SCDNR Director hosted Strategic Planning conference mid-May, met with U.S. Congressional leaders early June
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Dr. Tom Mullikin, director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and Maj. Gen. Jeff Jones, the deputy adjutant general of S.C., hosted a weekend working-retreat at Fort Jackson’s McCrady Training Center, May 16-18, as Mullikin led SCNDR chiefs and partnering state agency leaders including the S.C. Office of Resiliency, the S.C. Forestry Commission, the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism; and several non-governmental organizations in the initial formulation of the department’s strategic plan – officially the MCMASTER CONSERVATION PLAN – aimed at conserving and protecting 10,000,000 acres across South Carolina.
The three-day series of discussions and the development of the Strategic Plan, namesake of current S.C. Governor Henry McMaster, culminated with a briefing to the Governor, Sunday May 18. The plan proposes to conserve three-times the annual acreage conserved within the Palmetto State by the end of 2026. The Mullikin-led group set monthly goals and will reconvene to discuss progress in May 2026.
“It was an extremely productive three days in which we set a number of immediate priorities,” said Mullikin. “Those include state and federal priorities which we are already working and will meet and achieve.”
Among the plan’s myriad priorities are continued discussions with U.S. Senate leaders and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee regarding the importance of conservation easements: That’s but one. Also expanding the National Wildlife Refuge boundaries in S.C. with the U.S. Department of the Interior, partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect “inholdings” within current national forest boundaries, and finally seeking to protect lands adjacent to federal military installations in S.C. through an enhanced partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense. A number of additional albeit related state and local priorities were also discussed and set as action items going forward.
In the weeks following the working weekend at McCrady, Mullikin and his team met with Congressional leaders (in fact, every member of South Carolina’s Congressional Delegation on Capitol Hill) as well as White House officials in a concerted effort to support existing and proposed SCDNR funding directly impacting priorities within the McMaster Conservation Plan and directly related state objectives.
“Our efforts to conserve property across the state has shown that it is a much more effective form of natural resiliency than the costs to rebuild following extreme weather,” said Mullikin. “In addition to protecting our rich history, important culture and beautiful Palmetto State, we are demonstrating a national model for fiscally accountable and conservative means to protect against hurricanes and flooding.”
Mullikin added: “We are operational not aspirational.”
According to a June 6 statement released by SCDNR: “Approximately 23-percent of SCDNR’s annual budget is supported by federal funding, which is essential for sustaining core programs related to natural resource management, habitat protection, marine and wildlife research, and public access to outdoor recreation.”
Mullikin says federal funding is vital, not only for SCDNR which is the state’s primary steward for protecting and managing S.C.’s natural and cultural resources from fish and wildlife to plants and special places, but for all South Carolinians, sportsmen, and visitors to the Palmetto State.
SCDNR expenditures for fiscal year 2024 exceeded $168-million with 23-percent from federal and indirect funds, 33-percent from revenue funds, and 44-percent from state funds.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with our delegation and White House partners like the White House Council on Environmental Quality,” said Mullikin. “Their support is essential for advancing long-term conservation objectives across South Carolina.”
For additional information, visit https://www.dnr.sc.gov/.
– Pictured are SCDNR Director Tom Mullikin and U.S. Congressman Ralph Norman.
