LOPs were developed by the Science Advisory Team (SAT)  as a means of distinguishing between the ecosystem impacts of allowed uses proposed by stakeholders in different kinds of MPAs. Proposed allowed uses were reviewed by the SAT and assigned one of six LOPs, ranging from “very high” to “low.”. These LOPs were
then used to group MPAs in several different analyses, including SAT evaluations of habitat representation, habitat replication, MPA size, and MPA spacing.