He was a decorated veteran of World War II and the Korean War; was employed in public service with the U.S. Department of the Interior; helped establish the doctoral program in Environmental Politics and Policy at Colorado State University; published numerous scholarly books, research monographs, journal articles and chapters in anthologies; served as a consultant to government agencies, and received numerous awards and honors, including listings in both Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.

He married Dorothy Marie Hansen in 1941 and they raised four children, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in 2001.

Foss found that such committees were often dominated by the same ranchers and cattlemen whose activities were supposed to be regulated.

Foss was recipient of an Outstanding Dissertation Award (1957) from the American Society for Public Administration; and Outstanding Service Award from San Francisco State College (1960), a Distinguished Service Award from Colorado State University (1970), was elected to the Executive Council of the Western Political Science Association (1967–69), served as its Vice President (1970–71) and President (1972–73), and was listed in both Who’s Who in America 1988-89 and Who’s Who in the World 1990-91.

[6] Foss served as consultant on natural resources issues for the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior (1964–65, 1969) during preparation of the National Recreation Survey of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission, and to the National Academy of Sciences (1969–70).