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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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We present brief descriptions of all units, and reasons why they meet the definition of critical habitat for the slenderclaw crayfish, below.
Unit 1: Town Creek Unit 1 consists of 41.8 river mi 67.2
river km of Bengis and Town creeks in DeKalb County, Alabama. Unit 1
includes stream habitat up to bank full height, consisting of the headwaters of Bengis Creek to its confluence with Town Creek and upstream to the headwaters of Town Creek. Stream channels in and lands adjacent to Unit 1 are privately owned except for bridge crossings and road easements, which are owned by the State and County. The slenderclaw crayfish occupies all stream reaches in this unit, and the unit currently supports all breeding, feeding, and sheltering needs essential to the conservation of the slenderclaw crayfish.
Special management considerations or protection may be required for control and removal of introduced invasive species, including the nonnative virile crayfish, which occupies the boulder and cobble habitats and interstitial spaces within these habitats that the slenderclaw crayfish needs. At present, the virile crayfish is not present in this unit, although it has been documented just outside the watershed boundary.
However, based on future projections in the SSA report, the virile crayfish is expected to be present in the Town Creek watershed within the next 2
years.
In addition, special management considerations or protection may be required to address water withdrawals and drought as well as excess nutrients, sediment, and pollutants that enter the streams and serve as indicators of other forms of pollution, such as bacteria and toxins. A primary source of these types of pollution is agricultural runoff.
However, during recent survey efforts for the slenderclaw crayfish, water quality analysis found lead measurements in Bengis Creek that exceeded the acute and chronic aquatic life criteria set by EPA and ADEM, and elevated ammonia concentrations in Town Creek. Special management or protection may include moderating surface and ground water withdrawals, using best management practices to reduce sedimentation, and reducing watershed and floodplain disturbances that release pollutants and nutrients into the water.
Unit 2: Short Creek Subunit 2aShoal Creek and Short Creek: Subunit 2a consists of 10.3 river
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mi 16.6 river km of Scarham, Shoal, Short, and Whippoorwill Creeks in DeKalb and Marshall Counties, Alabama. Subunit 2a includes stream habitat up to bank full height, consisting of the headwaters of Shoal Creek to its confluence with Whippoorwill Creek, Whippoorwill Creek to its confluence with Scarham Creek, Scarham Creek to its confluence with Short Creek, and Short Creek downstream to the Guntersville Lake Tennessee Valley Authority project boundary. Stream channels in and lands adjacent to subunit 2a are privately owned except for bridge crossings and road easements, which are owned by the State and Counties. The slenderclaw crayfish occupies all stream reaches in this unit, and the unit currently supports all breeding, feeding, and sheltering needs essential to the conservation of the slenderclaw crayfish.
Special management considerations or protection may be required for control and removal of introduced invasive species, including the virile crayfish see Unit 1 discussion, above.
At present, the virile crayfish is present at sites in Short Creek and Drum Creek within the Short Creek watershed and just outside of the unit boundary in Guntersville Lake. Based on future projections in the SSA report, the virile crayfish is expected to be present in more tributaries within the Short Creek watershed within the next 2 to 5 years.
In addition, special management considerations or protection may be required to address water withdrawals and drought as well as excess nutrients, sediment, and pollutants that enter the streams and serve as indicators of other forms of pollution such as bacteria and toxins. A primary source of these types of pollution is agricultural runoff.
During recent survey efforts for the slenderclaw crayfish, water quality analysis indicated that impaired water quality due to nutrients, bacteria, and levels of atrazine may be of concern in the Short Creek watershed. Special management or protection may include moderating surface and ground water withdrawals, using best management practices to reduce sedimentation, and reducing watershed and floodplain disturbances that release pollutants and nutrients into the water.
Subunit 2bScarham-Laurel Creek:
Subunit 2b consists of 25.9 river mi 41.7 river km of Scarham-Laurel Creek in DeKalb and Marshall Counties, Alabama. Subunit 2b includes stream habitat up to bank full height, consisting of the headwaters of Scarham-Laurel Creek to its confluence with Short Creek. Stream channels in and lands adjacent to Subunit 2b are privately
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owned except for bridge crossings and road easements, which are owned by the State and Counties. The subunit is connected to Subunit 2a.
This subunit is unoccupied by the species but is considered to be essential for the conservation of the species.
Scarham-Laurel Creek is within the historical range of the slenderclaw crayfish but is not within the geographical range occupied by the species at the time of listing. The slenderclaw crayfish has not been documented at sites in Scarham-Laurel Creek in over 40 years, and we presume those historically occupied sites to be extirpated. Scarham-Laurel Creek is a small to medium, flowing stream with substrate consisting of boulder and cobble containing interstitial spaces for sheltering and breeding. Although it is currently unoccupied, this subunit contains some or all of the physical or biological features necessary for the conservation of the slenderclaw crayfish. This subunit possesses characteristics as described by physical or biological feature 1 geomorphically stable, small to medium, flowing streams with substrate consisting of boulder and cobble and intact riparian cover; physical or biological feature 2
seasonal water flows, or a hydrologic flow regime, necessary to maintain benthic habitats where the species is found and to maintain connectivity of streams; and physical or biological feature 4 prey base of aquatic macroinvertebrates and detritus.
Physical or biological feature 3
appropriate water and sediment quality is degraded in this subunit, and with appropriate management and restoration actions, this feature can be restored.
In terms of water quality, ScarhamLaurel Creek is in restorable condition, and is currently devoid of the virile crayfish. Water quality concerns have been documented within ScarhamLaurel Creek, causing it to be listed on Alabamas 303d list of impaired waters for impacts from pesticides, siltation, ammonia, low dissolved oxygen/organic enrichment, and pathogens from agricultural sources in 1998 ADEM
1996, p. 1. In 2004, Scarham Creek was removed from the 303d list after TMDLs were established ADEM 2002, p. 5; however, recent water quality analysis indicated that water quality was impaired within the Short Creek watershed in which Scarham-Laurel Creek is located Bearden et al. 2017, p.
32. When the water quality of ScarhamLaurel Creek is restored, the stream could be an area for population expansion within the Short Creek watershed, in that this subunit is
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