Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service
We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate 137 areas along the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas as critical habitat for the wintering population of the piping plover (Charadrius melodus). This includes approximately 2,891.7 kilometers (km) (1,798.3 miles (mi)) of mapped shoreline and approximately 66,881 hectares (ha) (165,211 acres (ac)) of mapped area along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and along margins of interior bays, inlets, and lagoons. The population of piping plovers that breeds in the Great Lakes States is listed as endangered, while all other piping plovers are threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). All piping plovers are considered threatened species under the Act when on their wintering grounds. Critical habitat identifies specific areas that are essential to the conservation of a listed species, and that may require special management considerations or protection. The primary constituent elements for the piping plover wintering habitat are those habitat components that are essential for the primary biological needs of foraging, sheltering, and roosting, and only those areas containing these primary constituent elements within the designated boundaries are considered critical habitat. The primary constituent elements are found in coastal areas that support intertidal beaches and flats (between annual low tide and annual high tide) and associated dune systems and flats above annual high tide. Section 7 of the Act requires Federal agencies to ensure that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to adversely modify designated critical habitat. As required by section 4 of the Act, we considered economic and other relevant impacts prior to making a final decision on what areas to designate as critical habitat.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 RIN 1018-AG13 AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate 137 areas along the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas as critical habitat for the wintering population of the piping plover ( Charadrius melodus ). This includes approximately 2,891.7 kilometers (km) (1,798.3 miles (mi)) of mapped shoreline and approximately 66,881 hectares (ha) (165,211 acres (ac)) of mapped area along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and along margins of interior bays, inlets, and lagoons. The population of piping plovers that breeds in the Great Lakes States is listed as endangered, while all other piping plovers are threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). All piping plovers are considered threatened species under the Act when on their wintering grounds. Critical habitat identifies specific areas that are essential to the conservation of a listed species, and that may require special management considerations or protection. The primary constituent elements for the piping plover wintering habitat are those habitat components that are essential for the primary biological needs of foraging, sheltering, and roosting, and only those areas containing these primary constituent elements within the designated boundaries are considered critical habitat. The…
Citation: 66 FR 36038
