Outdoor activities are increasingly popular across the United States, and the Chilkat Valley is no exception. A wide variety of outdoor activities are available: Cross-country skiing, backpacking, backcountry skiing, hiking, bird watching, kayaking, wild ice skating, snowmachine terrain, fishing, hunting, foraging and just marveling at the pristine wilderness.
HEDC is seeking to grow the outdoor recreation economy for locals and visitors in the “Adventure Capital of Alaska’, while investing in our main streets and conserving forests and natural lands. As part of that goal, HEDC was the lead local contact for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) grant, of which Haines was one of five communities selected in the United States.
After hours of meetings during 2023, HEDC and local governments and nonprofits nailed down priorities and visions for how to grow Haines’ outdoor recreation economy. The meetings culminated in a report outlining next steps.
Since the release of the report, HEDC and other partners have continued to work on implementing goals of the projects by developing an outdoor recreation guide and coordinating the Chilkat Valley Outdoor Initiative.
Encouraging growth on main streets while promoting outdoor recreation can help foster community revitalization, protect air and water quality, create jobs and support economic diversification, and offer new opportunities for people to connect with the natural world.
See our video:
Read more on how the Recreation Economy for Haines Alaska came to be: Recreation Economy for Rural Communities | US EPA
Slides from the workshop held in Haines in March 2023