Democrat Rep. Geran Tarr of Anchorage is getting a hearing on her “equity” legislation aimed at marketing and paying for the great outdoors experiences to minorities in Alaska. House Concurrent Resolution 4 would have the governor establish an Office of Outdoor Equity, housed in the Department of Natural Resources.
Under Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and the Anchorage Assembly, an Equity Officer was established as a position in 2020 in Anchorage. It’s part of a growing national trend to move from “equal opportunity” to pushing minorities into whatever aspect of life is valued by the Left.
“HCR 4 reflects a nationwide desire to establish specific government initiatives to ensure that our public outdoor recreation areas are accessible, affordable, and safe for all Alaskans regardless of their backgrounds or income levels,” Tarr wrote in her summary. “However, despite an increasingly diverse population, minorities are still underrepresented in national forest visitation statistics. Research shows that this is not due to an inherent disinterest in the outdoors, but rather disparities in factors such as information distribution, perception of safety, and affordability.”
She believes minorities cannot afford kayaks, skis, and tents, for instance. Not to mention fat-tire bikes.
Tarr’s presentation to the House Resources Committee explains it here.
Tarr said that Alaska should formally examine the disparities in its outdoor outreach efforts by creating this new position, “to make accessibility to our parks, trails, ski slopes, cabins, and waters more equitable.”
Equity is one of the key components of Critical Race Theory. It’s a different concept than equal opportunity. With equity, there is a recognition that people don’t all start in the same place, so government must provide some people with more opportunity than others. In the Tarr outdoor equity bill, there would be grant funds made available for to achieve an undefined equity goal for Alaska’s park experiences.
Last year in California, nearly $58 million in taxpayer funds for outdoor equity were redistributed by the government under a program established by similar legislation in 2019. Read more here.
The Tarr bill was introduced in 2021 and referred to just one committee, the Natural Resources Committee, which set a hearing for 1 pm on Friday, March 4. Even though it calls for spending, it has no fiscal note and was not referred to House Finance. Supporting documents can be found at this link.
