As the Regenerative Outdoor Visioning Project continues, one theme keeps surfacing across nearly every conversation: A regenerative future ultimately depends on healthy people and healthy communities. That may sound obvious, but it opens a much bigger conversation about the role outdoors already plays — and could play even more intentionally — in physical health, mental health, behavioral health, cultural continuity, resilience, belonging, and overall community well-being acr

One thing that became very clear during this week’s Business & Livelihoods session of the Alaska Outdoor Alliance Regenerative Outdoor Visioning Project is that Alaska’s outdoor workforce challenges are not just hiring problems. They are pathway problems. The conversation brought together perspectives from across education, stewardship, tourism, workforce development, and youth leadership to explore a deceptively simple question: What would it actually take to develop more Al

Alaska’s $3.8 billion outdoor economy continues to grow — but an important question sits underneath that growth: Who is being prepared to participate in it? On May 19, Alaska Outdoor Alliance’s Regenerative Outdoor Visioning Project will host a conversation focused on Business & Livelihoods — exploring how Alaska can create stronger pathways for Alaska-born youth to build meaningful careers connected to stewardship, recreation, tourism, conservation, guiding, land management,

The May 12 session in the Alaska Outdoor Alliance’s Regenerative Outdoor Visioning Project surfaced one of the clearest tensions yet in the series: How do we tell fuller, more truthful stories about Alaska’s outdoors — without reducing Alaska to either fantasy or despair? That question drove a wide-ranging conversation with filmmaker Princess Johnson and photojournalist Marlena Sloss about tourism, media, stewardship, and the stories embedded everywhere from films and social

This week’s Regenerative Outdoor Visioning session may have marked an important turning point in this series. Not because we arrived at definitive answers—but because the conversation began naming something deeper beneath many of Alaska’s outdoor debates: What if the outdoors is not simply a place we use, recreate, or extract value from…but a shared commons we are collectively responsible for stewarding? That was the central thread woven by our Guest Weavers, AlexAnna Salmon

We’ve talked about definitions. We’ve talked about infrastructure. Now we arrive at a deeper question: What if the outdoors is not just a place to visit, use, market, or manage—but a commons to steward together? That’s the focus of the next Regenerative Outdoor Visioning Workshop on May 5, and it may be the most expansive—and practical—session of the series so far. Because underneath every trail plan, tourism strategy, habitat debate, campground proposal, youth program, permi

Too often, infrastructure conversations begin after the biggest decisions have already been made. A route is chosen. A budget is set. A design is drafted. Then come the harder questions: Who was left out? What will maintenance cost in ten years? Was this designed for Alaska’s changing climate and living landscapes? Does it reflect the culture and history of the place? Alaska cannot afford wasteful infrastructure decisions. Every dollar matters. Every project should work harde

From food systems to community-led tourism, our first session grounded the work—and pointed us toward what’s next: infrastructure. Volunteers clearn debris and restore a washed out bridge on the Shoup Trail in Valdez. Yesterday’s Foundations & Definitions session didn’t try to wrap regenerative tourism in a neat package. It did something better—it made it real. With regenerative tourism champion Mary Goddard from Sitka, and Cathy Renfeldt, from the Cordova Chamber of Commerce

We talk about Alaska’s outdoors like it belongs to everyone. But not everyone has had a real hand in shaping it. That’s what this workshop series is about. Not a webinar. Not a panel. A working space to build something practical: a framework and toolkit for how the outdoors can actually work better—for land, communities, and future generations. Who should be in the room? If you’ve ever thought “there has to be a better way to do this” —this is for you. That includes: Tribal l

What it looks like to move beyond growth and toward a healthier relationship with Alaska’s lands, waters, and communities Confluence Summits have been bringing diverse voices together in communities rich in cultural and outdoor assets. This photo was taken during one of the Summit's Learning Journeys, guided by the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository. For more than a decade, Alaska Outdoor Alliance (AOA) has helped elevate the importance of Alaska’s outdoor recreatio

In Alaska, the outdoors isn’t a category. It’s not just recreation. Not just tourism. Not just trails, access, or scenery. It’s how people live. It shapes livelihood, health, identity, culture, mobility, stewardship, and belonging. It’s how people feed their families, guide visitors, raise kids, build businesses, and stay connected to place. And yet, we still talk about it in pieces. Tourism over here. Conservation over there. Trails in one lane. Public health somewhere else

Setting the Table Alaska relies on outdoor recreation for its tourism economy and for the well-being of residents. Yet this industry is also full of challenges which can make it seem or actually be as extractive as other resource development. We envision a future outdoor economy that leaves Alaska better: including the land, the people, the culture, outdoor infrastructure, and related businesses. Through this series of calls, we will collect your local knowledge and lived exp

The first Confluence Summit in 2016 at Alaska Pacific University attracted outdoor product innovators like Heather Kelly of Heather's Choice (pictured), Greg Matyas of Corvus Cycles, elected leaders, and stalwart non-profit and governmental outdoor recreation advocates. The Alaska Outdoor Alliance (AOA) has been selected as the first and only US initiative to join Unearthodox’s 2026 Sparks of Regeneration incubation cohort—a significant milestone not just for AOA, but for Ala

Kayakers near Columbia Glacier in Prince William Sound. Photo by Lee Hart Two Alaska communities are making history through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) program—marking important milestones for a relatively young but increasingly influential federal initiative. Kotzebue and the Prince William Sound Economic Development District (PWSEDD) were selected in the latest RERC round, with Kotzebue becoming the first Arctic

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