Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Designation of Critical Habitat for Four Vernal Pool Crustaceans and Eleven Vernal Pool Plants in California and Southern Oregon; Re-evaluation of Non-Economic Exclusions From August 2003 Final Designation

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), confirm the non- economic exclusions made to our previous final rule (August 6, 2003, 68 FR 46683, effective September 5, 2003), which designated critical habitat pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for 4 vernal pool crustaceans and 11 vernal pool plants. A total of approximately 1,184,513 ac (479,356 ha) of land falls within the boundaries of designated critical habitat. This estimate reflects exclusion of: Lands within the boundaries of Habitat Conservation Plans, National Wildlife Refuge lands and National fish hatchery lands (33,097 ac (13,394 ha)), State lands within ecological reserves and wildlife management areas (20,933 ac (8,471 ha)), Department of Defense lands within Beale and Travis Air Force Bases as well as Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts Army installations (64,259 ac (26,005 ha)), Tribal lands managed by the Mechoopda Tribe (644 ac (261 ha)), and the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve (10,200 ac (4,128 ha)) from the final designation. The area estimate does not reflect the exclusion of lands within the California counties of Butte, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, and Solano, which are excluded from the final designation pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of the Act and pending further analysis as directed by the October 29, 2004, order by the court. This critical habitat designation requires us to consult under section 7 of the Act with regard to actions authorized, funded, or carried out by a Federal agency. Section 4 of the Act requires us to consider economic and other relevant impacts when specifying any particular area as critical habitat. We solicited data and comments from the public on all aspects of the proposed rule, including data on economic and other impacts of the designation.