Carol Miller

Emeritus Scientist, Wilderness Fire

Woman with long, graying hair, wearing a blue shirt and jacket, smiles at the camera in front of a background of bright yellow maple leaves.

Background

Carol Miller, ALWRI Emeritus Scientist, retired in April 2021 with 20 years of federal service as a fire ecologist. After earning a degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University, Carol began working as an engineer. However, soon afterwards, she became fascinated by the field of ecology and returned to graduate school at Colorado State University, where she completed both her M.S. and PhD. degrees. During her graduate research, Carol developed and used simulation models to study the interactions among climate, fire, and forest patterns in the Sierra Nevada of California. As a fire ecologist at ALWRI, Carol’s work focused on landscape-scale questions, as she sought to understand the consequences of fire suppression, the dynamics of natural fire regimes, and fire outcomes in wilderness. Her program of research was designed to support the management of fire in wilderness areas and to help land managers understand how to include wildland fire as an ecological process to landscapes. Carol’s research informed pioneering wilderness fire management decisions, which in turn engendered a paradigm shift in the way fire on the landscape was perceived.

Education

Education:


Ph.D., Ecology, 1998.  Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Dissertation: Climate, Forest Pattern, and Surface Fire Regimes in the Sierra Nevada, California.


M.S., Forest Sciences, 1994.  Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. Thesis: A model of the interactions among climate, fire, and forest pattern in the Sierra Nevada.


B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1985. Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.

Publications

MILLER, C. 2012. The hidden consequences of fire suppression. Park Science. 28(3): 75-80.

PARKS, S.A.; PARISIEN, M.-A.; MILLER, C. 2012. Spatial bottom-up controls on fire likelihood vary across western North America. Ecosphere 3(1): Article 12.

SCOTT, J.H.; HELMBRECHT, D.J.; PARKS, S.A.; MILLER, C. 2012. Quantifying the threat of unsuppressed wildfires reaching the adjacent wildland-urban interface on the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming, USA. Fire Ecology 8(2): 12-142.

MILLER, C.; AGER, A. 2013. A review of recent advances in risk analysis for wildfire management. International Journal of Wildland Fire 22: 1-14.

HAIRE, S.L.; McGARIGAL, K.; MILLER, C. 2013. Wilderness shapes contemporary fire size distributions across landscapes of the western U.S. Ecosphere 4(1):15.

FULÉ, P.Z.; SWETNAM, T.W.; BROWN, P.B.; FALK, D.A.; PETERSON, D.L.; AND ALLEN, C.D.; APLET, G.H.; BATAGLIA, M.A.; BINKLEY, D.; FARRIS, C.; KEANE, R.E.; MARGOLIS, E.Q.; GRISSINO-MAYER, H.; MILLER, C.; SIEG, C.; SKINNER, C.; STEPHENS, S.L.; TAYLOR, A. 2014. Unsupported and inaccurate inferences of high severity fire in historical western United States dry forests: Response to Williams and Baker. Global Ecology and Biogeography 23(7): 825-830.

PARKS, S.A.; MILLER, C.; NELSON, C.R.; HOLDEN, Z.A. 2014. Previous fires moderate burn severity of subsequent wildland fires in two large western US wilderness areas. Ecosystems 17:29-42.

MORGAN, P.; HEYERDAHL, E.K.; MILLER, C.; WILSON, A.M.; GIBSON, C.E. 2014. Northern Rockies pyrogeography: an example of fire atlas utility. Fire Ecology 10(1):14-30.

PARKS, S.A.; DILLON, G.K.; MILLER, C. 2014. A new metric for quantifying burn severity: the relativized burn ratio. Remote Sensing 6(3): 1827-1844.

PARKS, S.A.; PARISIEN, M.A.; MILLER, C.; DOBROWSKI, S.Z. (2014) Fire activity and severity in the western US vary along proxy gradients representing fuel amount and fuel moisture. PLoS ONE 9(6): e99699.

BATLLORI, E.; MILLER, C.; PARISIEN, M.A.; PARKS, S.A.; MORITZ, M.A. 2014. Is US climatic diversity well represented within the existing federal protection network? Ecological Applications 24(8): 1898-1907.

WHITMAN, E.; BATLLORI, E.; PARISIEN, M.A.; MILLER, C.; COOP, J.D.; KRAWCHUK, M.A.; CHONG, G.W.; HAIRE, S.L. 2015. The climate space of fire regimes in north-western North America. Journal of Biogeography 42(9): 1736-1749.

HAIRE, S.L.; MILLER, C.; MCGARIGAL, K. 2015. Influence of landscape gradients in wilderness management and spatial climate on fire severity in the Northern Rockies USA, 1984 to 2010. In: Keane, R.E.; Jolly, M.; Parsons, R.; Riley, K. Proceedings of the large wildland fires conference; May 19-23, 2014; Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-73. Fort Collins, CO; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 104-110. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/49432

THOMAS, D.; FOX, R.L.; MILLER, C. 2015. Voices from the Field: Wildland Fire Managers and High-Reliability Organizing Mindfulness. Journal of Society & Natural Resources 8: 825-838.

