Personal profile
Research Interests
Dr. Seielstad studies fire and fuel pattern-process relations using an array of active and passive remote sensing techniques and applies emerging quantitative methods to map and model wildland fuels. Applications for his research include forest inventories, carbon assessments, fire behavior modeling, prediction of fire effects, and design/implementation of fuel treatments. Seielstad mixes scholarship with boots-on-the-ground management as a practicing burn boss and incident commander. His fire career spans more than 30 years including time as a hotshot and smokejumper. He advises UM’s Student Association of Fire Ecology and Management, oversees the fire and fuels management activities of the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station, and directs the research and workforce development efforts of the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis.
Teaching Experience
- FORS230 Fire Management and Environmental Change
- FORS331 Wildland Fuels Management
- FORS440 Forest Stand Management
- FORS491/595 Prescribed Fire Practicum
Education/Academic qualification
Bachelor, Geography, Dartmouth College
Master, Geography, University of Georgia
Doctorate, Forestry, University of Montana
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 13 Climate Action
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SDG 15 Life on Land
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Learning from Wildfire Decision Support: large language model analysis of barriers to fire spread in a census of large wildfires in the United States (2011–2023)
Epstein, M. D. & Seielstad, C. A., Sep 4 2025, In: International Journal of Wildland Fire. 34, 9Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Modeling Neighborhoods as Fuel for Wildfire: A Review
Young, B. A., Thompson, M. P., Moran, C. J. & Seielstad, C. A., Jul 4 2025, In: Fire Technology. 61, 7, p. 5049-5071 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open Access3 Scopus citations -
Three fuel models for predicting urban fire spread – a stopgap for emergency management in the US
Moran, C. J., Seielstad, C. A. & Pietruszka, B. M., Oct 27 2025, In: International Journal of Wildland Fire. 34, 11Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Impact and recovery of forest cover following wildfire in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States
Epstein, M. D., Seielstad, C. A. & Moran, C. J., Jun 24 2024, In: Fire Ecology. 20, 1, 56.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access8 Scopus citations -
Relationships of Fire Rate of Spread with Spectral and Geometric Features Derived from UAV-Based Photogrammetric Point Clouds
Carbonell-Rivera, J. P., Moran, C. J., Seielstad, C. A., Parsons, R. A., Hoff, V., Ruiz, L., Torralba, J. & Estornell, J., Apr 2024, In: Fire. 7, 4, 132.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access4 Scopus citations
Datasets
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Dataset for the article: The topographic signature of ecosystem climate sensitivities in the western U.S.
Hoylman, Z. (Creator), Jencso, K. (Creator), Hu, J. (Creator), Holden, Z. (Creator), Allred, B. (Creator), Dobrowski, S. (Creator), Robinson, N. (Creator), Martin, J. (Creator), Affleck, D. (Creator) & Seielstad, C. (Creator), University of Montana, 2019
Dataset