The stipulations that apply to Alternative A are ones that historically have been applied to permits for seismic or other activities not related to oil and gas. These stipulations also apply to alternatives B through E. Alternatives B through E make progressively 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. Specific stipulations, such as restrictions on where and how oil facilities can be sited, are provided for caribou protection under Alternatives D and E, which make important caribou habitat available for leasing.
Several alternatives recommend creation of specially designated areas.
Areas around Teshekpuk Lake and the Colville River were designated as Special Areas in 1977. Under some of the alternatives, BLM would recommend that the Secretary designate lands along the Ikpikpuk River important for their paleontological values as a Special Area and that the Secretary add the Pik Dunes, an unusual feature in the planning area of importance for caribou, to the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area. In several alternatives, BLM proposes to work with nearby landowners, including the State and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, to create a Bird Conservation Area under the Partners in Flight Program. This designation would highlight consideration of this habitat for land managers. Should a new Special Area, a Wild and Scenic River, or a Bird Conservation Area, result from the plan, BLM would draft specific plans or studies for these areas.