DNR field office named for a living legend

The Jocassee Gorges field office in northern Pickens County now carries the name of the Sam W. Stokes Work Center. Considered a living legend among wildlife biologists in South Carolina and by the conservation community, Stokes led the state’s Black Bear Project and was instrumental in the re-establishment of deer and turkeys in the mountains of South Carolina. He was also a mentor for many Clemson students who became DNR wildlife biologists. The facility was dedicated in his honor Friday. His first job with the DNR was in 1963. He retired in 2004.

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