James L. Clark

Following his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and his training at the Gorham Silver Company,[2] he worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Bumpus wanted to develop a staff at the AMNH capable of producing the realistic, natural displays[2] that Carl Akeley had created as Chief Taxidermist at the Field Museum from 1896 to 1909.

[5] In 1966 Clark published the book Good Hunting: Fifty Years of Collecting and Preparing Habitat Groups for the American Museum.

[4] Clark's friend Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore was planning a photo-safari in November 1908 to photograph big game in advance of the President's much-publicized 1909-1910 Smithsonian–Roosevelt African Expedition.

At another point, Clark fell ten feet into an elephant trap and miraculously missed sharp, poisoned bamboo stakes on the way down.

This distinction was given to "American citizens whose achievements in outdoor activity, exploration and worthwhile adventure are of such an exceptional character as to capture the imagination of boys ...".