Writing

Find some of Ashley’s writing samples below and even more at Smithsonian, Longreads, The Atlantic, Slate, Science, bioGraphic, Discover Magazine, Scientific American, Hakai Magazine, Audubon Magazine, Science News, Atlas Obscura, The Stranger, Crosscut, Civil Eats, Medium, DeSmog, PopSci.com, Earth Touch News, and Grist.

Recent Work

This Simple but Ingenious Instrument Helped the World Measure Carbon Dioxide Levels in the Atmosphere | Smithsonian Magazine, Scientist Charles Keeling’s invention had a profound effect on scientists’ understanding of the severity of the climate change crisis. June 2025
Ping, You’ve Got Whale | bioGraphic, A new artificial intelligence-powered detection system is giving ship captains real-time alerts when a whale is in their path. March 2025
How Santa Catalina Island Got Its Ground Squirrels | bioGraphic, The ecosystem we see today was molded by human hands. April 2025
The ‘Penicillin Girls’ Made One of the World’s Most Life-Saving Discoveries Possible | Smithsonian Magazine, The true, forgotten and sometimes-stinky history of the cohort who took Alexander Fleming’s innovation and forever changed the face of modern medicine. December 2024

It’s Time to Burst the PNW Weather Bubble | The Stranger, From Heat Domes to Bomb Cyclones, Are We Ready for What’s Next? December 2024
Fire Is a Major Threat to California Spotted Owls—Could it Also Help Save Them? | Audubon Magazine, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could soon give the subspecies protection under the Endangered Species Act, and is calling for more beneficial fire to help the birds rebound. July 2024
Environmentally, Offshore Wind Is … Fine | Hakai Magazine, How often can you say that about an energy generation system? July 2024

These Ants Protect the Colony by Blowing Themselves Up | Atlas Obscura, The self-sacrificing insects explode, showering their enemies in killer goop. An excerpt from the book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders. June 2024
Fire for Water | bioGraphic, To combat the growing risk of catastrophic wildfires and to bring more water back onto the landscape, a tribe in California is helping to reshape fire management policy in the West. February 2024
Conservationists Urge Caution as the Federal Government Promotes Fish Farming | Audubon Magazine, Aquaculture comes in many forms and can be done sustainably, but a push for more offshore operations raises concerns, environmentalists say. Spring 2024
Boom and Bust, All at Once: The Fraught Modern History of Fish Meal | Hakai Magazine, How the cheap protein fueled the Global North’s agricultural expansion and destabilized the Global South. August 2023

Anti-Salmon-Farming Activists Are Playing a Global Game of Whack-a-Mole | Hakai Magazine, Increasing regulation in several countries is forcing open-net-pen salmon farmers to pack up shop. But then what happens? May 2023
Making Nature Less Predictable | bioGraphic, In their fight against the homogenization of nature, scientists and farmers are walking well-worn paths and using innovative approaches to help bring native pollinators back to California. December 2022
A New App Brings Birdsong Back to People With High-Frequency Hearing Loss | Audubon Magazine, Hear Birds Again, an iPhone app, is only the latest in Lang Elliott’s long line of inventions to solve a challenge that affects more birders as they age. December 2022
It’s the Moment of Truth for Saving the Northern Spotted Owl | Audubon Magazine, Preventing the Pacific Northwest icon’s extinction calls for aggressive intervention, including killing another owl species. Will we act fast enough? September 2022

The Precarious Position of Treaty-less Tribes | Hakai Magazine, What a five-year fight over a few dozen clams shows about the inconsistent rights of Indigenous tribes. October 2022
How Wifi Binoculars Could Help Make Birding and Nature More Accessible | Audubon Magazine, On a recent outing with Seattle’s Seward Park Audubon Center, a small group put the technology to the test, with promising but mixed results. September 2022
How Indigenous Sea Gardens Produced Massive Amounts of Food for Millennia | Hakai Magazine, By focusing on reciprocity and the common good—both for the community and the environment—sea gardening created bountiful food without putting populations at risk of collapse. July 2022
Tribal Hatcheries and the Road to Restoration | Hakai Magazine, In the US Pacific Northwest, tribal hatcheries uphold Indigenous communities’ treaty rights to salmon, while buying time to rehabilitate lost habitat. May 2022

