The Canning River, seen here in 2018, flows from the Brooks Range into the Beaufort Sea along the western edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The sole tract that Regenerate Alaska acquired in the 2021 lease sale — and has now relinquished, lies along the Canning River.
The Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management offered leases covering about 1.1 million acres in the Jan. 6, 2021, lease sale. Thirteen bids were received and ultimately nine leases were issued. Regenerate Alaska’s exit leaves just the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and an Anchorage real estate investor, Knik Arm Services, as the only ANWR leaseholders. AIDEA, a state-owned economic development corporation, has seven leases and Knik Arm Services has a single lease.