Chas S. Clifton grew up as a Forest Service brat in Colorado and the Black Hills. After graduating from Reed College in Oregon, Chas began a long career in journalism and publishing, overlain by 17 years teaching writing at Colorado State University-Pueblo. “For a while,” Chas quips, “I had delusions of being an outdoor writer, but I couldn’t think of enough creative ways to mention advertisers' products and bombed out.”

Today, Clifton writes the Southern Rockies Nature Blog, http://natureblog.blogspot.com.

Chas and his wife Mary share a special fondness for large, curly-haired, stubborn brown dogs. In addition to BHA, Clifton is a member of Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the Wetmore, Colorado, Volunteer Fire Department.