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Quality Deer Management Association honors past SCDNR Board Chairman July 11, 2018

Marion Burnside

Marion Burnside (Photo: Joey Frazier/SCDNR)

Marion Burnside, chairman emeritus of the SCDNR board, a retired Columbia businessman, sportsman and conservationist, received the Quality Deer Management Association’s (QDMA) Ambassador award in June for his years of dedication to the group and its mission.

“Marion Burnside has devoted his life to conservation,” said SCDNR Director Alvin Taylor. “He has been a strong advocate for sound use and management of the state’s valuable natural resources and a long-time advocate and supporter of the Department of Natural Resources. No one is more deserving of this award than Marion.”

Burnside served on SCDNR advisory committees for more than fifteen years including two four-year terms on the SCDNR board, serving as chairman for seven of those years. As an advocate for quality deer management in the 1980s, he attended the organizational meeting for the SCQDMA and received a commendation from the South Carolina Chapter of the Wildlife Society for his support of deer management education. In 1994 he was awarded the prestigious Order of the Palmetto for his public service.

“Mr. Burnside has maintained an open-door policy for his hunting club, allowing many youngsters and adults to harvest their first deer there,” said QDMA Founder and Senior Advisor Joe Hamilton. “One of his trademarks has been facilitating cooperation among numerous environmental groups including the SCDNR, the Nature Conservancy, the South Carolina Forestry Commission, among others.”

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