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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 18, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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aquifer conditions, with temperatures from 61 to 84 F 16 to 29 C, dissolved oxygen concentrations from 5 to 13 mg/
L, and specific water conductance from 317 to 814 mS/cm.
B Subsurface spaces. Voids between rocks underground are large enough to provide salamanders with cover, shelter, and foraging habitat. These spaces have minimal sedimentation.
C Aquatic invertebrates for food. The habitat is capable of supporting an aquatic invertebrate community that includes crustaceans, insects, and aquatic snails.
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 which are essential to the conservation of the species and which may require special management considerations or protection. The features essential to the conservation of these species may require special management considerations or protection to reduce the following threats: Water quality degradation from contaminants, alteration to natural flow regimes, and physical habitat modification.
The areas designated for critical habitat include both surface and subsurface critical habitat components.
The surface critical habitat includes the spring outlets and outflow up to the high water line and 150 ft 80 m of downstream habitat, but does not include human-made structures such as buildings, aqueducts, runways, roads, and other paved areas; nor does it include upland habitat adjacent to streams. However, the subterranean aquifer may extend below such structures beneath the surface habitat.
The subsurface critical habitat includes underground features in a circle with a radius of 984 ft 300 m around the springs. Most of designated critical habitat is a subsurface designation and only includes the physical area beneath any buildings on the surface.
We detailed threats to surface and subsurface habitats under A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of Its Habitat or Range in the final listing rule for the Georgetown and Salado salamanders 79 FR 10236, February 24, 2014, pp. 79 FR 1025810279. The Georgetown and Salado salamanders are sensitive to modification of surface i.e., spring openings and outflow and subsurface habitats. Due to the connectivity between the surface and subsurface habitats, an impact to one
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will affect the other. Examples of surface habitat modifications may include but are not limited to damage to spring openings, sedimentation due to construction activities, and installation of impoundments. Examples of impacts to subsurface habitat may include but are not limited to pipeline construction, replacement, and maintenance; excavation for construction or quarrying; and groundwater depletion that can reduce spring flow. The depth of the subsurface habitat will vary from site to site.
For these salamanders, special management considerations or protections may be needed to address identified threats. Management activities that could ameliorate threats to surface habitat include but are not limited to: 1 Protecting the quality of cave and spring water by implementing comprehensive programs to control and reduce point sources and non-point sources of pollution throughout the Northern Segment of the Edwards Aquifer; 2 minimizing the likelihood of pollution events or surface runoff from existing and future development that would affect groundwater quality;
3 protecting groundwater and spring flow quantity for example, by implementing water conservation and drought contingency plans throughout the Northern Segment of the Edwards Aquifer; 4 protecting water quality and quantity from present and future quarrying; 5 excluding cattle and feral hogs from spring openings and outflow through fencing to protect spring habitats from damage; and 6 fencing and signage to protect spring habitats from human vandalism. Some of the management activities listed above, such as those that protect spring flow and groundwater quality, protect both surface and subsurface habitats, as these are interconnected.
Additional management activities that could ameliorate threats that are specific to subsurface habitat include but are not limited to: 1 The development and implementation of void mitigation plans for construction projects to prevent impacts to salamanders in the event of severed aquifer conduits or interrupted groundwater flow paths; 2
site-specific plans developed by geotechnical engineers to prevent changes to subsurface water flow from construction activities; 3 the presence of environmental monitors during construction, excavation, and drilling activities to monitor spring flow; and 4
post-construction monitoring of spring flow. Because subsurface habitat differs with regard to groundwater flow paths, depth, and amount of water-bearing rocks with voids that can support
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salamanders, management, and mitigation plans to ameliorate threats will need to be developed on a sitespecific basis.
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. During our preparation for designating critical habitat for the two salamander species, we reviewed: 1 Data for historical and current occurrence; 2 information pertaining to habitat features essential for the conservation of these species;
and 3 scientific information on the biology and ecology of the two species.
We have also reviewed a number of studies and surveys of the two salamander species that confirm historical and current occurrence of the two species including, but not limited to, Sweet 1978; 1982, Russell 1993, Warton 1997, City of Austin COA2001, Chippindale et al. 2000, Hillis et al. 2001, and Devitt et al.
2019. Finally, salamander site locations and observations were verified with the aid of salamander biologists, museum collection records, and site visits.
We are not designating any additional areas outside the geographical area occupied by these species because we have determined that occupied areas are sufficient to conserve the Georgetown and Salado salamanders, although we acknowledge that other areas, such as the recharge zone of the aquifers supporting salamander locations, are very important to the conservation of the species. This critical habitat designation delineates the habitat that is physically occupied and used by the species rather than delineating all land or aquatic areas that influence the species. We also recognize that there may be additional occupied areas outside of the areas designated as critical habitat that we are not aware of at the time of this designation that may be necessary for the conservation of the species. For the purpose of designating critical habitat for the Georgetown and Salado salamanders, we define an area as occupied based upon the reliable observation of either salamander species
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