The BLM wanted the public's thoughts on all the options offered in the draft document before it selected a specific plan. Comments received during the public comment period were considered in development of the Preferred Alternative.
Some elements are common to several alternatives.
Stipulations would be imposed on authorized activities under all of the alternatives. The stipulations which apply to Alternative A are ones that have been applied historically to permits for seismic and other non-oil and gas related activities. These stipulations also apply to Alternatives B through E. Alternatives B through E progressively make more lands available for oil and gas leasing. Consequently, stipulations are added to the alternatives to mitigate impacts from the increasingly larger area and numbers and kinds of resources potentially impacted by development. For example, relatively few stipulations specifically protect caribou from oil and gas exploration and development under Alternatives A through C, because the most important caribou habitat is not made available under those alternatives.