Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Determination of Critical Habitat for the Spectacled Eider

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri), a threatened species listed pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Critical habitat for the spectacled eider includes areas on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta), in Norton Sound, Ledyard Bay, and the Bering Sea between St. Lawrence and St. Matthew Islands. These areas total approximately 10,098,827 hectares (100,988.3 square kilometers; 38,991.6 square miles; 24,954,638 acres). 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. 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.