Erika Allen Wolters

Erika Allen Wolters
Associate Professor in Political Science; Associate Director Water Resource Policy and Management Graduate Program
School of Public Policy
[email protected]
541-737-1421

Bexell Hall 338
2251 SW Campus Way
Corvallis, OR 97331
United States

As an interdisciplinary scholar, my research centers on the human-ecological interface regarding adaptation and resiliency to large-scale environmental concerns due to climate change, including, but not limited to, water scarcity, food production, public lands, renewable energy, and wildfires. I also examine how national and sub-national governments are impacting these interactions, and ways in which policies could be strengthened to aid resiliency and adaptation efforts.

Curriculum Vitae
Research/Career Interests

Policy Areas: Environmental politics and policy, science and politics.

PhD: Oregon State University

 

Teaching

  • PS 201 American Government and Politics
  • PS 555 The Politics of Climate Change
  • PS 470/570 Global Food Politics and Policy
  • PS 475/575 Environmental Politics and Policy
  • PS 576 Science and Politics

Research Interests

  • Environmental Politics and Policy
  • Science and Policy
  • Climate Change Politics and Policy
  • Community Adaptation and Resiliency
  • Water Policy
  • Wildfire Policy
  • U.S. Public Lands
  • The Food-Water-Energy (FWE) Nexus

Brief Vita

Education

  • PhD, Environmental Science, Oregon State University, 2012
  • MA, Environmental Studies, Politics and Policy, California State University Sacramento, 2000
  • BA, Political Science, University of California Davis, 1995

Professional experience and service

  • Associate Professor Political Science Program, Associate Director Water Resources Policy and Management Graduate Program
  • Associate Editor, Political Research Quarterly
  • National Advisory Committee (NAC) member (Former), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Director (Former), OSU Policy Analysis Laboratory (OPAL), Oregon State University, School of Public Policy

Select Publications

Books

Journal Articles

  • Green, K.M., Ward, M., Spalding, A.K., Levine, A.S., Rice, L.R., Wolters, E.A., and Selgrath, J.C. (2026). Pathways to adaptation for shellfish aquaculture on the US West Coast. Ecology and Society, 31(1). 

  • Steel, B.S., Wolters, E.A. (2025) Climate Change and Wildfire Resilience: Assessing Rural Community Wildfire Protection Plans in the Pacific Northwest. Public Organization Review.

  • Wolters, E.A., Pirch, K., and Holterman, D. (2025) Public lands or private hands? An exploration of public preferences for Kelly Parcel, Wyoming. Journal of Rural Studies, 119: 103809

  • Wolters, E. A., Steel, B. S., Krawchenko, T., & Farooq, S. (2025). Small and Rural Local Government Environmental Sustainability Plans, Programs and Policies in Cascadia: A Comparative Analysis. Society & Natural Resources, 1-27.

  • Wolters, E. A., Ward, M., Spalding, A. K., Levine, A., Green, K. M., Hasert, R., Regula-Whitefield, C., Johnson, K. M. (2024). Shellfisheries’ adaptation to ocean acidification in OR and CA: Linking strategies to strategic policy action. Marine Policy, 171, 106484.

  • Steel, B.S., Wolters, E.A., Krawchenko, T., Farooq, S. (2024). Determinants of Small and Rural Local Government Renewable Energy Program Adoption in Cascadia. Current Alternative Energy, 6.

  • Siddiqi, M.U.A., Wolters, E.A. (2023). Group identities, value orientations, and public preferences for energy and water resource managment: Policy approaches in the American West. Society & Natural Resources.

  • Wolters, E.A. (2022). Homeowner Firewise behaviors in fire-prone central Oregon: An exploration of the attitudinal, situational, and cultural worldviews impacting pre-fire mitigation actions. Journal of Environmental Management, 327 (2023), 116811 

  • Wolters, E.A., Steel, B.S. (2021). Environmental Efficacy, Climate Change Beliefs, Ideology, and Public Water Policy Preferences. International Journal of Environmental Resources and Public Health, 18(13), 7000.

  • Green, K.M., Spalding, A.K., Ward, M., Levine, A., Wolters, E.A., Hamilton, S., Rice, L. (2023). Oregon Shellfish Farmers: Perceptions of Stressors, Adaptive Strategies, and Policy Linkages. Ocean and Coastal Management, 234, 106475.

