Member

Clifford was born on December 9, 1898, in Dubuque, Iowa. In 1907, his family moved to Oregon where he spent his boyhood and early manhood. He served in the Army in World War I and graduated from Oregon Agriculture College (now Oregon State University) in 1923 with a BS degree in animal husbandry. He was engaged in livestock ranching and range management in eastern Oregon, Idaho, and California from 1923 to 1929. His original plans were to become a sheep rancher, but after a visit to Yosemite National Park in 1929 he changed career plans. Clifford took and passed the examination for ranger naturalist and received a job at Yosemite in 1930. Shortly after employment he married Ruby Davis from Oregon in an outdoor ceremony at the foot of Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite. Their son David was born at Yosemite. Clifford also served at Zion and Bryce National Parks from 1934 to 1938, until Clifford was transferred to the national office of the National Park Service. A second son, Dean, was born during his time in Zion and Bryce. Clifford became a biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, D.C., in 1939 and then with the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1940 with the Branch of Predator and Rodent Control. During World War II (1941-46) he was transferred to Chicago when the office moved from Washington, D.C. Clifford was transferred back to Washington in 1946 and continued to serve with the Division of Predator and Rodent Control, eventually becoming the chief of this Division in 1961. He published 30 articles in the period from 1933 to 1964, and they focused mostly on predator-prey relationships. Clifford’s published works dealt with the policy issues of predator control as well as the biological relationships between predator and prey species. His professional affiliations included memberships in The Wildlife Society, the American Society of Mammalogists, and the Society of American Foresters. Clifford retired in 1965 with 36 years of government service and received the distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Department of Interior. On retirement he moved to Coles Point, Virginia. Clifford was active in numerous advisory and liaison projects with government agencies and private organizations dealing with conservation issues. Clifford died on December 16, 1981, of liver and stomach cancer. Clifford was elected to the Washington Biologists’ Field Club in 1939 and served as treasurer from 1953 to 1962, which was a critical time when the property was sold.