Hugh Durham IV, former director for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, died Friday at age 51 in Ruston, La., after suffering a heart attack.

Durham, a former biologist for International Paper Co., was hired as director by the commission in July 2000. He followed Steve N. Wilson, who served as director for 25 years. Durham resigned under pressure from the commission Feb. 18, 2003.

During his time with International Paper, Durham developed a reputation as a progressive wildlife manager because of the success he had improving the quality of deer herds on industrial timberland. In 1980, he developed a voluntary pilot program for private clubs that leased land from International Paper. These included strict antler point requirements for club-legal bucks at a time when hunters statewide could kill "spike" bucks, yearlings with 1 inch or more of antler. He also emphasized killing adult does to help balance buck-to-doe ratios at a time when many hunters resisted killing does. Those are now standard practices for deer management in Arkansas.

Keith Sutton of Alexander worked for the AGFC from 1985 to 2004 as editor of Arkansas Wildlife magazine, the AGFC's official publication. He said Durham also had progressive ideas about how the AGFC communicated with the public.

"When Hugh came there, he made it very easy for those of us who were getting information out to the public to do our jobs in a way that made us feel like we actually made a difference," Sutton said. "He said he wanted us to tackle the tough issues, to talk about them, but don't step on peoples' feet when we did it.

"As a conservation writer, I don't feel like I have had the opportunities that I had then -- before or since -- to make a difference writing about conservation issues, and that was all because of Hugh."

Sutton said that is also partly why Durham lost his job.

"A lot of the issues we tackled were big issues," Sutton said. "If you were on the 'wrong' side of them, you were on the wrong side of some big folks in this state."

Mike Freeze of Keo, who served on the commission from 1999-2006, said Durham was a good person who earned the respect and loyalty of many AGFC employees but that he struggled to lead a state government agency.

"He never could adapt to state government," Freeze said. "Hugh was used to the private sector where he could do what he wanted and didn't have to abide by state procedures and regulations."

Freeze said Durham also went through some personal crises at that time which might have been exacerbated by the pressures of managing the AGFC.

"I always wondered what his life would have been like if we hadn't put him in as director," Freeze said. "He tried to do right, but it was hard for him not having ever come up through the state employee system. He couldn't understand the protocols you have to follow, and he did things you can't do when you're working for state government.

"He couldn't seem to get it right. It was one issue after another. He tried to run the commission like it was his own private business, and you can't do that with a state agency. I always felt bad about the way things turned out."

Sheffield Nelson, who served on the commission from 2000 to 2007, described Durham as a fish out of water at the AGFC.

"I liked Hugh as a person, but he just didn't fit into the environment of state government," Nelson said.

Mary Sexton, the AGFC's executive assistant to the director, worked more closely with Durham than anyone at the agency. She described him as having a gung-ho personality tempered with the manners of a classic Southern gentleman.

"He stopped by here a couple of months ago with his wife and we went to lunch together," Sexton said. "He seemed happy, and he looked great. I still cannot wrap my head around Hugh dying. I just can't. He was so good to me."

Durham is survived by his wife Carol Dreyfus; two sons, Reed Michael Durham and Mason Lawrence Durham; two daughters, Leanne Rozelle and Carley Jill Bowman; two grandchildren, Colby Bowman and Casey Bowman; and a sister, Sharon Tunney Durham.

Sports on 06/12/2014