Arnold Clifford
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, FIELD BOTANIST
 Arnold Clifford is a field botanist and associate editor for the Bolack San Juan Basin Flora Project. Arnold's main responsibilities are field collecting and identification of vascular plants throughout the project study area. He is also responsible for locating and determining new plant species and varieties as well as identification of rare and endemic plants. Arnold will author various genera within the Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) including the large genus Artemisia.
He is a member of the Dine' (Navajo) Tribe, a native of Beclahbito, NM and the Carrizo Mountain Range. His expertise is in the flora of the Navajo Nation, particularly that of the Four Corners Region. Arnold attended San Juan College, majoring in Earth Science. He attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and is currently completing his B.S. in Geology.
Arnold has worked as a field botanist and consultant on various environmentally related projects throughout the Southwest, conducting floristic surveys of the Carson National Forest, southeastern Utah, the Navajo Nation, hanging garden communities in southern Utah and numerous other botanical surveys in the Four Corners region. His particular interest is in the flora and geology of laccolithic mountain ranges of the Southwest. He surveyed 8500 acres of Sonoran Desert bajada floor in southern Arizona for populations of Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina, a rare cactus, for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Arnold worked for BHP Minerals as a field botanist and field crew supervisor. He was responsible for supervising and training college students in floristic surveys of undisturbed rangelands as well as revegetated and reclaimed mine lands. Arnold has collected many rare plant specimens for the San Juan College Herbarium. He continues to actively collect and identify plants of the greater Southwest for inclusion in the extensive Arnold Clifford Collection housed at the San Juan College Herbarium. He is an active member in the Southwest Chapter of the Colorado Native Plant Society and a founding member of the New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council.
His interest in botany began at an early age with the influence of his maternal grandmother, Sarah Charley, an elder, weaver and herbalist. During this time he began to learn the Navajo names, occurrence and uses of native plants in the Carrizo Mountain area. His first botanical field training in the late 1980's was under Dr. Richard Spellenberg and Dr. Kelly Allred, both of New Mexico State University. This experience lead to a decade long association with his close friend and botanical mentor, Ken Heil.
Arnold considers himself a life long student in the natural wonders of the Southwest; its unique flora, geology, natural history and native cultures. Arnold collects rocks, minerals and fossils from the Southwest as well as Teec Nos Pos design rugs and Navajo crafted jewelry. Other interests are the interpretation of landforms and structural geological features, geobotany, ethnobotany, Navajo culture, history and traditions. Arnold is also a rancher and sheepherder.
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