  • Wolters, E.A., Steel, B.S., Warner, R.L. (2020). Ideology and Value Determinants of Public Support for Energy Policies in the U.S.: A Focus on Western States. Energies, 13.

  • Wolters, E.A., Lybecker, D.L., Fahy, F., and Hubbard, M.L. (2020). Willingness to Support Environmental Actions and Policies: A Comparative Study. The Social Science Journal.

  • Wolters, E.A., Steel, B.S., Warner, R.L. (2019). The Food-Water-Energy Nexus and Household Behaviors: An Oregon Case Study. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 14(3): 1-22.

  • Steel, B.S., Wolters, E.A., and Warner, R.L. (2019). Public Preferences for Food-Energy-Water Tradeoffs in the Western U.S. Sustainability, 1.

  • Wolters, E.A., Steel, B.S., Weston, D., and Brunson, M. (2017). Determinants of Residential Firewise Behaviors in Central Oregon. The Social Science Journal, vol.54(2): 168-178.

  • Wolters, E.A., Steel, B.S., Lach, D., and Kloepfer, D. (2016). What is the Best Available Science? A Comparison of Marine Scientists, Managers, and Interest Groups in the United States. Ocean & Coastal Management, vol. 122: 95-102.

  • Wolters, E.A., and Steel, B.S. (2016). Sustainable Futures: Healthy Lifestyles, Obesity, and Access to Food in U.S. Counties 2012. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, vol. 8: 73-80.

  • Wolters, E.A. & Steel, B.S. (2015). “Cheatgrass Empire: Lands as a Contested Resource,” Dennis Judd and Stephanie Witt, eds. Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude: Urbanization and Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.

Book Chapters

  • Steel, B.S., Wolters, E.A., Krawchenko, T., and Farooq, S. (2024). “Small and Rural Local Government Environmental Sustainability Plans, Programs and Policies in Cascadia,” in C.A. Simon, B.S. Steel, and N.P. Lovrich, eds. State and Local Government and Politics, 3rd Edition. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University OER.

  • Wolters, E.A., Jones, M.D., and Duvall, K. (2022). “An NPF Solution to Understanding Climate Change Framing Research: A Synthetic Review,” in M.D. Jones, E. Shanahan, and M. McBeth, eds. Science of Stories, vol. 2. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University Press.

  • Simon, C., Wolters, E.A., and Steel, B.S. (2020). “Western Rebellion: Who Own’s the West” in E.A. Wolters and B.S. Steel (coed) The Environmental Politics and Policy of Western Public Lands, Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press.

  • Steel, B.S., Wolters, E.A., and Warner, R.L. (2020). “The Old West, the New West and the Next West?” in E.A. Wolters and B.S. Steel (coed) The Environmental Politics and Policy of Western Public Lands, Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. 

  • Buylova, A., Wolters, E.A., and Steel, B.S. (2020) “Public Climate Change Beliefs and Support for Wave Energy in the Pacific Coast Collaborative: The Case of British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Coast States,” in N. Columbes (ed) British Columbia: Environmental, Political, and Social Issues. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers (forthcoming)..

  • Wolters, E.A., and Steel, B.S. (2019). “Why Comparative Rural Policy Studies? Comparative Theory and Methods,” in M. Vittuari, J. Devlin, M. Pagani, J.L. Stallmann, and T.G. Johnson (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Rural Policy. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge Press. 

  • Sokolovska, I., Wolters, E.A., Steel, B.S. (2017) “Science at the Vaccine Decision Making Table: The Rise of Anti-vaccination Beliefs”. Academic Solutions. Brighton, MI: ABC-CLIO.

  • Wolters, E.A. & Steel, B.S. (2015). “Cheatgrass Empire: Lands as a Contested Resource,” Dennis Judd and Stephanie Witt, eds. Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude: Urbanization and Cultural Conflict in the Great Basin. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.

  • Wolters, E.A. (2014). “Presidential Science Policy Advisor”, in Brent S. Steel, ed., Issues and Controversies in Science and Politics: An A-to-Z Guide to Issues and Controversies.  New York, NY: Congressional Quarterly Press.

  • Wolters, E.A. (2014). “Antibiotics and Livestock,” in Brent S. Steel, ed., Issues and Controversies in Science and Politics: An A-to-Z Guide to Issues and Controversies.  New York, NY: Congressional Quarterly Press.