The Alaska Department of Natural Resources‘ Division of Oil and Gas has issued a final written finding for the Cook Inlet Areawide Oil and Gas Lease Sales from 2019-2028, declaring that “the potential benefits of lease sales outweigh the possible negative effects,” and that the lease sales are in the best interests of the state. The proposed sale area totals 3.9 million acres that includes 2.2 million acres of uplands in the Matanuska and Susitna River valleys and 1.7 million acres of tide and submerged lands in upper Cook Inlet from Knik Arm south to Anchor Point and Tuxedni Bay. There are 815 tracts ranging in size from 640 to 5,760 acres. The state is the predominant landowner in the sale area.