One-on-One with John Frampton

What was it like growing up in Summerville?

"I remember when they put up the first signal light in town. It was very rural. People don't believe this, but I didn't wear shoes to school until the fourth grade. I had two older brothers. We were barefoot everywhere we went. When my parents would make me wear shoes, I'd hide them in the azalea bushes when I walked to school."

Where did your love for hunting and fishing come from?

"I had my first BB gun when I was 6. I could leave the house with my .410 (shotgun) and walk to places I could shoot. I fished in little ponds all over town. When I was a kid, I had a little zoo in my backyard. I had every animal other than a bobcat. I had fox, deer, you name it. I had an alligator for about 10 years. It was a three-foot alligator when I was a sub-teen and when I released it, it was about six feet long. I've always been engaged in hunting, fishing and nature."

What's your favorite outdoor activity now?

"Probably hunting. Dove, turkey, deer. You name it and I'll do it."

Do you have a getaway from your job?

"My job is really 24-7. We bought 12 acres outside of Chapin. I do a lot of yard work and piddling. That's probably my therapy more than anything else."

How did you join the DNR?

"I think I knew what I wanted to do when I was 8 years old. In high school (Summerville) and college (College of Charleston) I probably wanted to get into marine biology. The reality was I wanted to be outdoors more. I wasn't sure whether I'd end up with state or federal government or something in the private sector."

What's your proudest accomplishment with DNR?

"I think overall it probably would be the land acquisition projects I've been involved with: Jocassee Gorges Wildlife Management Area, the ACE Basin. I've probably been involved in acquiring 150,000 acres or so. I also was initially involved with our "Take One, Make One" program (to introduce young people to the outdoors)."

What are the biggest issues facing South Carolina and our natural resources?

"I think the biggest one overall, the one that's going to impact natural resources and our quality of life, will be funding for natural resources. It's just not there. The appreciation and understanding of how involved natural resources is in all programs in South Carolina is, I think, overlooked. A good example is the Moore School of Business study that shows that natural resources is more than a $30 billion industry in South Carolina."

How can DNR use that study?

"The point is that study was an independent study; it wasn't a study DNR did. Hopefully, it will bring an awareness to the General Assembly as well as the general public the importance and value of natural resources to this state's economy. Hopefully it will give us the opportunity to justify the things that we need to be doing in natural resources. People don't come to South Carolina because of our health care, our education. It's because of land-based and water-based recreational opportunities. That's what keeps people here. That's what brings industry to the state."

How has DNR's budget fared over the last 10 years or so?

"It's gone an almost straight down line. Our budget is complex. It's a combination of appropriated dollars, revenue we generate from license and permit sales and federal funding we get through excise taxes of arms, ammunition and manufactured tackle. Twenty-five to thirty percent of our budget is appropriated dollars. We've had over 40 percent of appropriated dollars cut since I've been director of this agency."

The General Assembly doesn't like you?

"We can't compete. Health care, prisons, highways, schools, education, medical. They all have lobbyists. We don't have day-to-day lobbyists and that puts us at a disadvantage. When legislators go home on weekends, they hear about roads. They hear about prisons. People don't talk very much about natural resources. It's taken for granted."

How many people work for DNR?

"If you look at permanent positions, grant positions and temporary, we have about 950 employees. Our high point was around 1,200. So we've had roughly a 20-percent drop. We have about 230 law enforcement officers, down about 55 officers from where we were when I took over."

What's the toughest part of a law enforcement officer's job?

"The toughest part is they generally get one weekend off a year and they work every holiday. So when the public is out enjoying Thanksgiving dinner or opening Christmas presents with their kids, they're out in the field working, being away from their families."

What's the most common citation they write?

"Probably the No. 1 is either expired license or not having a license. If you get into boating, it's safety equipment."

Have you ever gotten a ticket?

"No. I get checked often. When they're checking licenses, they're going to check mine and I would demand that."

Funniest moment for you since joining DNR?

"A lot of funny things have happened over the years. One of the funniest things I did, and I probably shouldn't have done it, was when I was a field biologist. We had a guy bring a goat into a check station thinking he'd killed a deer. We checked it, put a tag on it and sent him on his way. He had it in the trunk of a Cadillac. We still laugh about that."

If you could unilaterally change one law with regard to natural resources, what would it be?

"If I could change one thing, that would make the dog hunter more responsible for where his dogs are. That's almost become a crisis situation in this state. Private landowners are here where they often can't enjoy their land because of that."

In 10 years will dog drive deer hunting still be around in South Carolina?

"I hope so, because it's part of our heritage, part of our tradition. I grew up in the Lowcountry dog hunting. I thought people were crazy to still hunt for deer. I would hate to see it lost, but I think it's got a very good chance of being lost if the hunters don't clean up their act because the public isn't going to tolerate it much longer."

Explain why we have to purchase fishing and hunting licenses on July 1 each year. Can you foresee this changing to Jan. 1-Dec. 31 or good a year from date of purchase?

"It's based on that July 1-June 30 because of history reasons, the fiscal year the state operates under. We are actually, at this point in time, looking at changes in our license system. We're evaluating what financial impact that would have on the agency. We're also looking at some other things, such as a multi-year license."

A big change that just went into effect is the requirement of a license for shore-based saltwater anglers. Explain why it came about.

"That law was in a way mandated by the federal government. Either we had to have a permit or license system or the federal government was going to do it. I don't think the General Assembly would have been too happy with our dollars having to go to the federal government. We had to have that license or else fishermen fishing in saltwater in our state would have to get both a federal and a state license. We did not do this because of revenue."