Christopher McGrory Klyza
Office
Franklin Env Ctr-Hillcrest 206
Tel
(802) 443-5309
Email
klyza@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Monday 11:00 - 1.00, Wednesday 3:45 - 4:45 and by appointment

Hello. I am the Robert ’35 and Helen ’38 Stafford Professor in Public Policy, Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies. I have taught courses at Middlebury on U.S. conservation and environmental policy and American politics since 1990, and have served as the director of the Environmental Studies Program for seven years.

I am the author or editor of five books on conservation and environmental policy, most recently co-author, with Stephen Trombulak, of a second edition of The Story of Vermont: A Natural and Cultural History (University Press of New England, 2015). Other books include American Environmental Policy: Beyond Gridlock (MIT Press, 2013, updated and expanded edition), co-author with David Sousa, the first edition of which was awarded the 2008 Lynton Keith Caldwell Award for the best book in environmental politics and policy by the American Political Science Association; editor of Wilderness Comes Home: Rewilding the Northeast (University Press of New England, 2001); author of Who Controls Public Lands? Mining, Forestry, and Grazing Policies, 1870-1990 (University of North Carolina Press, 1996); and co-editor, with Steve Trombulak, of The Future of the Northern Forest (University Press of New England, 1994).

I am currently at work on a new book tracing green state building in the United States. This quixotic project involves trips to every state library in the country.

Courses Taught

Course Description

Conservation and Environmental Policy
This course examines conservation and environmental policy in the United States. In order to better understand the current nature of the conservation and environmental policy process, we will begin by tracing the development of past ideas, institutions, and policies related to this policy arena. We will then focus on contemporary conservation and environmental politics and policy making—gridlock in Congress, interest group pressure, the role of the courts and the president, and a move away from national policy making—toward the states, collaboration, and civil society. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2023

Requirements

AMR, SOC

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Course Description

Water: From Fish to PFAS
In this team-taught course we will focus on water in the U.S. from the perspectives of natural science and policy. Three general themes, two of which map onto major environmental laws, will guide the course: clean water (Clean Water Act), drinking water (Safe Drinking Water Act), and dams. We will examine questions of human / non-human equity concerns throughout the course, from pollutants (e.g., PFAS and lead) to aquatic ecosystem health. Students will engage in major experiential, societally-connected projects. A major goal of the course will be to demonstrate the interplay of different ways of knowing. (ENVS 0211 or ENVS 0112 or GEOL 0255) 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021

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Course Description

The New West: From Reagan to Burning Man
The U.S. West since 1976 has been transformed by economic, social, political, and environmental forces. Immigration, amenity tourism, climate change, globalization, technology, political change, and economic booms and busts have remade a region once defined by isolated rural communities, extractive industries, “natural landscapes,” and filmmakers’ imaginations. In this course we will draw from history and politics to make sense of conflicts over public lands, water, fire, energy, Native sovereignty, racial inequality, rural gentrification, urbanization, and sprawl. Short papers will culminate in a historical policy brief on current challenges in the West. (ENVS 0211 or ENVS 0215 or HIST 0216) 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2021

Requirements

AMR, NOR

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Course Description

Independent Study
In this course, students (non-seniors) carry out an independent research or creative project on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty member with related expertise who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, must involve a significant amount of independent research and analysis. The expectations and any associated final products will be defined in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students may enroll in ENVS 0500 no more than twice for a given project. (Approval only)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Independent Study
In this course, seniors complete an independent research or creative project on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. During the term prior to enrolling in ENVS 0700, a student must discuss and agree upon a project topic with a faculty advisor who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program and submit a brief project proposal to the Director of Environmental Studies for Approval. The expectations and any associated final products will be defined in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students may enroll in ENVS 0700 as a one-term independent study OR up to twice as part of a multi-term project, including as a lead-up to ENVS 0701 (ES Senior Thesis) or ENVS 0703 (ES Senior Integrated Thesis). (Senior standing; Approval only)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Thesis
This course is the culminating term of a multi-term independent project, resulting in a senior thesis on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. Approval to enroll is contingent on successful completion of at least one term (and up to two) of ENVS 0700 and the approval of the student’s thesis committee. The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty advisor who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, will result in a substantial piece of scholarly work that will be presented to other ENVS faculty and students in a public forum and defended before the thesis committee. (Senior standing; ENVS major; ENVS 0112, ENVS 0211, ENVS 0215, GEOG 0120, and ENVS 0700; Approval only)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

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Course Description

American Public Policy
This course examines the functioning of the entire United States political system, with an emphasis on the policies or outcomes of this political system. The first part of the course will examine the context in which policy is made (e.g., history, capitalism, liberalism). The second part of the course will focus on the policy-making process. We will examine the major stages of the policy process: agenda setting, policy formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation. The third and final part of the course will focus on specific policy areas, such as education policy and health care policy. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (American Politics)/

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2024

Requirements

AMR, NOR, SOC

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Course Description

American Environmental Politics
In this seminar we will examine various aspects of environmental politics in the United States. Topics to be covered include how society seeks to influence environmental policy (through public opinion, voting and interest groups,) and how policy is made through Congress, the executive branch, the courts, collaboration, and through the states. Policy case studies will vary from year to year. Students will write a major research paper on an aspect of U.S. environmental politics. (PSCI/ENVS 0211) 3 hrs. sem. (American Politics)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024

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Course Description

Independent Projects
A program of independent work designed to meet the individual needs of advanced students. (Approval required)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Honors Thesis
(Approval required)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

View in Course Catalog

Areas of Interest

U.S. Conservation and Environmental Policy
American Political Development
American Public Policy

Publications

Co-author (with David J. Sousa), ““… Whither We Are Tending”: Interrogating the Retrenchment Narrative in U.S. Environmental Policy,” 2017, Political Science Quarterly, 132 (Fall): 467-494.

Co-author (with Stephen Trombulak), The Story of Vermont: A Natural and Cultural History, 2d ed., 2015, Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.

Co-author (with David J. Sousa), American Environmental Policy: Beyond Gridlock, 2013, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

“Climate Change and the Management of National and State Owned Land in the United States,” 2011, in Climate Change, Environment, and Land Policies, edited by Gregory K. Ingram and Yu-Hung Hong, Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Land Institute.

Co-author (with David J. Sousa), “Beyond Gridlock: Green Drift in American Environmental Policymaking,” 2010, Political Science Quarterly, 125 (Fall): 443-463.

Co-author (with David J. Sousa), American Environmental Policy, 1990-2006: Beyond Gridlock, 2008, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Winner of the American Political Science Association’s 2008 Lynton Keith Caldwell Award for best book in environmental politics and policy.

Co-author (with David J. Sousa), “New Directions in Environmental Policy Making: An Emerging Collaborative Regime or Reinventing Interest Group Liberalism?,” 2007, Natural Resources Journal, 47: 377-444.

Co-author (with Andrew Savage and Jonathan Isham), “Local Environmental Groups and the Creation of Social Capital: Evidence from Vermont,” 2006, Society and Natural Resources, 19: 905-919.