Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Riverside Fairy Shrimp

Résumé

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, propose designation of critical habitat for the Riverside fairy shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni), pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. We propose designation of critical habitat within an approximately 4,880-hectare (12,060-acre) area in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties, California. Critical habitat identifies specific areas that are essential to the conservation of a listed species and may require special management considerations or protection. The primary constituent elements for the Riverside fairy shrimp are those habitat components that are essential for the primary biological needs of foraging, sheltering, reproduction, and dispersal. If this proposed rule is made final, section 7 of the Act would prohibit destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat by any activity funded, authorized, or carried out by any Federal agency. Section 4 of the Act requires us to consider economic and other impacts of specifying any particular area as critical habitat. We solicit data and comments from the public on all aspects of this proposal, including data on the economic and other impacts of