Why a 10-Year Vision for Alaska’s Outdoors Must Be Built Together
- Lee Hart
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
Co‑creating a regenerative outdoors: A 10‑year vision for Alaska
This September 23–25 in Kodiak, the 10th Annual Confluence Summit brings together Alaska Native communities, Indigenous organizations, outdoor industry leaders, conservationists, and public land managers to co-create a 10-year vision for regenerative outdoors in Alaska.
Why this matters for Alaska Native peoples
Cultural stewardship – Indigenous communities bolster influence over land-use decisions, ensuring cultural values, traditional place names, and time-honored stewardship practices are honored and embedded in policy.
Economic opportunity – As co-creators of Alaska’s outdoor future, Native-owned businesses, guides, and cultural tourism ventures can secure new funding, markets, and equitable access to public‐land resources.
Health and food security – Inclusive recreation policy supports subsistence practices and ensures healthy communities through improved access to traditional foods and culturally relevant trails.
Why non‑Native outdoor industry leaders should attend
Shared resilience – Collaboration with Indigenous leaders builds a stronger, more culturally aware outdoor economy—resilient to regulatory shifts, climate change, and federal funding uncertainty.
Innovation through diversity – Equitable dialogue sparks fresh solutions for sustainable infrastructure, trail networks, and wildlife-based tourism that benefit all stakeholders.
Funding and policy leverage – Unified priorities—articulated through this cross-sector gathering—can unlock regional, state, and federal funding and policy support for projects that bridge recreation, conservation, and community wellbeing.
Confluence isn’t just a conference—it’s a hands-on planning action. Participants will roll up their sleeves and develop shared goals across sectors — from subsistence rights and ecosystem restoration to business growth and access-enhancing trails.
Join us in Kodiak to shape an outdoors future that’s regenerative, inclusive, and rooted in Alaska’s cultural richness—ensuring lasting benefits for Native communities, the broader outdoor industry, and future generations.
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