critical policy issues from the original guidelines. Mr. Duncan offered the recommendation of
staff. After extensive discussion
and several questions for Mr. Duncan, Ms. Floyd made the following motion: The Board to reaffirm the Proposed Impound
Policy to become the DNR's simplified policy.
Mr. Evans seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
X. Items for Board Action
A. Yawkey Center Sanctuary
Bob Joyner
reported that the Yawkey Center was named for Tom Yawkey former owner of the
Red Sox who willed this property to the Department as a wildlife preserve and
research center. It's available to all
universities and private researchers for research studies. The area is limited in its access as
designated by Mr. Yawkey. There are
field trips once a week, that Mr. Joyner conducts, which are arranged in
advance.
The
sanctuary renewal comes up every five years and is very much needed to protect
the waterfowl population. Mr. Joyner
stated the Center is located in Georgetown, South Carolina made up of three islands,
Cat Island, part of the mainland and separated by the waterways; South Island
and North Island are on the south and northern sides of Winyah Bay, they are
pristine barrier islands with some twelve miles of ocean beachfront. There are vendors hired to take people out
on a regular basis, they go out in boats to the beaches and enjoy the
islands. Chairman McShane commended Mr.
Joyner for his efforts and leadership in this project area.
Breck
Carmichael distributed a series of maps reflecting areas discussed in the
Sanctuary Agreement. Mr. Carmichael
discussed the Yawkey Center had been under a Sanctuary Agreement for many years
giving legal designation to SCDNR and approved by the Budget & Control Board. Mr. Carmichael showed the Board changes in
the new agreement as designated by the maps.
Mr. Carmichael informed the Board that by law the agreement couldn't be
made for any longer than five years and if at the end of five years the
Department sees there are problems it can recommend the agreement be changed. Mr.
Davis made a motion to accept the recommendation to accept the Sanctuary
Agreement as presented. Mr. Evans
seconded the motion. After some
discussion, Chairman McShane stated that a motion had been made and seconded,
and asked if there was any further discussion.
There was no further discussion and the motion was affirmed unanimously.
XI. Director's
Briefings:
A. Executive Office
John
Frampton reported that hopefully we were through with hurricane conference
calls for the year. This was a time
consuming process for nearly all divisions and thanked Vice Chairman Campbell
for his comment earlier regarding the Department's response and participation
in the Homeland Security training.
Mr.
Frampton noted that the Department had been involved in budget hearings with
the Governor. Mr. Frampton stated that
the Department has undergone some substantial cuts in budget and personnel and
he is optimistic that the next legislative session will be better than the
past. Mr. Frampton stated we would
continue to track the budget process and he was also optimistic that we would
have a good year working with the legislature.
Several
meetings of importance include the DNR hosting the 58th Annual Conference of
the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies at Hilton Head. We host the meeting every 17 years. Cary Chamblee and staff are working to put
the conference together and felt it would be an excellent meeting. Over $80,000 has been raised in private
funds to cover costs and very little cost will be incurred by the State. Chairman McShane recommended Board
participation if possible.
October
27-29 the American Sportfishing Association will be meeting in Hilton Head and
Mr. Frampton will be speaking.
November 8-11
the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission will be meeting in New Hampshire
and Robert Boyles and John Frampton will be attending.
Mr.
Frampton stated that the Ducks Unlimited License Plate Bill signing ceremony
will be Friday, October 22, 2004 at 11:30 a.m. at the Dennis Building. The Chairman will be attending and other
Board members are invited to attend.
This license tag has been approved by the General Assembly for DU and a
reception will be held after the announcement.
B. Legislative
Derrick
Meggie submitted a handout to the Board with the October additions to the SCDNR
Legislative Agenda. Mr. Meggie informed
the Board that at the last Cabinet meeting that the Governor's Office requested
all legislation be submitted from all agencies to the Governor's Office by
November 15, 2004. Mr. Meggie discussed
four revenue enhancements previously discussed with the Board. These were:
Hatchery Stamp, One-Dollar Surcharges on licenses and registrations for
five years for DNR to modernize its computer capabilities, Senior Lifetime
License – age 64,and the ATV Safety Act.
Senator Hutto commented on the
Hatchery Permit issue and recommended asking for $10. Senator Hutto stated he agreed and understood the safety issue
involved with registering ATVs, but he would recommend a charge for a training
fee and not a registration requirement for ATV's and this would probably get a
better response. Chairman McShane
thanked Senator Hutto for his comments.
Chairman McShane confirmed the Legislative
Reception scheduled for January 19, 2005 at the State Museum.
XII. Deputy Directors’
Reports
1. Outreach & Support Services
Glen Gardner represented Carole
Collins and reported on license sales through September 29, 2004 as compared to
the previous year. There was an increase
in total income of 4% for hunting and fishing licenses, 8% for
saltwater-related licenses and an increase in total number of licenses sold of
5% for hunting and fishing licenses and less than 1% for saltwater licenses.
Mr.
Gardner reported that Elizabeth Bradley is the new merchandise manager for the
Wildlife Shop and has reworked the shop giving it a more upscale retail
look. The annual catalogue will be
mailed by the end of October in time for Christmas shopping to over 65,000
individuals. A sample of the catalogue
was presented.
