Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation and Nondesignation of Critical Habitat on Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe for 135 Species
endangered-species · US Fish and Wildlife Service · Published 2016-03-30 · Effective 2016-04-29 · 81 FR 17790
Document
Document number
2016-06069
Federal Register citation
81 FR 17790
CFR reference
50 CFR 17
Type
Rule
Action
Final rule.
Category
endangered-species
Sub-agency
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Publication date
2016-03-30
Effective date
2016-04-29
Interior docket
Docket No. FWS-R1-ES-2015-0071
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, designate or revise critical habitat for 125 listed species on the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Kahoolawe in the State of Hawaii. We are designating critical habitat for 50 plant and animal species, and revising critical habitat for 85 plant species. In total, approximately 157,002 acres (ac) (63,537 hectares (ha)) on the islands of Molokai, Maui, and Kahoolawe fall within the boundaries of the critical habitat designation. Although we proposed critical habitat on 25,413 ac (10,284 ha) on the island of Lanai, this area is excluded from final designation under section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act. In addition, under section 4(b)(2), approximately 59,479 ac (24,070 ha) on the islands of Maui and Molokai are excluded from critical habitat designation. These exclusions mean that we are not designating critical habitat for 10 of the species included in our proposed rule. We also removed 29,170 ac (11,805 ha) of areas we determined do not meet the definition of critical habitat. In this final rule, we accept name changes or corrections for 10 endangered plants and 2 endangered birds. The effect of this rule is to conserve these 125 species and their habitats under the Endangered Species Act.