
The National Deer Association is pleased to present its 2024 Joe Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award to Mark O. Bara, wildlife biologist of South Carolina. This award is presented to a person who has dedicated their life and/or career to wildlife management in general, and deer management in particular. The recipient must also have made a significant impact in deer management, deer research, or deer hunting.
Bara, a native of Lynbrook, New York, received his master’s degree in wildlife biology in 1970 from the University of Georgia’s School of Forest Resources. Following graduation, he was hired as District 6 (northeastern South Carolina) wildlife biologist by the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department. He and his wife Barbara established residence in Georgetown, S.C. and in addition to being responsible for the management of game species in general, he was to focus on white-tailed deer and alligator projects. Bara excelled in both endeavors. He was a pioneer in the Department’s antlerless deer quota program and later a staunch advocate of Quality Deer Management.
Bara is perhaps best known for his involvement in the Boone & Crockett Club’s official scoring program. Since Bara became an official measurer in 1976, he has scored the antlers of nearly 1,800 whitetails and other cervids including mule deer, elk, and caribou. He became a Professional Member of the Boone & Crockett Club in 2004 and was granted the status of Emeritus Professional Member in 2022.
The 48th annual meeting of the Southeast Deer Study Group (SEDSG) will be hosted by Maryland in 2025. Bara has missed only six of those annual meetings. At the 2014 SEDSG meeting in Athens, Georgia, Bara received the coveted Deer Management Career Achievement Award from the Deer Committee of the Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society.
Throughout his career Bara has focused on the management of white-tailed deer. A supporter of the Quality Deer Management Association beginning in the early years, he became a Life Member in 2003. Also in 2003 Mark retired from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources after a dedicated 33-year career.