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

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the Riverside fairy shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni), pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). A total of approximately 2,790 hectares (6,870 acres) in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties, California, is designated as critical habitat. Critical habitat identifies specific areas that have the physical and biological features 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 Riverside fairy shrimp are those habitat components that are essential for the primary biological needs of foraging, sheltering, reproduction, and dispersal. Critical habitat for the Riverside fairy shrimp includes those areas possessing one or more of the primary constituent elements. Section 7 of the Act prohibits 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 solicited data and comments from the public on all aspects of the proposed rule and economic analysis. We revised the proposal to incorporate or address new information received during the comment periods.