Ashley Ahearn / KUOW

Job Title

Multimedia journalist, based in Seattle at KUOW Public Radio

Bio

Most of the time we don't know where Ashley is. That's because she's usually managed to get lost or to drop her means of communication into one waterbody or another. As a newcomer to the region, Ashley brings a healthy dose of incredulity about what goes on around here. "Wait, you truck fish around dams?" or "You grow fish in a hatchery and then set them free into rivers? Is that kind of like keeping chickens?" As a transplant from Los Angeles most recently (where she got her masters in science journalism at USC) she's tended to report on rivers that are nicely cemented in, so she's very excited about all the freerange waterways up here. Radio will always be Ashley's first love (she got her start working for the show Living on Earth on Public Radio International) but she's pretty excited about this whole "multimedia" thing everyone's talking about.

Ashley's been known to develop crushes on inanimate objects such as rivers, hip waders and reliable recording equipment. At scientific conferences she sneaks pictures of the highly fashionable forms of footwear on parade, with special attention to the combination of wool socks and tevas often sported by ecologists and biologists. She then tweets those pictures, so follow her on Twitter.

We like Ashley because we know that even though she's often MIA, she always comes back with a story.

Contact

email / desk 206-616-5708 / cell 978-578-5944 / twitter / facebook


Recent Articles:

Report Inconclusive On What Killed Orca L112

May 15, 2012

A Man And The Orcas

May 15, 2012

Algae Boom in Puget Sound

May 14, 2012

New Research: Hatchery Salmon Posing Problems For Wild Stocks

May 13, 2012

Borrow A Bee And Your Honey Is Free

May 1, 2012

EarthFix Conversation: Protecting Endangered Whales? There's An App For That

April 27, 2012

New Study Details Oil Tanker Spill Risk In Puget Sound

April 27, 2012

New Restrictions On Cruise Ship Waste For Seattle Waters

April 24, 2012

Shall Jellyfish Inherit the Earth’s Oceans?

April 22, 2012

Washington Not Ready For Implications Of B.C. Pipeline Expansion

April 16, 2012

EarthFix Conversations: Counting Up Coal's CO2

April 10, 2012

Investigation Launched Into Orca Death

April 5, 2012

EarthFix Conversations: Catching Up With Orcas

April 5, 2012

On The Ground In Grays Harbor: What's The Word On That New Export Terminal?

April 2, 2012

1,000 Acres Up For Conservation In The San Juan Islands

March 28, 2012

Increased Coal Train Traffic Could Mean Bad News For Public Health

March 27, 2012

EarthFix Conversations: Coal Coming Through A Community Near You?

March 26, 2012

Environmental Review Process Kicks Off For Gateway Pacific Terminal Near Bellingham

March 21, 2012

Navy Looks To Renew Permits For Sonar Testing In Northwest

March 19, 2012

Farming Geoducks: A Mixed Bag For Tidal Critters

March 6, 2012

Gregoire Approves Columbia Gorge Wind Project

March 5, 2012

The Case Of The Stolen Geoducks

Feb. 29, 2012

Tsunami Debris Update: Coming Our Way In 2013

Feb. 28, 2012

State Funding Not Available To Deal With Largest Derelict Vessels

Feb. 22, 2012

Earthfix Conversations: Google Earth An Enviro Big Brother?

Feb. 15, 2012

King County Does The Numbers On Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Feb. 13, 2012

Sun Setting On Sunset Falls?

Feb. 13, 2012

Mountain Goat Population On The Rise In Olympic National Park

Feb. 9, 2012

Cruising Puget Sound For Toxic Algae Hot Spots

Feb. 4, 2012

Washington to Require Insurers to Disclose Plans for Climate Change

Feb. 2, 2012

Salmon Go To School

Jan. 30, 2012

EarthFix Conversation: EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

Jan. 27, 2012

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Hosts Town Hall At UW

Jan. 26, 2012

Environmentalists File Lawsuit Against Naval Testing Along Northwest Coast

Jan. 26, 2012

Will NW Environment Pay For Road Salt's Benefits?

Jan. 23, 2012

Empire of Dirt Gives Way to the Return of the Salmon

Jan. 23, 2012

Protections Added for Endangered Sea Turtle's Northwest Habitat

Jan. 20, 2012

New Study: Biofuel From Seaweed - It's All About The Microbes

Jan. 19, 2012

EarthFix Conversations: NOAA The Red-Headed Step Child Among Gov. Agencies? Not Really

Jan. 17, 2012

Possible Tsunami Debris Washing Up On Northwestern Shores

Jan. 13, 2012

New Regs Proposed For Cruise Ship Wastewater in Washington

Jan. 13, 2012

Got Wolves? Washington Does

Jan. 4, 2012

Clock's Ticking On Innovative Land Deal Near Seattle

Dec. 29, 2011

EarthFix Conversation: Top Enviro-Law Issues For 2012

Dec. 27, 2011

And Baby Makes 89 (Orcas in Puget Sound)

Dec. 21, 2011

New Research Shows Hatchery Fish Adapting To Captivity Within One Generation

Dec. 19, 2011

What's Wrong With Gov. Gregoire's Washington State Shellfish Initiative?

