COLUMBIA, S.C. - Even before Gov. Mark Sanford's executive budget proposed making South Carolina Wildlife self-sufficient, the magazine's staff began working on a plan to do just that.

The Natural Resources Department board will discuss the magazine's finances at a board meeting Friday, Chairman Mike McShane said.

The bimonthly magazine focuses on wildlife issues and has about 57,000 subscribers. The $10-a-year subscription rate along with the sales of state-related items from the agency's Wildlife Shop fund the magazine's operational expenses.

However, the magazine would need to generate an additional $410,000 a year to cover the cost of the 10 agency employees who work on the magazine, DNR spokesman Mike Willis said.

While those editors, photographers and graphic artists perform other chores for the agency, the bulk of their time is spent on the magazine.

Options for increasing revenue include raising subscription rates and selling ads for the magazine, McShane. Currently, the magazine has no paid advertising.

"It's a valuable tool whether for education or for recruitment of commerce," McShane said of the magazine. "But there's merit in the point that we need to look at all expenses in state government."

Information from: The State