If Alaska Became the Most Regenerative Outdoor Economy on Earth, How Would We Know?

The outdoor recreation community has become pretty good at measuring economic impact.

We can tell you how many jobs outdoor recreation supports, how much visitors spend, how much tax revenue is generated, and whether the industry is growing. Those numbers matter, and they should.

But after nearly two months of conversations through the Regenerative Outdoor Visioning Project, I've been struck by how often people talk about things that don't fit neatly into a spreadsheet.

People talk about kids finding mentors. They talk about elders sharing knowledge. They talk about stronger communities, healthier ecosystems, and a deeper sense of connection to the places we call home. They talk about stewardship, belonging, and responsibility.

In fact, many of them are the reason we care about Alaska's outdoors in the first place.

A regenerative outdoor economy should create jobs and opportunities. It should also leave communities stronger than it found them. It should help people build lasting relationships with the lands and waters around them. It should strengthen the ties between generations and create conditions where both people and places can thrive.

The challenge, of course, is that those outcomes can be harder to see—and even harder to measure. Which brings us to the focus of our final spring conversation:

If Alaska became the most regenerative outdoor economy on Earth, how would we know?

On June 16, in our final session of this series, we'll explore what it means to measure what matters. We'll talk about the indicators we already use, the ones we may be overlooking, and how communities might recognize progress even when it doesn't show up in traditional economic reports.

The goal isn't to throw out the metrics we have. It's to broaden the picture. As we've moved through conversations about infrastructure, stewardship, stories, livelihoods, health, and governance, one thing has become increasingly clear: if we're serious about creating a more regenerative future, we need ways to recognize it when we see it. This session is intended to help us do exactly that.

The conversation will also help shape the emerging Regenerative Outdoors Framework and Toolkit that this project is working toward—something practical that communities, businesses, nonprofits, educators, planners, and public agencies can actually use. Many thanks to our Guest Weavers Rachel Roy, Sitka Chamber of Commerce and Kaleb Callahan, Kodiak Area Native Association.

If you've joined previous sessions, I hope you'll come help connect the dots. If you're new to the project, this is a great place to jump in. After all, as the saying goes, the future we measure is often the future we create.

Metrics: Measuring What Matters: Indicators of a Regenerative Outdoors

Tuesday, June 16Noon–1:30 p.m. Alaska Time Free and open to all

Please join us. Register now on Zoom.