A veteran wildlife biologist from Columbia was recently selected to head a national project to restore bobwhite quail and has been reassigned
from his position with the state natural resources department.

     D. Breck Carmichael Jr., formerly assistant deputy director for the
Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division of the S.C. Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), has been awarded the job of Northern Bobwhite Conservation
Initiative Program coordinator. His appointment was approved by the
Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies directors to work
under a three-year federal grant.
   The S.C. Department of Natural Resources will be the host agency for
the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative office, and Carmichael has
been reassigned to fulfill the responsibilities of the grant. While
Carmichael will continue to be housed in the DNR office in Columbia, he will
travel extensively throughout the Southeast working with state and federal
agencies to restore bobwhite quail populations.
   A 1977 graduate of Clemson University with a bachelor of science
degree in zoology, Carmichael, a certified wildlife biologist, earned a
master of science degree in forestry from Clemson in 1983, with a minor in
wildlife biology. He has worked for the DNR since 1985, specializing in
small game and furbearer management. In 1998 he was named assistant deputy
director of the DNR Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, assisting
the division deputy director with the administration of a work unit of more
than 200 staff. He and his wife, Caren, have a daughter, Kelsey, and they
have lived in Irmo for 18 years.
   Carmichael maintains a passion for bobwhite conservation both
professionally and personally. "Quail hunting and keeping bird dogs is the
one hunting activity that I still seem to hold in very high priority, and I
feel that this is a once-in-a-career opportunity to make a substantial
contribution to my chosen profession," he said.
   "It speaks well for our department in having this important position
filled with someone from the ranks of our staff," said Dr. Paul A. Sandifer,
DNR director. "While this is a tremendous opportunity and challenge for
Breck, it does mean that he will no longer be able to fill the duties of
assistant deputy director. I appreciate the dedicated service he has
provided to the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division and wish him well
in his new job. Breck brought a tremendous amount of experience and
dedication to his job, which will be sorely missed during his absence.
   Carmichael will direct the advancement and successful implementation
of the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative. The Initiative is directed
at restoring bobwhite quail populations through large-scale habitat
conservation across the entire 34-state range of the species. The Northern
Bobwhite Conservation Initiative coordinator will provide consultation to a
variety of federal, state, and private conservation organizations on
policies, programs, projects and practices related to agriculture, forestry,
and habitat conservation for bobwhite quail and other grassland wildlife
species. The Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative was developed by the
Southeast Quail Study Group, a technical committee of the Southeastern
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, of which the South Carolina DNR
is a member agency.
 

- Written by Mike Creel -