He served on many boards and advisory committees and as a consultant to water resources agencies worldwide, and received awards for his service.

From October 1961 to August 1969, he was the leading professional official within the United States government developing and implementing policies for comprehensive river basin planning.

In 1968 he drafted and gained political acceptance of a Water Resources Councils' regulation changing the discount rate used in planning water projects from a formula based on the coupon rate of government bonds to one based on the yield rate—a substantial and important policy change.

Observing a time-honored tradition among top Washington bureaucrats, Caulfield is widely recognized as the anonymous author of an article published during his employment in the U.S. Department of the Interior and attributed to "Mr. Z," which proposed consolidation of natural resources and conservation functions of the national government (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Corps of Engineers, and others) into a single cabinet-level Department of Natural Resources.

[9] He was one of a few political appointees who, at the end of the Johnson Administration, declined to automatically submit his resignation, apparently feeling it was a mark of distinction to be fired by President Nixon.

His quiet but persistent powers of persuasion and his ability to resolve complex resources problems have characterized his career as an effective advisor.