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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 28, 2021 / Proposed Rules
definition of critical habitat for the Penasco least chipmunk. The three distinct units we propose as critical habitat are: 1 Nogal Peak, 2 Crest Trail, and 3 Sierra Blanca. Two of the units are currently occupied by the subspecies and the occupancy status by the subspecies of one of the units is currently unknown but contains the
physical and biological features and is essential to the conservation of the subspecies. All units proposed may require special management considerations or protection to address stressors associated with managing prescribed and wildland fire, road management and maintenance, development and use around Ski
Apache Resort, feral hog management, and plague management. Table 4, below, shows the proposed units names, land ownership, and approximate area. Land ownership is predominantly Federal. Unit 3 consists of Federal and Tribal lands.

TABLE 4PROPOSED CRITICAL HABITAT UNITS FOR THE PEN ASCO LEAST CHIPMUNK
Area of unit, in hectares, acres
Critical habitat unit
Occupied at the time of listing
Ownership
Unit 1. Nogal Peak

Yes

Federal

393 972

Unit 2. Crest Trail

No

Federal

910 2,249

Unit 3. Sierra Blanca

Yes

Federal; Tribal

1,357 3,353

Total
100%, 393 hectares, 972 acres.
89.5%, 814 hectares, 2,011 acres.
56.9%, 772 hectares, 1,098 acres.

Overlap with Lincoln National Forest wilderness area 100%, 393 hectares, 972 acres.
100%, 910 hectares, 2,249 acres.
17.2%, 234 hectares, 577 acres.

2,660 6,574

Unit 1: Nogal Peak, New Mexico Unit 1 consists of approximately 393
hectares 972 acres of subalpine habitat within the Lincoln National Forest Wilderness Area and is occupied. This unit is within the critical habitat designation in Lincoln County, New Mexico, for the Mexican spotted owl, which is listed as a threatened species under the Act. Elevation ranges approximately 2,5703,031 m 8,432
9,944 ft above mean sea level MSL.
Mean elevation in Unit 1 is 2,772 m 9,094 ft with a standard deviation of 70 meters 230 ft. Approximately 79
percent of Unit 1 is classified as grassforb mix or Gambel oak. Unit 1 contains all the physical or biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species; it is within the White Mountains, between elevations of 2,5003,597 meters 8,20011,800 feet, with rock outcrops and talus, and 79
percent of the unit is characterized by meadow/grassland community within opening of spruce-fir forests. This unit is federally owned by the U.S. Forest Service; it is 100 percent within the Lincoln National Forest Wilderness Area. Threats to the unit include forest encroachment into the open meadows, grazing, and destruction of habitat by nonnative species feral hogs; these can be ameliorated through prescribed fire and forest management to maintain the open subalpine meadows with native vegetation, continued closure of the encompassing Forest Service allotment to grazing, and feral hog management.
Unit 2: Crest Trail, New Mexico Unit 2 consists of approximately 910
hectares 2,249 acres of subalpine
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Area of overlap with Mexican spotted owl designated critical habitat
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habitat. Although it is considered unoccupied, Unit 2 contains the physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the species and serves as a connectivity corridor between Unit 1 and Unit 3. Due to the location between Units 1 and 3 and the overall suitability of the habitat, it is possible the Penasco least chipmunk is present in the unoccupied unit;
however, with no confirmed records, we are treating it as unoccupied for purposes of this designation.
Approximately 89 percent of this unit is within the critical habitat designation for the Mexican spotted owl in Lincoln County, New Mexico. This unit is federally owned by the U.S. Forest Service and is 100 percent within the Lincoln National Forest Wilderness Area. Elevation ranges approximately 2,6213,292 m 8,59910,800 ft above MSL. Mean elevation in Unit 2 is 2,876
m 9,436 ft with a standard deviation of 139 meters 456 ft. Approximately 44
percent of Unit 2 is classified as grassforb mix or Gambel oak. Unit 2 contains all the physical or biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species; it is within the White Mountains, between elevations of 2,5003,597 meters 8,20011,800 feet, with rock outcrops and talus, and 44
percent of the unit is characterized by meadow/grassland community within openings of spruce-fir forests.
Unit 3: Sierra Blanca, New Mexico Unit 3 includes approximately 1,357
hectares 3,353 acres of subalpine habitat, contains the physical or biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species, and is
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known to be occupied. The proportion of Unit 3 located on Mescalero Tribal lands is approximately 581 hectares 1,435 acres or 43 percent. The unit contains the Ski Apache Resort; the land is owned by the U.S. Forest Service, but managed under a permit by the Mescalero Apache Tribe. The resort occupies 543 hectares 1,431 acres, 40
percent of the unit. The remaining 17
percent is U.S. Forest Service land, part of the Lincoln National Forest Wilderness Area. Approximately 57
percent of the unit is also Mexican spotted owl critical habitat in Lincoln and Otero Counties, New Mexico.
Elevation ranges approximately 2,763
3,638 m 9,06511,936 ft above MSL.
Mean elevation in Unit 3 is 3,219 m 10,561 ft with a standard deviation of 145 m 476 ft. Approximately 52
percent of Unit 3 is classified as grassforb mix or Gambel oak. Unit 3 contains all the physical or biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species; it is within the White Mountains, between elevations of 2,5003,597 meters 8,20011,800 feet, with rock outcrops and talus, and 52
percent of the unit is characterized by meadow/grassland community within openings of spruce-fir forests. Threats to the unit include forest encroachment into the open meadows, recreation, development, land use, and land management, grazing, and destruction of habitat by nonnative species feral hogs; these can be ameliorated through prescribed fire and forest management to maintain the open subalpine meadows with native vegetation, continued closure of the encompassing
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