Oct 18 (Reuters) - An Alaska state agency on Wednesday sued the Biden administration over its decision to cancel oil and gas leases in the state’s North Slope, one of the country's largest reserves of pristine federal land. Interior Department’s Sept. 6 decision to scrap seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s 19 million-acre (7.7 million-hectare) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area that is acutely vulnerable to climate change and home to grizzly and polar bears, herds of moose and snowy owls. The canceled leases were sold during the waning days of the Trump administration following a decades-long effort by Alaska officials to open up drilling in the refuge and bolster the state's petroleum-reliant economy. The state agency emerged as the sole bidder for most of the acreage after major oil and gas companies chose to skip the sale in 2020, which generated around $14.4 million. The two other entities that won leases at the 2020 sale withdrew from their holdings in 2022.

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Persons: ”, Mike Dunleavy, Trump, Clark Mindock, Alexia Garamfalvi, Jamie Freed Organizations: Wednesday, Biden, Washington , D.C, U.S . Interior, Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Industrial Development, Export Authority, U.S, District of Columbia, Republican, U.S . Interior Department, Department, Thomson Locations: Alaska, Washington ,, U.S, Alaska’s, Republican Alaska, North