SCDNR Director discusses progress of first three months
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Dr. Tom Mullikin newly sworn director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) has accomplished much since assuming the reigns of the 1,100-plus-employee state agency which, according to the department’s website, includes technicians, biologists, law enforcement officers, educators, scientists, and administrators.
As the first-ever chairman of the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission, a former U.S. Army officer, and retired commanding general of the S.C. State Guard, Mullikin is widely held to be the state’s flood-response, counter-flooding expert. And he has been so for years. But he is so much more in terms of conservation, environmental sustainability, and embracing South Carolina’s sporting (hunting and fishing) communities now under the ever-effective umbrella of his office.
Leading with a hands-on approach to cleanups and restoration of the state’s myriad waterways and coastal areas, Mullikin has worked tirelessly since his first official day on February 10 (officially sworn, Feb. 5) traveling across the state’s 46 counties, meeting with local, state, and federal officials, presiding over cleanups, attending hunting and fishing seminars, wildlife management workshops, even directing SCDNR assets and collaborating with the S.C. Forestry Commission from his ground-zero vantage point during the life-and-property threatening Carolina Forest wildfires near Myrtle Beach.
“Tom’s efforts so-far are worth cheering,” said Michelle McCollum, president of the S.C. National Heritage Corridor.
But the weeks have not been without unimaginable tragedy. In late March, his oldest daughter Mary Elizabeth, suddenly became ill and was gone within hours, her parents both by her hospital bedside as she passed.
In mid-April, we sat down with Director Mullikin for a brief 12-question Q&A –
INITIAL COMMENT: Congratulations on your appointment and unanimous election to the post of director of SCDNR, and heartfelt condolences on the loss of your precious daughter Mary Elizabeth mere weeks after you were sworn-in. We will chat about her momentarily.
Question One: First, director of SCDNR is a lofty cabinet-level post and executive-level leadership of a major state agency with huge weighty responsibilities to both the Governor and the citizens of South Carolina. And what makes it all somewhat unique is that those responsibilities are diverse and disparate (for lack of a better way of saying it). You have all manner of administrative officials, public information professionals, magazine editors, scientists (biologists), educators, and 300-plus law enforcement officers with statewide jurisdiction actually beyond when considering the 220-mile offshore exclusion zone wherein your men and women are authorized to board vessels in order to enforce federal regulations. How do you manage it all and direct this vitally important agency day-in-day out?
DIRECTOR MULLIKIN: We are fortunate to be charged with managing and protecting the natural resources of South Carolina. South Carolina is one of the very few states and nations that have a constitutional mandate concerning conservation of our natural resources as matters of public concern (South Carolina Constitution Article XII, Section 1). We have a great team of passionate and dedicated professionals that ensure that we are meeting this constitutional and legislative mandate. I meet with division leaders and other subject matter leaders daily and speak often with other key stakeholders to ensure that we are enveloping the best practices and ensure broad collaboration.
Question Two: What about weekly, because that is indeed a different perspective?
MULLIKIN: We have begun staff meetings to ensure that critical tasks are all handled in a timely manner. I have also created a Quick Response Team (QRT) to address any issues that must be handled on a more immediate basis. This team is extraordinary and ensures that all matters are handled professionally, expeditious and courteously to all stakeholders.
Question Three: I understand SCDNR’s former directors did a superb job of managing, conserving, and otherwise protecting South Carolina’s precious natural resources. SCDNR has a reputation of efficiency at every level. How is what you are doing different than previous administrations? In other words, what will (or what does) a Tom Mullikin directorship look like that expands the work and responsibilities of SCDNR?
MULLIKIN: Each director has brought their own leadership style to this job. My leader style is one of servant leadership. Our professionals are doing an exceptional job and I have simply tried to infuse a clear direction, handle any conflicts or potential conflicts as quickly and fairly as possible and quicken the battle rhythm so as to meet all objectives in as timely a manner as possible.
Question Four: How has your previous command of the all-volunteer S.C. State Guard, prior service as a U.S. Army JAG officer attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps, and charter leadership as chairman of the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission prepared you for the directorship of SCDNR?
MULLIKIN: As I reflect on my career I believe each of these positions as been wonderful training ground preparing me for this important assignment. I have learned from some of the greatest leaders in our generation and have tried to combine those lessons with a deep passion and understanding of conservation and natural resources from forty years of experience in this area.