PARKS, S.A.; MILLER, C.; PARISIEN, M.A.; HOLSINGER, L.M.; DOBROWSKI, S.Z.; ABATZOGLOU, J.T. 2015. Wildland fire deficit and surplus in the western United States, 1984-2012. Ecosphere 6(12): 275. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/49942

HESSBURG, P.F.; et al (including MILLER, C.) 2015. Restoring fire-prone Inland Pacific landscapes: seven core principles. Landscape Ecology 30(10): 1805-1835. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/49805

KEANE, R.E.; LOEHMAN, R.; CLARK, J.; SMITHWICK, E.A.H.; MILLER, C. 2015. Exploring interactions among multiple disturbance agents in forest landscapes: simulating effects of fire, beetles and disease under climate change. Pages 201-231 in Simulation Modeling of Forest Landscape Disturbances. H.A. Perera, R.B. Sturtevant, and J.L. Buse. Cham, Springer International Publishing.

KEANE, R.E.; MCKENZIE, D.; FALK, D.A.; SMITHWICK, E.A.H.; MILLER, C.; KELLOGG, L.-K.B. 2015. Representing climate, disturbance, and vegetation interactions in landscape models. Ecological Modelling 309-310: 33-47. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/48772

PARKS, S.A.; HOLSINGER, L.M.; MILLER, C.; NELSON, C.R. 2015. Wildland fire as a self-regulating mechanism: the role of previous burns and weather in limiting fire progression. Ecological Applications 25(6): 1478-1492. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/49463

PARKS, S.A.; MILLER, C.; HOLSINGER, L.M.; BAGGETT, L.S.; BIRD, B.J. 2016. Wildland fire limits subsequent fire occurrence. International Journal of Wildland Fire 25: 182-190. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/49950

MILLER, C.; APLET, G.H. 2016. Progress in wilderness fire science: embracing complexity. Journal of Forestry 114(3): 373-383. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/51068

PARKS, S.A.; MILLER, C.; ABATZOGLOU, J.T.; HOLSINGER, L.M.; PARISIEN, M.A.; DOBROWSKI, S.Z. 2016. How will climate change affect wildland fire severity in the western US? Environmental Research Letters 11: 035002 (1-10). https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/50582

ROBINNE, F.; MILLER, C.; PARISIEN, M.A.; EMELKO, M.B.; BLADON, K.D.; SILINS, U. FLANNIGAN, M. 2016. A global index for mapping the exposure of water resources to wildfire. Forests 7(1): 22. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/54519

BARNETT, K.M.; MILLER, C.; VENN, T.J. (in press). 2016. Using risk analysis to reveal opportunities for the management of unplanned ignitions in wilderness. Journal of Forestry. 114(6):610-618. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/54537

BARNETT, K.; PARKS, S.A.; MILLER, C.; NAUGHTON, H.T. 2016. Beyond fuel treatment effectiveness: characterizing interactions between fire and treatments in the US. Forests 7(10):237. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/53364

HOLSINGER, L.M.; PARKS, S.A.; MILLER, C. 2016. Weather, fuels, and topography impede wildland fire spread in western US landscapes. Forest Ecology and Management 380:59-69. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/52447

KRAWCHUK, M.A.; HAIRE, S.; COOP, J.; PARISIEN, M.A.; WHITMAN, E.; CHONG, G.; MILLER, C. 2016. Topographic and fire weather controls of contemporary fire refugia in forested ecosystems of northwestern North America. Ecosphere 7(12):e01632. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/56427

PARISIEN, M.A.; MILLER, C.; PARKS, S.A.; DELANCEY, E.R.; ROBINNE, F.N.; FLANNIGAN, M.D. 2016. The spatially varying influence of humans on area burned in North America. Environmental Research Letters 11(7): 075005. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/52281

BATLLORI, E.; PARISIEN, M.; PARKS, S.A.; MORITZ, M.A.; MILLER, C. 2017. Potential relocation of climatic environments suggests high rates of climate displacement within the North American protection network. Global Change Biology 2017:1-12. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13663. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/53829

HAIRE, S.L.; COOP, J.D.; MILLER, C. 2017. Characterizing spatial neighborhoods of refugia following large fires in northern New Mexico, USA. Land 2017, 6, 19. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/56428

PARKS, S.A.; HOLSINGER, L.; MILLER, C. PARISIEN, M. 2018. Analog-based fire regime and vegetation shifts in mountainous regions of the western US. Ecography 41(6): 910-921. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/55029

Parks, S.A.; PARISIEN, M.; MILLER, C.; HOLSINGER, L.M.; BAGGETT, L.S. 2018. Fine-scale spatial climate variation and drought mediate the likelihood of reburning. Ecological Applications. 28(2): 573-586. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/55897

ROBINNE, F.N.; BLADON, K.D.; MILLER, C.; PARISIEN, M.A.; MATHIEU, J.; FLANNIGAN, M.D. 2018. A spatial evaluation of global wildfire-water risks to human and natural systems. Science of the Total Environment 610-611; 1193-1206. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/55325

HIGUERA, P.; METCALF, A.; MILLER, C.; BUMA, B.; MCWETHY, D.; METCLAF, E. RATAJCZAK, Z.; NELSON, C.; CHAFFIN, B.; STEDMAN, R. MCCAFFREY, S.; SCHOENNAGEL, T.; HARVEY, B.; HOOD, S.; SCHULTZ, C.; BLACK, A.; CAMPBELL, D.; HAGGERTY, J.; KEANE, R.; KRAWCHUK, M.; KULIG, J.; RAFFERTY, R.; VIRAPONGSE, A. 2019. Integrating subjective and objective dimensions of resilience in fire-prone landscapes. Bioscience 60(5): 379-388. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/58043

PARKS, S.; DOBROWSKI, S.; SHAW, J.; MILLER, C. 2019. Living on the edge: trailing edge forests at risk of fire-facilitated conversion to non-forest. Ecosphere 10(3): Article e02651. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/57779