A belief in the importance of good local government and desire to combine his conservation background and business education to serve his community led Craig Dicht to apply for the vacant seat on the Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency Board of Directors.
Prior to moving to the desert, Craig obtained his B.A. in Religious Studies and Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He then spent two and a half years in AmeriCorps programs in Western Massachusetts and West Virginia, focused on trail building and maintenance, environmental education, and sustainable community projects.
Craig first came to the Morongo Basin in 2007 to be a project leader for the Student Conservation Association (SCA) Desert Restoration Corps. He and his SCA teams completed habitat restoration, wildlife and water monitoring, invasive species removal, trash clean-ups, and public outreach in wilderness and areas of critical environmental concern across the Southern California Deserts.
His participation with the Joshua Tree Livingschool Learning Cooperative inspired him to pursue graduate studies to grow his skill and knowledge base to be more valuable to community organizations. While undertaking an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Craig’s projects included plans for a local farm’s expansion into hard cider, a case study on business profitability reducing restaurant and grocery food waste, and analyzing effects of environmental payments schemes on resource conservation in developing nations.
After earning his degree, Craig and his family returned to the Morongo Basin, where they reside on their five acre homestead in Landers. His wife Clare is a software tester while Craig freelances and homeschools their two children. Their flock of chickens is a source of great amusement and, occasionally, eggs.
Term: 12/2022 – 12/2026 Appointed In-Lieu of Election
Ethics Certificate – 03.13.2023
Craig Dicht
Director
cdicht@bdvwa.org