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Ashley Downing

Ashley Downing

Durango, CO 81301

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Interests:
  • Communications/outreach
  • Fire prevention education
  • Firewise Communities / Defensible space
  • Forest/ecosystem management
  • Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire
  • Watershed protection/management
  • Wildfire risk assessment
Existing Member Affiliations:

Since October 2017, Ashley has been the Executive Director of Wildfire Adapted Partnership (formerly FireWise of Southwest Colorado). Wildfire Adapted works in the five southwest counties of Colorado (Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan). The foundation of Wildfire Adapted’s efforts is its Neighborhood Ambassador Program. Neighborhood Ambassadors are volunteers from neighborhoods who are recruited, trained and supported to be liaisons for spreading wildfire preparedness information and coordinating activities within their neighborhoods. Wildfire Adapted also offers wildfire education, workshops, and incentive programs, including chipper rental rebates and a defensible space cost share program, for residents living in the region.

Ashley is also on the Board of Directors of Fire Adapted Colorado, a statewide network that serves individuals and organizations that are committed to reducing the negative impacts of wildfires in the state.

Ashley holds a BS is Journalism with a minor in French from the University of Colorado, Boulder and an MA in Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California.

Fire Adapted Communities Neighborhood Ambassador Toolkit

A fire adapted communities (FAC) neighborhood ambassador approach is a mechanism for reaching out to and engaging with neighborhoods to help them understand their wildfire risk and encourage and motivate residents to take action to reduce that risk. The very nature of the approach builds community and promotes taking personal responsibility for where you live—regardless of whether you live within or outside of the wildland-urban interface. Within this approach, offerings can be tailored to the needs and context of a community while still meeting the overarching purpose of engaging residents in fulfilling their role in living with fire.

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