Question Five: As an attorney, you served as special assistant to the chief prosecutor of the Office of Military Commissions overseeing the trial of 9/11 terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four terrorist co-defendants. You’ve climbed mountains on every continent on the planet, led global expeditions, and SCUBA-dived in all of Earth’s oceans. What else would South Carolinians be surprised to know about Director Tom Mullikin?
MULLIKIN: The only thing exceptional about me is the tremendous opportunities I have been given from mentors and great leaders here in South Carolina. I have been blessed to grow up in the best state and greatest nation ever conceived. I plan to spend the rest of my life giving back to those who have given so much to me and my family.
Question Six: I understand you sit on a number of boards, including but not limited to a relatively new position on a Law Enforcement (LE) Advisory Council, LE Training Council, LE Officers Hall of Fame Advisory Committee – and I’ll take a moment to run down the list – the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium Board of Directors, the National Fish Habitat Partnership Board, the S.C. Litter Commission, the Heritage Trust Advisory Board, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) – North American Wildlife & Natural Resources Conference (AFWA), the Conservation Agencies Roundtable – Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS), the S.C. Quail Council Steering Committee, the “WaterSC” Water Resources Working Group – Hollings Marine Lab Executive Board – South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) – Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). And this is just scratching the surface. How does your work on these boards impact your singular focuses (and I say focuses in the plural sense) on the various sub-departments within SCDNR?
MULLIKIN: I have given up my law practice, faculty positions on various universities and most board positions. I remain as chair of the Carolina Cup Racing Association to ensure continued success and a smooth transition for other leaders. As regards the aforementioned boards and committees, they all have a strong connection to my position because they align with the Director’s leadership role in managing and conserving the state’s natural resources, enforcing laws, coordinating with regional and national partners, and advising on policy.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is comprised of several divisions, including the Land, Water, and Conservation division (LWC), the Law Enforcement division (LE), the Marine Resources division (MRD), and the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries division (WFF). And so as Director of SCDNR, I am responsible for working with the staff to protect and manage the state’s natural and cultural resources, from fish to wildlife to plants and special places. We research solutions to new challenges, study the breadth of our resources and advocate for science-based decisions to manage and protect the resources for the benefit of current and future generations.
As you can see, these boards/committees reflect the Director’s multifaceted role, from enforcement and resource management to policy leadership, interstate cooperation, and environmental advocacy.
Question Seven: What have you discovered to be SCDNR’s best kept secret?
MULLIKIN: I am absolutely amazed at the brilliant and dedicated professionals in this diverse department. I am looking forward to any and all opportunities to be able to tell the world about the incredible work and contributions of these wonderful teammates.
Question Eight: What changes will you implement over the next six months? What about the next six years?
MULLIKIN: I plan to seek greater synergies across the various disciplines of this department, work to identify as many sources as possible of funding for conservation and lead a communication strategy to explain the outstanding work of our team meeting important goals.
Question Nine: You often refer to the environment, the natural world, as the Lord’s Garden? Why? And you make the point that conservation of the environment is not only necessary, but Biblical. How so?
MULLIKIN: Scripture makes it abundantly clear that one of the many responsibilities of Christians is to work and protect nature that the Lord has given to us to steward.
Question 10: In the wake of the sudden tragic loss of your 38-year-old daughter Mary Elizabeth, a scholarship, specifically The Mary Elizabeth Mullikin Foundation for Women and Children has been established by the non-profit Global Eco Adventures, founded by you and today directed and presided over by your son Thomas Mullikin Jr. How might organizations and individuals help support this scholarship?
MULLIKIN: The Mary Elizabeth Mullikin Scholarship for Women and Children is an opportunity to support the tremendous legacy of my daughter who left this world too early. These funds will be used to support women and children and policies associated with advancement and protection of them. We’ve already received numerous generous donations toward this scholarship, both from individuals and from organizations like Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, Dominion Energy, and the S.C. Military Support Foundation, and that’s barely scratching the surface of giving.
Question 11: How do you juggle the work of SCDNR director with family – wife Virginia Ann, children, grandchildren – and a vast extended family and network of friends with whom you remain ever-close?
MULLIKIN: I start each day with prayers that I will be the best possible husband to the best wife a man could have ever hoped for. I love my wife, children and extended family more than life. Any activity or objective I meet will also be secondary to love and attention I give to those I love.
QUESTION 12: What have we not asked you pertaining to your new role as SCDNR director that you’d like to share with South Carolina readers?
MULLIKIN: I hope that I (perhaps best to say, we) can use this position, this directorship, to help South Carolinians understand and appreciate the beauty of our great state and encourage greater love for each other and for our natural world.