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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 124 / Thursday, July 1, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
pattern, and profile, and natural sediment input to the system through periodic flooding, which maintains connectivity and interaction with the floodplain. Habitat instability is induced by changes in natural sediment or flow regimes, and by physical modifications to the stream channel or floodplain channel instability is discussed further under Factor A of the final listing rule.

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Summary of Essential Physical or Biological Features We have determined that the following physical or biological features are essential to the conservation of Suwannee moccasinshell:
1 Geomorphically stable stream channels channels that maintain lateral dimensions, longitudinal profiles, and sinuosity patterns over time without an aggrading or degrading bed elevation.
2 Stable substrates of muddy sand or mixtures of sand and gravel, and with little to no accumulation of unconsolidated sediments and low amounts of filamentous algae.
3 A natural hydrologic flow regime magnitude, frequency, duration, and seasonality of discharge over time necessary to maintain benthic habitats where the species is found, and connectivity of stream channels with the floodplain, allowing the exchange of nutrients and sediment for habitat maintenance, food availability, and spawning habitat for native fishes.
4 Water quality conditions needed to sustain healthy Suwannee moccasinshell populations, including low pollutant levels not less than State criteria, a natural temperature regime, pH between 6.0 to 8.5, adequate oxygen content not less than State criteria, hardness, turbidity, and other chemical characteristics necessary for normal behavior, growth, and viability of all life stages.
5 The presence of abundant fish hosts necessary for recruitment of the Suwannee moccasinshell. The presence of blackbanded darters Percina nigrofasciata and brown darters Etheostoma edwini will serve as an indication of fish host presence.
Special Management Considerations or Protection When designating critical habitat, we assess whether the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing contain features that are essential to the conservation of the species and which may require special management considerations or protection.
All three units that we are designating as critical habitat, including the unit
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that was occupied by the species at the time of listing, have mixed ownership of adjacent riparian lands, with mainly private 72 percent and State 27
percent lands Table 1. All Stateowned riparian lands are in Florida, and the majority are managed by Floridas Suwannee River Water Management District District. Tracts are managed to maintain adequate water supply and water quality for natural systems by preserving riparian habitats and restricting development SRWMD 2014, p. 3.
The District established minimum flows and levels for the lower Suwannee River, downstream of Fanning Springs and for the upper Santa Fe River.
Minimum flow and level criteria establish a limit at which further withdrawals would be detrimental to water resources, taking into consideration fish and wildlife habitats, the passage of fish, sediment loads, and water quality, among others SRWMD
2005, pp. 68; SRWMD 2007, entire. In addition, the Suwannee River and Santa Fe River systems have been designated Outstanding Florida Waters, which prevents the permitted discharge of pollutants that would lower existing water quality of, or significantly degrade, such waters. While these programs may indirectly alleviate some detrimental impacts on aquatic habitats, there currently are no plans or agreements designed specifically for the conservation of the Suwannee moccasinshell or for freshwater mussels in general.
The features essential to the conservation of the Suwannee moccasinshell may require special management considerations or protection to ameliorate the following threats: Altered flow regimes, nonpoint source pollution from stormwater runoff or infiltration, point source pollution from wastewater discharges or accidental releases, physical alterations to the stream channel for example, dredging, straightening, impounding, etc., and altered physical and chemical water quality parameters especially, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, and salinity.
Special management considerations or protection may be required within critical habitat areas to ameliorate these threats, and include but are not limited to: 1 Moderation of surface and ground water withdrawals; 2
improvement of the treatment of wastewater discharged from permitted facilities and the operation of those facilities; 3 reductions in pesticide and fertilizer use especially in groundwater recharge areas and near stream channels; 4 use of best management
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practices designed to reduce sedimentation, erosion, and stream bank alteration; 5 protection and restoration of riparian buffers; and 6 avoidance of physical alterations to stream channels and adjacent floodplains. This list applies only to Federal actions see the Application of the Adverse Modification Standard below for more information.
Criteria Used To Identify Critical Habitat As required by section 4b2 of the Act, we use the best scientific data available to designate critical habitat. In accordance with the Act and our implementing regulations at 50 CFR
424.12b, we review available information pertaining to the habitat requirements of the species and identify specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing and any specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species to be considered for designation as critical habitat. As discussed in more detail below, we are designating critical habitat in areas within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing. We also are designating specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing because we have determined that a designation limited to occupied areas would be inadequateand therefore designation of unoccupied areas is essentialto ensure the conservation of the species.
On December 16, 2020, we published a final rule in the Federal Register 85
FR 81411 adding a definition of habitat to our regulations for purposes of critical habitat designations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended Act. This rule became effective on January 15, 2021 and only applies to critical habitat rules for which a proposed rule was published after January 15, 2021. Consequently, this new regulation does not apply to this final rule.
The current distribution of the species is much reduced from its historical range. We anticipate that recovery will require continued protection of the existing population and its habitat, as well as reintroduction of Suwannee moccasinshell into historically occupied areas, ensuring there are multiple viable populations and that they occur over a wide geographic area. Range-wide recovery considerations, such as maintaining existing genetic diversity and striving for representation of all major portions of the species current range, were considered in formulating the critical habitat.

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