The regular meeting of the Board of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources was held at 10:00 a.m., January 24, 2013, in room 335 of the Rembert C. Dennis Building, Columbia, SC. Notice of the date, time and place of the meeting was posted and mailed to the news media. Chairman John Evans presided at the meeting. Board members present included Cary Chastain, Michael Hutchins, Randy Lowe, Norman Pulliam, Caroline Rhodes and Larry Yonce. Director Alvin Taylor and staff members of the Department of Natural Resources were present at the meeting.

1. Call to Order
   Chairman John Evans called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. Invocation
   Rev. Ron Kenyon, SC Law Enforcement Assistance Program, offered the invocation.
3. Pledge of Allegiance
   Vice Chairman Cary Chastain led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. Introduction of Guests
   Breck Carmichael, Special Assistant to the Director, introduced Scott Whitaker, Executive Director, Coastal Conservation Association; Ken Kinard, Trout Unlimited; Ben Gregg, Executive Director, SC Wildlife Federation; Michael Lee, SC Association of Realtors; Shawn Kenney, Trout Unlimited – SC Chapter; Senator Chip Campsen; Sarah Parker Mounce, Administrative Assistant, Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee; Brett Hubler, Research Director, Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee; and Benton Wislinski, SC Wildlife Federation.
   
5. Constituent Comments
   Senator Campsen introduced staff for Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee, Brett Hubler and Sarah Parker Mounce. Senator Campsen stated that he is looking forward to working with the Board during his time as Chairman of the Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee.
   
   Ben Gregg informed and invited the Board to attend the SC Wildlife Federation’s Annual Awards Banquet on February 1, 2013. Mr. Gregg the reported to the Board that Cary Chamblee, who has been serving as SCWF’s lobbyist since his retirement from DNR, has retired from SCWF. Mr. Gregg introduced Benton Wislinski who will be serving as SCWF lobbyist.
6. Approval of Minutes
   Chairman Evans asked if there were any amendments, additions, deletions or corrections to the November 15, 2012, meeting minutes. Norman Pulliam made a motion that the Board approve the minutes of the November 15, 2012, meeting as submitted. Mike Hutchins seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
7. Presentations/Commendations
   Shawn Kenney, President Trout Unlimited – SC Chapter, and Ken Kinard, Trout Unlimited Board Member, presented a check for $3,000 for the Lower Saluda Trout Study.
   
   Director Taylor commended Robert Boyles and Capt. Robert McCullough and their staff for their work during the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses Annual Sportsman-Legislator Summit held in November.
8. Advisory Committee Reports
   1. Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
      Mr. Hutchins reported that the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Advisory Committee met January 8 at Styx. The Advisory committee received updates on legislation, the observation tower at Sassafras, the Sea Turtle Program and license sales.
   2. Marine
      Cary Chastain reported that the Marine Advisory Committee met January 18 in Charleston. The Advisory Committee received a review of tarpon fishing in South Carolina. The Advisory Committee received a presentation on Best Practices for Recreational Anglers. The Advisory Committee received an update on saltwater fishing license and passed two motions concerning the license. The fist motion was to endorse a 365 day saltwater fishing license and the second motion was to support the Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Advisory Committee recommendation of February 23011 to increase the resident saltwater fishing license from $10 to $20. The Advisory Committee received a presentation on the South Island Dredging project.
9. Item for Board Information
   1. Update on Water Planning
      Ken Rentiers, Deputy Director for Land, Water and Conservation, distributed an announcement for a Surface Water Availability Assessment in SC public workshop which will be hosted by DNR and DHEC. Mr. Rentiers gave the Board a brief demonstration on the water planning web page that will be going live soon.
   2. Sea Turtle Update
      Dubose Griffin showed the Board the new Endangered Species Sea Turtle License Plate. Ms. Griffin gave the Board a brief update on the Sea Turtle Program. Ms. Griffin spoke of the use of DNA genetic fingerprinting (CSI for sea turtles) to identify individual loggerhead nesting females. Ms. Griffin noted that this information will provide a census of the actual nesting population. In addition to estimating how many females are nesting in South Carolina each year, there is also the potential to answer questions of how many clutches does each nesting female lay in a year and if they are nesting on more than one beach.
10. Director’s Briefings
    Director Taylor reminded the board that their Statement of Economic Interests forms are due by April 15.
    
    Director Taylor met with Gene Hogan of Senator Verdin’s office and Frank Bloom of the SC Seafood Alliance on November 29.
    
    Director Taylor and staff met with Greg Black, President of parks by Nature Network to discuss mobile applications.
    
    Director Taylor reminded the board of the legislative reception scheduled for January 29.
    
11. Legislative Report
    Derrick Meggie, Director of Legislative Services, reported that the deer baiting fix and private land alligator season legislation have passed the Senate.
12. Environmental Report
    Bob Perry, Director, Office of Environmental Programs, highlighted the following proposed projects, as contained in the environmental report in the Board meeting package: the draft Savannah River Drought Contingency Plan; SCDOT Interstate 73; South Island Dredging Association; Proposed Clydesdale Club Mitigation Bank; O. V. Associates; and the Catawba-Wateree Hydroelectric Project.
13. Deputy Directors’ Reports
    1. Marine Resources
       Robert Boyles, Deputy Director for Marine Resources, commented on the Old Village experimental commercial permit. Mr. Boyles informed the Board that the commercial shrimp trawling season was closed last week. Mr. Boyles reported on the menhaden kill along the southern Grand Strand.
    2. Outreach and Support Services
       Don Winslow, Deputy Director for Outreach and Support Services, reported that the Department has filled two vacancies (Procurement Manager and Grants Manager) from within. Mr. Winslow informed the Board that the next few issues of the magazine will be running a feature on divisions within the Department. Mr. Winslow gave the Board an update on the mobile app, IT and message on hold.
    3. Land, Water and Conservation
       Mr. Rentiers informed the Board that the Drought Response Committee will meet January 31. Mr. Rentiers distributed the Heritage Trust Revenue report.
    4. Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
       Emily Cope, Deputy Director for Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, introduced Gary Burger, SC DNR Forester.
    5. Law Enforcement
       Director Taylor informed the board that 24 officers have been hired and will be starting at the academy on Sunday. Director Taylor reported that the interview process for a class of 12 officers will begin in a few weeks. Director Taylor gave the Board an update on promotions in Regions 2, 3 and 4.
14. Executive Session
    Mr. Hutchins made a motion for the Board to hold an Executive Session to discuss contractual and personnel matters. Mrs. Rhodes seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
15. Open Session
    Mrs. Rhodes made a motion that the Board return to regular session, noting that no actions were taken during Executive Session. Mr. Hutchins seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
    
    Mr. Pulliam made a motion that the Board approve the conveyance of a utility easement to Blue Ridge Electric Company within the DNR’s Jocassee Gorges Natural Area beside State Highways 143 and 100. Mr. Yonce seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
    
    Mr. Hutchins made a motion that the Board give final approval to acquire approximately 30 acres of land adjoining the DNR’s Jocassee Gorges Natural Area in Pickens County. Mr. Lowe seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
    
16. Time and Location of the Next Meeting
    The February Board meeting will be held Friday, February 15, 2013.
    
17. Adjournment
    There being no further business to be brought before the DNR Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned.

The SCDNR Board Minutes for January 24, 2013 (file size 115KB), have been provided in the Adobe PDF file format. Adobe® Reader® is required to open the above files and is available as a free download from the Adobe® Web site.