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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 18, 2021 / Rules and Regulations of the physical or biological features that are essential to support life-history processes of the species.
The critical habitat designation is defined by the maps, as modified by any accompanying regulatory text, presented at the end of this document under Regulation Promulgation. We include more detailed information on the boundaries of the critical habitat designation in the preamble of this document. We will make the coordinates or plot points or both on which each map is based available to the public on http
www.regulations.gov at Docket No.
FWSR2ES20200048 and on our internet site at https www.fws.gov/
southwest/es/AustinTexas/ESA_Sp_
Salamanders.html.

Final Critical Habitat Designation We are designating as critical habitat nine units for the Georgetown salamander and seven units for the Salado salamander. In Tables 1 and 2
below, we present the critical habitat units for the Georgetown and Salado salamanders. All units are considered occupied by the relevant species at the time of listing. We also provide unit descriptions for all Georgetown and Salado salamander critical habitat units.
The critical habitat areas we describe below constitute our current best assessment of subsurface and surface areas that meet the definition of critical habitat for the Georgetown and Salado salamanders. During periods of drought or dewatering on the surface in and
around spring sites, access to the subsurface water table must be provided for shelter and protection. Surface critical habitat includes the spring outlets and outflow up to the high water line and 262 ft 80 m of downstream habitat, but does not include terrestrial habitats or human-made structures such as buildings, aqueducts, runways, roads, and other paved areas and the land on which they are located existing within the legal boundaries on the effective date of this rule see DATES, above or land adjacent to streams;
however, the subterranean aquifer may extend below such structures. The subsurface critical habitat includes underground features in a circle with a radius of 984 ft 300 m around the springs.

TABLE 1CRITICAL HABITAT UNITS FOR THE GEORGETOWN SALAMANDER
Critical habitat unit 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Land ownership by type
Water Tank Cave Unit
Hogg Hollow Spring Unit
Cedar Hollow Spring Unit
Lake Georgetown Unit
Buford Hollow Spring Unit
Swinbank Spring Unit
Avant Spring Unit
Shadow Canyon Spring Unit
Garey Ranch Spring Unit

Private
Private, Federal
Private
Federal, Private
Federal, Private
City, Private
Private
City, Private
Private

Total

Size of unit in acres hectares 68
122
68
134
68
68
68
68
68

28
49
28
54
28
28
28
28
28

732 299

Note: Area sizes may not sum due to rounding. Area estimates reflect all land within critical habitat unit boundaries.

TABLE 2CRITICAL HABITAT UNITS FOR THE SALADO SALAMANDER
Critical habitat unit
Land ownership by type
1. Hog Hollow Spring Unit
2. Solana Spring Unit
3. Cistern Spring Unit

Size of unit in acres hectares
Excluded under section 4b2 of the Act.
Excluded under section 4b2 of the Act.
Excluded under section 4b2 of the Act.

4. IH35 Unit
5. Kings Garden Main Spring Unit
6. Cobbs Spring Unit
7. Cowan Creek Spring Unit
8. Walnut Spring Unit
9. Twin Springs Unit
10. Bat Well Cave Unit

Private, State, City
Private
Private
Private
Private, County
Private, County
Private

Total

175
68
68
68
68
68
68

71
28
28
28
28
28
28

583 239

Note: Area sizes may not sum due to rounding. Area estimates reflect all land within critical habitat unit boundaries.

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Georgetown Salamander Critical habitat units for the Georgetown salamander may require special management because of the potential for groundwater pollution from current and future development in the watershed, present operations and future expansion of quarrying activities, depletion of groundwater, and other
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threats see Special Management Considerations or Protection, above. All units are occupied by the Georgetown salamander. The designation includes the spring outlets and outflow up to the high-water mark and 262 ft 80 m of upstream and downstream habitat.
Units are further delineated by drawing a circle with a radius of 984 ft 300 m
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around the spring, representing the extent of the subterranean critical habitat. For cave populations of the Georgetown salamander, the unit is delineated by drawing a circle with a radius of 984 ft 300 m around the underground location of the salamanders, representing the extent of the subsurface critical habitat.

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