Our Food and Farming Book Picks for Summer 2022 | Civil Eats, A review of the book Iwígara: American Indian Ethnobotanical Traditions and Science. June 2022
The Transgenerational Cost of Fear | Hakai Magazine, Scared song sparrows have fewer offspring, and their offspring are less likely to survive and thrive. April 2022
A 30-Year-Long Fishing Dispute Fizzles Out | Hakai Magazine, With the United States Supreme Court declining to hear the case, a protracted legal battle between two Indigenous communities has nowhere to go. March 2022

What Does Building Back Better Look Like? | Hakai Magazine, The United States has tentatively allocated $6-billion to conserve and restore coastal areas and prepare for a changing climate. We asked a range of experts how all that money should be spent. February 2022
Washington launches program to cut underwater noise in Puget Sound | Crosscut, Quiet Sound plans to work with the Northwest shipping industry to make it easier for marine creatures to navigate, find food and communicate. December 2021
Early-Career Scientists Face a Wall of Unpaid Positions | Hakai Magazine, A survey of job postings for early-career marine researchers shows that more than half of the positions are unpaid. November 2021
How our SN 10 scientists have responded to tumultuous times | Science News, Breaking the one test for one cancer paradigm with Isaac Kinde; Astrophysicist Paula Jofre writes about the stars for Spanish speakers; and Stanley Qi develops a clever genetic tool to tackle new troubles. October 2021

Urine trouble: High nitrogen levels in Puget Sound cause ecological worry | Crosscut, The Washington Department of Ecology is set to implement new ‘nutrient waste’ regulations to protect struggling marine life. October 2021
With Protections Restored for Alaska’s Tongass, What’s Next? | Audubon Magazine, The Biden administration’s plans for the old-growth forest and the region’s economy have tribal leaders cautiously optimistic. August 2021
Inside the latest Indigenous push to stop a massive copper mine | Crosscut, For years, backers of the Pebble Mine above Bristol Bay seemed to be grinding ahead. Alaska Natives in the region have thrown new sand in those gears. August 2021
What it Means to be Wild | bioGraphic, Against the backdrop of a world so thoroughly altered by humankind, Emma Marris’s latest book, Wild Souls, challenges our assumptions about nature and how we protect it. July 2021

Noise Pollution Affects Practically Everything, Even Seagrass | Hakai Magazine, Seagrass may not have ears, but that doesn’t stop noise pollution from causing serious damage to the plant’s other structures. July 2021
COVID-19 Lockdowns Show a World Without Parachute Science | Hakai Magazine, With international scientists barred from traveling, local scientists in the Pacific islands are taking the chance to lead. June 2021
In the Push for Marine Conservation, Partially Protected Areas Are a “Red Herring” | Hakai Magazine, Compared to fully safeguarded marine protected areas, partially protected areas have little benefit for marine life or people’s enjoyment. March 2021
Putting the Pebble Mine to Rest | Hakai Magazine, Weary Alaska communities are seeking permanent protections for the Bristol Bay watershed. February 2021

Alaska Drilling Project Squashed By Court Decision Was Touted By Oil-Friendly Former Trump Official | DeSmog, A high-ranking Trump Interior official was praising an oil company while overseeing its permit application and decision, which a court later overturned. December 2020
Examining Why the Pebble Mine Died | Hakai Magazine, Regulators handed a rare rejection to the proposed Alaska copper and gold mine. December 2020
What Happens When Climate Change Denialism and Wildfires Collide | Slate, Bolstered by new connections to conspiracy theories like QAnon, climate deniers are amplifying mis- and disinformation that’s spilling over dangerously into a world literally on fire. October 2020
Secret Recordings Portray Regulators as Easing Pebble Mine’s Path to Approval | Hakai Magazine, The Pebble Limited Partnership’s latest plan to offset the damage caused by the proposed Alaska mine is being highly criticized. September 2020

