Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Designation of Critical Habitat for the Spikedace and the Loach Minnow

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for the spikedace (Meda fulgida) and the loach minnow (Tiaroga (= Rhinichthys) cobitis). We are designating occupied and unoccupied habitat that is essential for the recovery of these two species. We are designating as critical habitat a total of approximately 1,448 kilometers (km) (898 miles (mi)) of rivers and creeks for the two species. All of the total area is designated as critical habitat for the loach minnow, and approximately 1,302 km (807 mi) of that area is also designated as critical habitat for the spikedace. Critical habitat includes portions of the Gila, San Francisco, Blue, Black, Verde, and San Pedro Rivers, and some of their tributaries, in Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai Counties in Arizona; and Catron, Grant, and Hidalgo Counties in New Mexico. Critical habitat includes the stream channels within the identified stream reaches and areas within these reaches potentially inundated by high flow events. These habitat areas provide for the physiological, behavioral, and ecological features (primary constituent elements) essential for the conservation of the spikedace and the loach minnow. Federal agencies proposing, authorizing, or funding actions that may affect the areas designated as critical habitat must consult with us on the effects of the proposed actions, pursuant to section 7(a)(2) of the Act.