Class of 1993
Arthur G. Baggett, Jr. logged many classes in field science and solar engineering on his way to attaining a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, and a master’s in environmental science, with an emphasis on ecosystem management and fire ecology, from Antioch College.
His interest in law came about after being elected to the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors in 1986. It was then that he realized land use issues and general day-to-day politics were based on understanding the law.
After graduating, passing the bar, and opening his solo law practice, he served as court-appointed criminal defense counsel and worked in family law, contract, and land use law. He also worked as a contract attorney for his good friend Anne Schneider in Sacramento, one of the State’s top water attorneys.
Former Governor Gray Davis offered Mr. Baggett the opportunity for appointment to the California State Water Resource Control Board in 1999, and again in 2003. In 2007 former Governor Schwarzenegger re-appointed him to the Board, making his 12 years of service the longest since the creation of the board in 1914.
Mr. Baggett is past president of the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (now Association of Clean Water Administrators), a member of Dividing the Waters (a project of judges in the western United States that focuses on adjudication of water rights), and has served on numerous United States Environmental Protection Agency advisory committees.
As a scientist and teacher, Mr. Baggett has guided for the Yosemite Mountaineering School, been on the faculty of Yosemite Institute and the University of California’s Sierra Institute, and served as adjunct faculty for Fresno State University’s Department of Chemistry. He continues to teach Environmental and Water Rights Law at the San Joaquin College of Law.
Mr. Baggett currently mediates complex water and resources disputes as a principal for AG Baggett and PJ Weber, Inc. In his spare time, he enjoys part-time status as a musician in his son’s bluegrass and country bands, and skis and hikes the backcountry of the Sierra Nevada Mountains with family and friends.