A Rare Salmon Type Is in the Crosshairs of Alaska’s Proposed Pebble Mine | Hakai Magazine, The Koktuli River watershed, potential home of the future open-pit mine, is also home to a distinctive river-type sockeye. August 2020
Pebble Mine’s Environmental Review Foreshadows Future “Streamlined” Process Forged by Trump Administration | Hakai Magazine, Environmental reviews are now to be done much, much faster than before. July 2020
As the Pebble Mine Nears a Decision, Questions Surround its Environmental Review | Hakai Magazine, Documents unveiled by a Freedom of Information Act request show agencies’ behind-the-scenes critiques of the proposed Pebble Mine. June 2020
Pebble Mine’s “Woefully Inadequate” Plan to Compensate for Destroying Salmon Habitat | Hakai Magazine, A wide range of experts are critiquing the proposed Alaska mine’s lackluster environmental compensation plan. April 2020

Research and Rescue: Saving Species from Ourselves | Longreads, We’re developing high-tech genetic tools to pour new life into animals lost to human destruction. Deciding how — and whether — to use that power is as complex as the science behind it. October 2019
Don’t Forget the Pebble Mine’s Overlooked Port, Hakai Magazine, A source close to the Pebble Mine project says that plans for a new marine port, designed to support the proposed mine, raise a host of environmental concerns that haven’t received much attention. August 2019
Can Wild Salmon and the Pebble Mine Coexist? | Hakai Magazine, Posing a problem for the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, new research shows salmon rely on entire watersheds. May 2019
Fear the cats! Bold project teaches endangered Australian animals to avoid deadly predator | Science, Exposing threatened marsupials to a few feral cats may help boost their chances of survival against the lethal predators. May 2019

Can Killer Robots Help Save the Great Barrier Reef? | Medium, Researchers in Australia are using autonomous technology to combat a notoriously hard-to-kill pest. November 2018
A Witness to the Disappearing Wonder of Wild Orcas | DeSmog, Reflections on the endangered awe of meeting endangered orcas in the wild. November 2018
RangerBot: Programmed to Kill | Hakai Magazine, A new generation of sea star-murdering robots is set to deploy. August 2018
20 Things You Didn’t Know About … Ants | Discover Magazine, Some are slaveholders, others sip blood and a few jump backward like nobody’s business. July/August 2018 issue
Raising an Eyebrow | Natural History Magazine, Scientists test why large brows went out of facial fashion in human evolution. July/August 2018 issue

The Whale That Dines Alone | Hakai Magazine, Researchers listened as solitary humpback whales made a supposedly social call. May 2018
Immobilized Plants | Natural History Magazine, Scientists are starting to understand how anesthetics also affect plant movements. March 2018
Mussels on Acid | Hakai Magazine, Variability in ocean acidity may be a bigger deal than scientists thought. December 2017

Staging Bird Murders to Save a Species | The Atlantic, A contentious way to teach captive animals what to fear in the wild. November 2017
How Not to Kill an Albatross | Hakai Magazine, Accidental albatross deaths can be curtailed if commercial fishers make one simple change. November 2017
The Global Climate Community Finally Has a Plan to Address Agriculture | Earther.com, UN climate negotiators made critical progress towards addressing the globe-warming emissions of agriculture. November 2017
Farmed and Dangerous? Pacific Salmon Confront Rogue Atlantic Cousins | Scientific American, Northwest fish escape highlights concerns—and dearth of research—over aquaculture. August 2017
Too Hot to Fly | Slate, Phoenix’s heat wave grounded planes and stranded customers. It’s about to become much more common. July 2017
Lights Out for Hawai‘i’s Seabirds | Hakai Magazine, Scientists hope lasers can save endangered seabirds from power line collisions. June 2017
Brazil Gets Lit | Hakai Magazine, Artificial lighting is spreading across the country, with unknown effects on its wildlife. May 2017
Science Stars: The Next Generation | Discover Magazine, [Subs. req., view here] Here are some of our favorite emerging science stars. April 2017