Mr.
Gardner reported the Sportsmen's calendar is selling well with 6,200 already
sold and pre-orders for the Weather Calendar is at 339.
Mr.
Gardner reported the Wildlife TV Show had good numbers. July had almost doubled over the February
viewing. The numbers are 4,000 in the
Columbia area, 2,000 in the Florence-Myrtle Beach area, and 3,000 in the Charleston
area and 11,000 in the Greenville-Spartanburg area (which is the largest
viewing market). The Outdoor Channel
has contacted the agency requesting copies of shows and the agency will be
working with them in the future.
2. Marine Resources
Robert
Boyles reported that Marine Resources Division staff is planting oyster shells
on recreational shellfish harvesting areas.
The program is supported by the saltwater license program and helps both
the recreational oyster fishery as well as provide habitat for other important
estuarine species. Mr. Boyles reported that the agency has recently
received a lot of attention in the media and from estuarine conservation groups
for efforts in shellfish restoration. Mr. Boyles briefed the Board on the
grounding of the M/V Bahama Spirit, which ran aground on September 28, 2004. The vessel was entering Charleston Harbor at
high seas conditions and ship lost power and ran aground at the north jetties
carrying 3,500 tons of Canadian gravel which were jettisoned overboard which
created a 16-17 foot mound in the area.
DNR staff worked with the US Coast Guard and other authorities on a plan
to retrieve the jettisoned cargo and to restore the site. Mr. Boyles also reported DMV was very good
to work with regarding the new MRD license tag. Chairman McShane inquired as to how shrimp bait season was progressing. Mr. Boyles reported that as of Thursday,
October 14, 2004, license sales were at 10,203 and the price of shrimp was way
down.
3. Land, Water & Conservation
Freddy
Vang reported on a Climate update and provided the Board with two handouts. The first provided the long-term weather
forecast showing the weather to be colder and wetter over the next several
months. Mr. Vang noted more storms to
come but most in the Atlantic. The
second handout related to sea level rises and the statistics will have an
impact on the reworking of Flood Insurance program for flood zones worked
between DNR & FEMA. Mr. Vang
promoted the Weather Calendar.
4. Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries
Breck Carmichael reported on reinstituting the public
waterfowl hunting at Samworth Wildlife Management area. The staff recommended a supplemental drawing
for the Samworth area. Individuals not
successful in the regular drawing will be put into a drawing for the Samworth
area. The staff is recommending four
hunts will occur on December 23, December 28, January 8, and January 22 and 6
hunters per hunt for these dates. The
$50 hunt fee must be included with the application and the preference point
system will be in effect. Chairman
McShane asked if anyone had any objections to this process and there being
none, Chairman McShane advised Mr. Carmichael to move forward with the
hunts. Mr. Carmichael addressed a
second issue regarding placing tidal creeks in the WMA program and Chairman
McShane had legal questions and this matter be deferred to Executive
Session.
5. Law Enforcement
Col. Alvin Taylor introduced two new Majors and
reported that they are now posting and filling the Captain's position in Region
4. Col. Taylor reported that Law
Enforcement had officially ordered the new airplane. Col. Taylor also reported that Law Enforcement had requisitioned
2 boats for Homeland Security through SLED.
He stated that he had attended the budget hearings that included DMV,
Juvenile Justice and the Dept. of Corrections and this was a good opportunity
to network with the other agencies.
Col. Taylor stated he met with the Sheriff's Association thanked them
for their letters of support during the budget process and their partnerships
in other projects. Col. Taylor reported
17 counties had 2 or fewer LE officers and Mike Campbell stated SLED and the
Highway Patrol were also operating with fewer staff and a pay study was being
done for all law enforcement. Mr.
Frampton stated the pay issue was impacting all employees of the agency.
XIII. Board
Comments
Steven Davis thanked John Evans for hosting the Board
meeting, as did Karen Floyd and the other Board members.
XIV Executive Session
Chairman McShane requested a motion
to go in to Executive Session. At
this time Mr. Campbell made a motion that the Board to break for lunch and then
go in to Executive Session to discuss contractual, legal and personnel
matters. Ms. Floyd seconded the motion
and the motion carried unanimously.
XV. Return to Regular Session
Chairman McShane stated that it is
the consensus of the Board that the Department strictly comply with the
Governor's Executive Order # 2004-29 dated September 22, 2004, regarding budget
pass through funds.
Mr. Davis made a motion to include
Carr and Little Carr Creeks, within Samworth in Georgetown County, in the WMA
program. Mr. Campbell seconded the
motion and the motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Evans made a motion that Robert
Faith be appointed to the governor’s Cup Billfishing Series Advisory Board,
filling the expired term of Robert Hood.
The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
Mr. Evans made a motion that the
Board reappoint the Norman Pulliam, Edgar Buck, Francis Johnson, Nancy Ravenel
and Sam Hiott to a second three-year term.
The motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
XVI. Time
and Location of the Next Meeting
The next meeting of the DNR Board
will be held Thursday, November 18, 2004, in Columbia.
The December Board meeting will be
held in Columbia either December 10 or 17, 2004 and would be discussed further
at the November Board Meeting.
XVII. Adjournment
There being no further business to
be brought before the DNR Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned.