As I write this, Alaska Business is currently in the process of looking for a new social media manager; our current very special specialist, Arie Henry, is taking the next step in his personal and professional development. We’re also saying goodbye to the exceptional Linda Shogren, who has been doing art production for Alaska Business Publishing Co. for more than a decade and worked in art production for various Alaska media outlets for years and years before that.

We’re excited for them because it’s the right time, and the right move, for them—but they’re both leaving really big desks to fill. We’re going to miss their insights and their expertise, and we will be grateful for years to come for the foundation that they built for those who follow in their footsteps.

This month we’re running our annual Natural Resource Special Section, which is full of examples of projects envisioned, initiated, and implemented by individuals long gone. It’s impossible to imagine Alaska today without the pioneering work of Alaska’s early miners and loggers, and of course, fishing has been an integral part of Alaskans’ wellbeing for an uncountable number of years.

All of these natural resources contribute to the general economic health of the state, but what I love in particular about them is their direct, essential impact on individual communities.

Alaska’s roughly $14 billion in economic output attributed to our seafood industry matters to all of us, yet who’s on the boat bringing home the catch matters even more in coastal villages. The health and long-term vitality of Alaska’s forested areas are of national and international concern—and local, sustainable logging and milling efforts provide housing to those in need in Yakutat. And while the mining industry paid $341 million in revenue to local governments, state government, and Alaska Native corporations in 2020, it’s the individual paychecks issued across the state that really connect Alaskans and industry.

Alaska’s natural resource development has defined our state’s past and will continue to play a massive role in its future. What’s important is that the players in these industries continue to grow, expand, and innovate, using new tech and implementing higher standards to all kinds of processes. Regulations, permitting, and management plans are essential tools to ensure we’re operating safely and responsibly today—and that we have a beautiful, accessible, and clean Alaska to operate in tomorrow.

Alaska can be the answer to global demands, providing minerals and materials necessary for, well, kind of everything: clean burning coal; high-quality lumber; wild-caught, nutrient packed fish; humanely mined copper, gold, silver, and zinc. The applications of just that list are close to endless, and there’s more at our fingertips.