Enforcement staffs shrinking

DNR not filling wildlife officer vacancies; coastal regulators trying to absorb cuts

It's more than fish at risk in the waterways because of state budget cut. Already strained wildlife officers and coastal regulators are scrambling amid staff reductions and cutbacks in fuel and equipment.

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources has discontinued hiring officers while still more than 40 short of its employment numbers four years ago. The agency is not filling vacancies, and more officers are expected to take early retirement buyouts and not be replaced.

The law enforcement division is cutting back on patrols and doubling up on officers in a single car or boat. The division has to absorb $1 million in cuts.

"Any time you've got to double up you're cutting in half your boat time," said Col. Alvin Taylor, deputy director. "You're not able to be as proactive as you normally would be."

The coast is the largest region that officers cover, he said. "There will be a little less patrol, a little less support on the coast, for sure."

The S.C. Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, the main coastal permitting agency, already was under fire for what critics called a slow response time to both permit requests and investigations. Dan Burger, communications director, said he could not immediately provide hard numbers on cuts or vacancies because of a retirement buyout effort under way.

But, he said, "We're always under pressure to perform. We're doing our best to absorb the cuts and still do the job."

One of every six dollars of state money is being cut from the marine resources program at the state Department of Natural Resources, the wildlife and fish managers along the coast.

Staffers who already were expecting a 10 percent cut are ferreting out hard-to-find private donations and shrinking grant money to keep fish stocking and other recreation efforts going.

The program has seen its $3 million budget slashed by nearly $1 million since the fiscal year began in July.

"We're going to hunker down and cut back on virtually everything we do, and hope that things turn around quickly," Robert Boyles, deputy director, said. "We recognize that things are tough all over. I'm acutely aware of that. We're struggling to do the best we can with what we have."

Reach Bo Petersen at 745-5852 or bpetersen@postandcourier.com.