A conservation-minded heart for South Carolina

The dedication and work of SCDNR’s Anna Huckabee Smith

By Tom Mullikin

Conservation is often measured in acres protected, species recovered, waterways restored or dollars invested. But behind each of those accomplishments are dedicated professionals bringing together science, public service, partnerships and a deep belief that the natural resources entrusted to us today must endure for generations to come.

Few people embody that commitment better than Anna Huckabee Smith of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).

Smith has been previously selected as SCDNR’s Employee of the Year, an honor recognizing exceptional dedication, professionalism and public service. This distinction is hardly sufficient in describing her value to the Palmetto State. But the award was especially meaningful because of Anna’s characteristically collaborative approach to conservation.

“I appreciate the recognition especially because it comes from my peers but I couldn’t have received it without their support behind the scenes,” said Smith, upon receiving the award. “There’s really something to be said for our DNR family and how we work well together to make good things happen here in South Carolina.”

Those words reveal something important about her career. Smith understands that conservation is rarely accomplished by one person, one agency or one organization. Protecting her native S.C.’s natural heritage requires bringing people together.

Today, as SCDNR’s Director of Conservation Grants and Strategic Outreach, Smith’s responsibilities span conservation funding, strategic planning, land acquisition and public engagement. She oversees the State Wildlife Grants Program and State Wildlife Action Plan revisions and coordinates the Forest Legacy Program as well as all other land acquisition grant programs. She also leads SCDNR’s newUrban Outreach Program. Smith has represented S.C. in regional conservation organizations and previously chaired the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Wildlife Diversity Committee as well as closer to home organizations as immediate past President of the S.C. Chapter of The Wildlife Society..

Perhaps nowhere is the scale of her contribution more apparent than in the S.C. State Wildlife Action Plan. The plan is a roadmap for conserving S.C.’s wildlife and habitats before species decline to the point where recovery becomes extraordinarily difficult and expensive.

Smith’s work recognizes an increasingly important reality that conservation cannot succeed unless people understand what is at stake. S.C. is one of America’s most beautiful and biologically diverse states, but it is also experiencing tremendous growth. New homes, roads and businesses bring opportunity, but growth can also fragment wildlife habitat, place additional pressure on water resources and permanently transform landscapes.

Smith has helped lead an important SCDNR effort to take conservation beyond the scientific community and directly to the people making decisions about S.C.’s future. Through presentations and conversations with local elected officials, county leaders, planners, civic organizations, business leaders and other community opinion leaders; she has helped explain the complex ecological challenges facing the state and, equally important, the practical tools available to address them. Her outreach has included discussions of resources for local planners, urban conservation and the broader responsibilities of SCDNR for protecting land, water, wildlife and habitat as communities grow.

Smith has also been a persistent advocate for the resources necessary to turn conservation plans into conservation action. She has worked on State Wildlife Grants, Forest Legacy projects and other land-acquisition funding and has advocated for greater investment in proactive wildlife conservation. During her tenure at SCDNR, she has brought in $130-million in federal grant dollars for land protection and restoration efforts, impacting over 101,000 acres. Years ago, while discussing federal conservation funding, Smith emphasized that reliable resources could support research, wildlife surveys and “on-the-ground habitat management” for S.C.’s species of greatest conservation need.

Smith’s dedicated efforts demonstrate the enormous difference one dedicated public servant can make. S.C.’s rivers, forests, wetlands, mountains, coastal marshes and wildlife are part of the state’s identity. They support recreation and tourism, provide clean water, sustain communities and connect today’s South Carolinians with generations who came before them.

Protecting that inheritance requires scientists. It requires conservation officers, land managers and biologists. But it also requires communicators and bridge-builders. We need more people capable of taking complicated ecological challenges and helping communities understand why they matter. Smith has become one of those bridge-builders.

Her Employee of the Year recognition celebrates outstanding service within SCDNR. Her greater legacy, however, is being written across S.C. in the conservation plans she has helped shape, the partnerships strengthened, the lands and wildlife those efforts protect, and the growing number of South Carolinians who better understand that conservation and responsible growth must go hand-in-hand. That is more than good conservation. It is an investment in the future of South Carolina.

– Dr. Tom Mullikin is the director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. An acclaimed global expedition leader, attorney, documentary film producer, former U.S. Army officer and retired commanding general of the S.C. State Guard, Mullikin served as the founding chair of the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission. He has led the 1,100-plus employee SCDNR since early 2025.