By Josh Church, Candidate for Lieutenant Governor
My family came to Alaska in 1935.
As I write this, I am looking at a family history book. On one page is a line that reads, “The New Home of John Church and Paul Nelson,” with the Matanuska Valley circled.
In May of 1935, my ancestors boarded a train headed west. They traveled to Seattle and then set sail for Alaska. Like hundreds of other families during the Great Depression, they came north because the territory was opening land and opportunity to people willing to work and build a life.
The Matanuska Colony was part of a bold idea. America was struggling through the Depression, and leaders believed Alaska could offer a new start. Families were offered land and the chance to build farms and communities from the ground up.
And they did.
Those families built homes, raised children, and helped create the Alaska we know today.
But somewhere along the way, Alaska stopped thinking about growth.
Today, our population has stalled and in some places is declining. Young families leave for opportunities elsewhere. Businesses face high costs and heavy regulation. Instead of planning for growth, we spend most of our time managing decline.
A big part of the problem is land.
Roughly 99 percent of the land in Alaska is controlled by federal, state agencies or large corporations, leaving very little available for individuals and small businesses. For many Alaskans, the dream of owning an affordable piece of land to build a cabin, start a farm, or launch a business has become increasingly difficult.
That needs to change.
Alaska should once again be a place where people come north to build a future. We should be expanding land sales and land leases so families can build homes, farmers can start operations, and entrepreneurs can start businesses. Land should also be available for mining, timber, energy development, and industries that can grow Alaska’s economy.
Imagine what could happen if we sold just one percent of Alaska’s land over the next twenty years.
If that land sold for even $1,000 per acre, far below the value of many parcels, it could generate roughly $200 million per year in direct revenue to the state. When you consider the construction, equipment purchases, and new businesses that follow land development, the economic activity created could easily add another $400 million each year.
That would mean about $600 million in total economic impact annually, or roughly $12 billion in economic activity over two decades.
But the impact goes beyond numbers.
New landowners build homes. They start businesses. Families move in. Communities grow.
Growth also helps address problems we constantly debate in Alaska.
Take education. Our school funding system is based largely on the number of students enrolled. When enrollment declines, districts lose money and force conversations about school closures, program cuts, or layoffs. Buildings sit half empty, and budgets get tighter every year.
A growing population changes that conversation.
Growth also strengthens the broader economy. Alaska needs more workers, more entrepreneurs, and more families putting down roots. A shrinking state cannot sustain the future we want.
Opening land is only one part of the solution.
We also need to reduce unnecessary regulations that make it harder to start businesses or build projects in Alaska. We need to develop cheaper so families and businesses are not paying some of the highest power costs in the country. We should be encouraging industries like mining, timber, energy development, and even new technologies like data centers.
We should also continue improving how we manage the Alaska Permanent Fund. Even modest improvements in investment returns or reductions in fees could produce hundreds of millions of dollars in additional value for the state over time.
But the biggest change we need is a change in mindset.
For much of Alaska’s history, our leaders believed in growth. They believed the future of this state depended on people coming here to build lives and communities.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped thinking that way.
Alaska should not be a place where people are leaving. It should be a place people are moving to.
My family came here in 1935 because Alaska was open to them. They were given the chance to build a life and a future.
That opportunity should still exist today.
It is time to open Alaska again.
Bronsonchurch.com
Josh Church is a Fairbanks resident, a financial adviser rep, and a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, running alongside Candidate for Governor Dave Bronson.
This op-ed was voluntarily submitted by the Bronson-Church campaign and not solicited by Must Read Alaska. All candidates running for elected office are welcome and encouraged to submit articles for publication. Must Read Alaska unequivocally supports the election of a conservative candidate to the Office of Governor but does not endorse a particular candidate.