Smog Will Choke Crops If Climate Plan Is Scrubbed | Scientific American, Legal threats to Obama’s Clean Power Plan could result in ongoing crop losses as smog accumulates. April 2017
Radioactive Refuges | Hakai Magazine, A heavily-exploited Japanese fish found sanctuary after the 2011 Fukushima earthquake. January 2017
Making a More Perfect Penguin | Hakai Magazine, A long-term study shows the subtle hand of natural selection on Argentina’s Magellanic penguins. November 2016

New Research Offers a Wider View on Indigenous North American Whaling | Hakai Magazine, Additional early North American societies may have been whale hunters, not just scavengers. November 2017
The Lazarus Frog | Discover Magazine, A small frog in a dark rainforest gives one scientist hope for endangered amphibians. October 2016
The Killer Kiss of Kohn’s Snails [VIDEO] | Hakai Magazine, Venomous cone snails may be slow, but they’re deadly. September 2016
This Robot Thinks It’s a Larva | Hakai Magazine, A new robot is designed to mimic the behavior of teeny tiny larvae. September 2016

Planted Evidence | Natural History Magazine, Archaeologists find evidence connecting Madagascar’s mysterious settlers directly to Southeast Asia. Sept. 2016
How to Give a Seabird an Underwater Hearing Test | Hakai Magazine, Scientists are worried marine noise may affect seabirds, but first they have to figure out how to test it. August 2016
Accelerated Development | Natural History Magazine, Risk of infanticide quickens monkeys’ development. June 2016

Born Immunity | Natural History Magazine, How honey bees pass on immunity to their young. October 2015
Gut Reaction | Natural History Magazine, A major coffee pest relies on bacteria in its gut to metabolize caffeine. October 2015
Meet 4 Animals Who Use Chemical Deception to Camouflage Their Smell | Earth Touch News, Camouflage doesn’t have to be only about what the eyes see. January 2016
Thanks to Eavesdropping Scientists, We Can Listen to the Secret Sounds Giraffes Make at Night | Earth Touch News, What does the giraffe say? Hummmm…it’s been a mystery. September 2015

Virgin Births Are Not a Great “Plan B” for Super-Endangered Sawfish | Earth Touch News, Female sawfish may be resorting to a method of reproducing never seen before in wild animals with a backbone. June 2015
Our Six Citizen Science Picks | Discover Magazine, Try science for yourself: Join one of these citizen science projects; lab coat optional. October 2014
5 Reasons Why We’re Obsessed with Venomous Sea Snails | Earth Touch News, How about the fact that they manufacture an underwater pharmacy of nightmares? February 2015

Anty Venom | Discover Magazine, A never-before-seen ability gives crazy ants an edge over red fire ants. December 2014
3 Amazing Projects You Should 3-D Print Right Now | DiscoverMagazine.com, These designs highlight the ways 3-D printing can improve lives and empower people. August 2014
Top 4 Summer Science Road-Trip Destinations: Hanford Nuclear Reservation | Discover Magazine, The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a onetime national secret, now hosts both a National Historic Landmark with free, guided tours and a $40 billion environmental cleanup. May 2014
Mantis Shrimp Vision Is Not As Mindblowing As You’ve Been Told | PopSci.com, It’s a lovely thought that a glass-punching, rainbow-colored crustacean could have sensory and aesthetic capabilities beyond our wildest dreams. Yet something isn’t quite right. June 2014

Great Extirpations | Natural History Magazine, between 10,000 and 4,000 years ago, intertwining stressors led to the extinction of the woolly mammoth. September/October 2012
Snug as a Bug in a Bug in a Bug | Natural History Magazine [PDF], two bacterial symbionts nested inside each other—inside mealybugs—result in dramatically reduced and complementary genomes. November 2011