John Frampton, one of the architects of the Jocassee Gorges and ACE Basin projects, was selected Friday as the new director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

Frampton, 55, succeeds Paul Sandifer, who resigned after six years in the job to accept a position with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The seven-member S.C. Natural Resources Board selected Frampton in part because of his experience forging partnerships with individuals, corporations or other public entities.

"It was a tough call," said board chairman Joab Lesesne. "We had more than one very qualified candidate. But we felt John's experience dealing with the federal government and building public-private partnerships made him uniquely qualified in the environment we're in now."

There were seven candidates, including four agency employees. Board members praised the other internal candidates -- deputy directors Freddy Vang and John Miglarese and associate director Cary Chamblee.

The current DNR board members were appointed by Gov. Jim Hodges and could be replaced by Gov. Mark Sanford. But Lesesne said he felt confident Frampton will be acceptable to the new governor. He served on Sanford's Quality of Life Task Force.

Frampton earned a degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston and master's degrees from The Citadel and Clemson.

He started with the wildlife agency 29 years ago as a field biologist in Union County and worked his way up to chief of wildlife management in 1985. In 1999, he moved up to assistant director, with the primary objective of securing private and federal funds for agency projects.

Along the way, Frampton negotiated the purchase of the 32,000-acre Jocassee Gorges in the mountains and lined up nearly $18 million in donations to pay for it. He also negotiated the land donations from Gaylord Donnelley that started the ACE Basin project along the coast.

With budget cuts already hurting the agency and likely to hit even harder, Frampton knows his work is cut out for him.

"It's probably the toughest times for the agency, but I've got a history of partnerships," Frampton said. "We've done a good job of that in habitat protection. Now we have the opportunity to bring that into other areas of the agency."