“John Wayne’’ of conservation dead at 91. SC wildlife agency chair remembered
Marion Burnside Jr., a former state wildlife department board chairman known for his generosity and his unwavering support for the natural world, died this past weekend after a lifetime of promoting South Carolina’s outdoors.
Burnside, who had been in declining health, was 91. A cause of death was not available.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources issued a news release this week praising Burnside for his commitment to conservation.
“No one in recent history has had a greater impact on the preservation of our natural resources, and that impact will be felt for generations to come,’’ said Mike Campbell, former vice-chairman of the DNR Board and the son of the late Gov. Carroll Campbell.
“He was my friend and mentor, and will be greatly missed,“
Current DNR board chairman Norman Pulliam said Burnside was a “humble and unassuming man’’ who got things done. The DNR issued a news release this week mourning Burnside’s death.
A long-time eastern Richland County resident and automobile dealer, Burnside served 11 years as a DNR board member, seven as its chairman, from the late 1980s through the 1990s. He was widely recognized for his dedication to conservation, receiving numerous awards, including the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest honor, in 1994. He also was named a “conservation legend” by the S.C. Wildlife Federation in 2011.
Burnside, who retained the title of chairman emeritus of the DNR board, is credited with brokering cooperation among competing conservation groups.
During his tenure as DNR board chairman, the state developed one of the boldest conservation efforts ever in South Carolina: establishing the ACE Basin nature preserve.
A coalition of landowners and conservationists worked with the Department of Natural Resources to set aside hundreds of thousands of acres of rivers, swamps, beaches, rice fields and historic property in the Lowcountry south and west of Charleston.
Today, more than 30 years after the land protection initiative began, the ACE Basin is often called one of the nation’s best conservation success stories, a product of cooperation among public and private interests to preserve nature. The ACE includes an array of state and federal scientific research areas, as well as public hunting grounds, nature centers and hiking and kayaking trails.
Pat Robertson, a former outdoors editor for The State, said Burnside got things done because of his perceptive, analytical way of looking at issues. A quiet insider who understood politics, Burnside was well-sourced with businessmen and influential state officials, including former Gov. Campbell.
Campbell often spent time at Burnside’s hunting club in Lower Richland, where the Republican governor could get away from the pressures of political life, said Robertson and John Frampton, the DNR’s former director.
Campbell “could do more work sitting in a deer stand, not even holding a rifle, than he could do in a week in his office,’’ Burnside told The State in 2005.
But Burnside did more than relate to state leaders. He supported DNR game wardens when they made cases for violation of hunting and fishing rules, a position that endeared him to line staffers, said Jamie Landrum, a DNR law enforcement veteran. That was significant because Burnside undoubtedly got irate telephone calls from sportsmen upset at being ticketed, Landrum said.
Burnside also stood up to the state’s power structure when necessary, supporting the DNR’s efforts to close a hazardous waste landfill at Lake Marion, South Carolina’s largest reservoir, retired DNR legal counsel Buford Mabry said. The DNR, the state-owned Santee Cooper power company and environmentalists fought for years in court against the landfill, ultimately succeeding in shuttering the facility. That stance occurred even as many businesses wanted the landfill to stay open to accept their waste.
“Mr. Burnside was under a lot of pressure,’’ Mabry said. “He always stuck with his principles, regardless of who might be on the other side.’’
Mike Campbell, the former DNR board member, said Burnside had a larger-than-life presence, likening him to the actor John Wayne.
“He was probably the closest thing to John Wayne you would ever meet,’’ Campbell said. “He was big and had that drawl. He was a man’s man but a perfect gentleman. The stories about the shots he’s taken at deer are legendary.’’
Just after Hurricane Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989, Burnside was the first person to drive a truckload of supplies to DNR staff at Fort Johnson in Charleston County, former agency director Paul Sandifer said in a Facebook post.
‘’I will never forget that particular act of kindness and generosity,’’ Sandifer wrote..
Burnside’s tenure with the DNR wasn’t without tense times. The state Legislative Audit Council criticized an arrangement between the wildlife agency and Burnside over use of his private plane. Burnside charged the state $1 a year for the plane’s use, but critics said the arrangement did not look right, and the use of the plane was eventually discontinued, news accounts show.
In the 1990s, some lawmakers opposed his reconfirmation to the agency’s board after he came out against the practice of deer-farming. But he eventually was reappointed and confirmed under Gov. David Beasley.
Despite that, Burnside had a multitude of supporters, not only for his efforts as a public official but as a landowner in eastern Richland County.
He was known for sharing the private Millaree Hunt Club with school groups, disabled veterans and youth hunters. The club, which lies on a wooded tract in eastern Richland County, is filled with deer, wild turkeys and song birds.
Robertson said he recalls a time when Burnside hosted a group at Millaree. One of the group members was a hunting novice but, through Burnside, soon learned the skills she needed to land a deer while on the visit, Robertson said.
“She later wrote a beautiful letter to him about the experience,’’ Robertson said.
“We’ve lost an iconic symbol of what’s right about hunting and fishing and conservation of natural resources,’’ Robertson said. “He stood for all of that.’’
A Columbia High School graduate who attended the University of South Carolina, Burnside is survived by his wife, Mary Blakely Hendricks Burnside; three children; five grandchildren; and nine great grandchildren. A funeral is not planned now because of the coronavirus pandemic, but a celebration of life will be held at a later date.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 5:46 PM.