Dec. 15, 2011

Canadian Government Holds Hearing On Deadly Salmon Virus

Dec. 15, 2011

How Much Seafood Is the NW Eating? The Answer Impacts Water Quality

Dec. 13, 2011

Field Notes: 7,000 Acres For Sale In Seattle's Backyard

Dec. 12, 2011

New Initiative Puts Shellfish To Work

Dec. 9, 2011

Water Pollution: The Source Be With You

Dec. 7, 2011

Puget Sound Petroleum Poses Harm To Fish

Dec. 5, 2011

EarthFix: Undamming the Elwha

Dec. 1, 2011

More Reports of ISA in Wild and Farmed Salmon Uncovered

Nov. 29, 2011

NW Readiness for Oil Spills Drops As Risks Increase

Nov. 28, 2011

What Keystone Pipeline Delay Could Mean For NW Tanker Traffic

Nov. 14, 2011

The Five Coolest Things about Ocean-Exploring Robots

Nov. 14, 2011

Scientists On the Trail of a Potential Salmon Killer

Nov. 9, 2011

Canada Denies Its Salmon Are Infected With Deadly Virus

Nov. 8, 2011

New Report Details Toxics in Puget Sound

Nov. 4, 2011

Get Ready, Northwest: Here Comes La Niña, Round Two

Nov. 3, 2011

EarthFix Conversations: Sealing the Deal on PCBs and Marine Mammals

Oct. 28, 2011

Field Notes: San Juan Islands' Oil Safety Darling

Oct. 25, 2011

EarthFix Conversations: Sick Wild Salmon

Oct. 18, 2011

EarthFix Conversations: A Documentary About Alaska's Controversial Pebble Mine

Oct. 18, 2011

Northwest Hydropower Gets Small

Oct. 17, 2011

All Aboard! Fish Busing On The Cowlitz Hits A Road Block

Oct. 7, 2011

New Study Compares Carcinogen Levels Around Washington State

Oct. 4, 2011

EarthFix Conversations: a live chat with Eric Becker, director of Sound and Vision

Oct. 4, 2011

EarthFix Conversations: The Planet Needs a Rolaid

Sept. 28, 2011

Region's Newest Wastewater Treatment Plant Opens Saturday

Sept. 21, 2011

A Warming Climate May Lead To More Extreme Weather In The Northwest

Sept. 16, 2011

New Studies Track Pollution in Samish Bay

Sept. 9, 2011

Seattle Takes the Lead on Green Buildings

Sept. 9, 2011

Using Trees to Guide Water Resource Management

Sept. 8, 2011

Proposal Puts National Security Ahead of Environmental Protection

Sept. 6, 2011

Field Notes: For the Love of Tree Rings

Aug. 30, 2011

Harnessing Tides In The Northwest

Aug. 23, 2011

Series: Undamming the Elwha

Aug. 19, 2011

A Tribe Opts For Hatcheries to Bring Fish to the Elwha

Aug. 17, 2011

Otters Connect the Elwha's Salmon to the Olympics' Forests

Aug. 16, 2011

Scientists Measure What Dams Have Done to the Elwha

Aug. 15, 2011

Fix Your Coordinates: Explore the Elwha

Aug. 15, 2011

Field Notes: My First Date With the Elwha

Aug. 11, 2011

Management Plan Finalized For Wolf Recovery In Washington

Aug. 2, 2011

Army Corps of Engineers Slow To Release Report On Puget Sound Oil Tankers

July 29, 2011

Gray Whale Washes Ashore on Puget Sound

July 27, 2011

Tribal Canoe Journey and Science Connect in Salish Sea

July 25, 2011

Banking On New Wetlands When Old Ones Vanish

July 22, 2011

Puget Sound Orca Poop is a 'Treasure Trove' For Researchers

July 10, 2011

Breeding a Better Oyster in Puget Sound

June 16, 2011

Tidal Power's Environmental Impact in Puget Sound

June 13, 2011

Snowpack Science Reveals Changing Climate

June 12, 2011

Microplastics: Harmful Marine Trash You Can't See

June 12, 2011

Algal Blooms Are Bad News for Salmon

June 9, 2011