FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Ashley Garrison, a forester with the Colorado State Forest Service, has received this year’s Young Forester Leadership Award from the Colorado-Wyoming Society of American Foresters. The award recognizes outstanding leadership by a young forestry professional in developing and promoting a program, project, or the practice of forestry and the society.
Based out of the CSFS’s Granby Field Office, Garrison works primarily in Summit County on cross-boundary, collaborative projects that protect communities in the event of a wildfire and improve forest health. Her leadership and expertise have won over partners and landowners and renewed interest in wildfire mitigation efforts across Summit County.
“It is an honor to be recognized by my peers and be among a group of other outstanding forestry leaders who have received this award in the past,” Garrison said.
In Summit County, she has reached out to dozens of private landowners to garner support for projects adjacent to public lands, creating defensible space that spans boundaries, and worked with the county’s wildfire council on securing hazardous fuels reduction grants. Prior to her position at the CSFS, Garrison served as a forestry project lead with Boulder County Parks and Open Space and a Peace Corps volunteer with a focus on forestry in The Gambia, West Africa. As a member of the Colorado-Wyoming SAF, she serves as the communications chair and manages the society’s social media pages.
Along with her professional endeavors, Garrison is pursuing a Master of Natural Resource Stewardship degree from Colorado State University.
To learn more about one of the current projects in Summit County in which Garrison is involved, please visit the Wellington Fuels Reduction and Forest Health Project webpage.