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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Rules and Regulations that rule, the amendments it sets forth apply to rules for which a proposed rule was published after September 26, 2019. We published our proposed critical habitat designation for the slenderclaw crayfish on October 9, 2018
83 FR 50582; therefore, the amendments set forth in the August 27, 2019, final rule 84 FR 45020 do not apply to this final designation of critical habitat for the slenderclaw crayfish.
Physical or Biological Features In accordance with section 35Ai of the Act and regulations at 50 CFR
424.12b, in determining which areas within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing to designate as critical habitat, we consider the physical or biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species and which may require special management considerations or protection. The regulations at 50 CFR
424.02 define physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the species as the features that occur in specific areas and that are essential to support the life-history needs of the species, including, but not limited to, water characteristics, soil type, geological features, sites, prey, vegetation, symbiotic species, or other features. A feature may be a single habitat characteristic or a more complex combination of habitat characteristics.
Features may include habitat
characteristics that support ephemeral or dynamic habitat conditions. Features may also be expressed in terms relating to principles of conservation biology, such as patch size, distribution distances, and connectivity. For example, physical features might include gravel of a particular size required for spawning, alkali soil for seed germination, protective cover for migration, or susceptibility to flooding or fire that maintains necessary earlysuccessional habitat characteristics.
Biological features might include prey species, forage grasses, specific kinds or ages of trees for roosting or nesting, symbiotic fungi, or a particular level of nonnative species consistent with conservation needs of the listed species.
The features may also be combinations of habitat characteristics and may encompass the relationship between characteristics or the necessary amount of a characteristic needed to support the life history of the species. In considering whether features are essential to the conservation of the species, the Service may consider an appropriate quality, quantity, and spatial and temporal arrangement of habitat characteristics in the context of the life-history needs, condition, and status of the species.
These include, but are not limited to:
1 Space for individual and population growth and for normal behavior;

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2 Food, water, air, light, minerals, or other nutritional or physiological requirements;
3 Cover or shelter;
4 Sites for breeding, reproduction, or rearing or development of offspring;
and 5 Habitats that are protected from disturbance or are representative of the historical, geographical, and ecological distributions of a species.
We derive the specific physical or biological features essential for slenderclaw crayfish from studies of this species and similar crayfish species habitat, ecology, and life history. The primary habitat elements that influence resiliency of the slenderclaw crayfish include water quantity, water quality, substrate, interstitial space, and habitat connectivity. More detail of the habitat and resource needs are summarized in the Habitat section of the proposed listing designation of critical habitat rule for the slenderclaw crayfish 83 FR
50582; October 9, 2018 and the SSA
report. We use the ADEM water quality standards for fish and wildlife criteria to determine the minimum standards of water quality necessary for the slenderclaw crayfish. A full description of the needs of individuals, populations, and the species is available from the SSA report; the resource needs of individuals are summarized below in Table 1.

TABLE 1RESOURCE NEEDS FOR SLENDERCLAW CRAYFISH TO COMPLETE EACH LIFE STAGE
Life stage
Resources needed
Fertilized Eggs

Juveniles

Adults

Female to carry eggs.
Water to oxygenate eggs.
Female to fan eggs to prevent sediment buildup and oxygenate water as needed.
Female to shelter in boulder/cobble substrate and available interstitial space.
Female to carry juveniles in early stage.
Water.
Food likely aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Boulder/cobble substrate and available interstitial space for shelter.
Water.
Food likely omnivorous, opportunistic, and generalist feeders.
Boulder/cobble substrate and available interstitial space for shelter.

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Summary of Essential Physical or Biological Features In summary, we derive the specific physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the slenderclaw crayfish from studies of this species and similar crayfish species habitat, ecology, and life history, as described above. Additional information can be found in the SSA report Service 2019, entire available on http
www.regulations.gov under Docket No.
FWSR4ES20180069. We have determined that the following physical
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or biological features are essential to the conservation of the slenderclaw crayfish:
1 Geomorphically stable, small to medium, flowing streams:
a That are typically 19.8 feet ft 6
meters m wide or smaller;
b With attributes ranging from:
i Streams with predominantly large boulders and fractured bedrock, with widths from 16.4 to 19.7 ft 5 to 6 m, low to no turbidity, and depths up to 2.3
ft 0.7 m, to ii Streams dominated by small substrate types with a mix of cobble,
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gravel, and sand, with widths of approximately 9.8 feet 3 m, low to no turbidity, and depths up to 0.5 feet 0.15
m;
c With substrate consisting of boulder and cobble containing abundant interstitial spaces for sheltering and breeding; and d With intact riparian cover to maintain stream morphology and to reduce erosion and sediment inputs.
2 Seasonal water flows, or a hydrologic flow regime which includes the severity, frequency, duration, and seasonality of discharge over time,
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