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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 28, 2021 / Proposed Rules conservation of the South Llano Springs moss from studies of the species habitat, ecology, and life history as described below. Additional information can be found in the SSA
report available at http
www.regulations.gov under Docket No.
FWSR2ES20200015. We have determined that the following physical or biological features are essential to the conservation of the South Llano Springs moss:
1 The uninterrupted flow of spring water supplied by the Edwards-Trinity aquifer within the South Llano watershed.
2 Relatively constant water temperature due to proximity to the point of spring outflow.
3 A substrate of calcareous or travertine rock not more than 15
centimeters cm 6 inches in below the surface of the water.
4 Contaminant and sediment levels that do not exceed the tolerance limits of South Llano Springs moss and associated plant and animal species.
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 this species may require special management considerations or protection to reduce the following stressors: Reduction or loss of spring flow, erosion, and sedimentation.
Management activities that could ameliorate these stressors include but are not limited to: Prescribed fire, brush management, and grazing management to increase infiltration into the EdwardsTrinity aquifer and reduce runoff and subsequent flooding.
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
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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. We are not currently proposing to designate any areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species because we have not identified any unoccupied areas that meet the definition of critical habitat. While we acknowledge that the conservation of the species will depend on increasing the number of sites, we are unable at this time to delineate any specific unoccupied areas that are essential to the species conservation. For an area to be considered essential unoccupied habitat, we must have reasonable certainty both that the area will contribute to the conservation of the species and that the area contains one of more of the physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the species. The exact location of the Redfearn site is unknown and, although there are a number of other large springs emerging from the Edwards-Trinity aquifer, it is unknown if these sites would be biologically suitable for the species. In addition, there is uncertainty that the species could be transplanted successfully if suitable sites existed for reintroduction. Finally, the specific areas needed for conservation may depend in part on landowner willingness to restore and maintain the species habitat in these areas.
In summary, for areas within the geographic area occupied by the species at the time of listing, we delineated critical habitat unit boundaries by evaluating the area of spring flow and submerged limestone within the geographic area occupied at the time of listing.
When determining proposed critical habitat boundaries, we made every effort to avoid including developed areas such as lands covered by buildings, pavement, and other structures because such lands lack physical or biological features necessary for the South Llano Springs moss. The scale of the maps we prepared under the parameters for publication within the Code of Federal Regulations may not reflect the exclusion of such developed
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lands. Any such lands inadvertently left inside critical habitat boundaries shown on the maps of this proposed rule have been excluded by text in the proposed rule and are not proposed for designation as critical habitat.
Therefore, if the critical habitat is finalized as proposed, a Federal action involving these lands would not trigger section 7 consultation with respect to critical habitat and the requirement of no adverse modification unless the specific action would affect the physical or biological features in the adjacent critical habitat.
We propose to designate as critical habitat lands that we have determined are occupied at the time of listing i.e., currently occupied and contain one or more of the physical or biological features that are essential to support life-history processes of the species.
We propose one unit for designation based on one or more of the physical or biological features being present to support the South Llano Springs moss life-history processes. This unit contains all of the identified physical or biological features and supports multiple life-history processes.
The critical habitat designation is defined by the map, as modified by any accompanying regulatory text, presented at the end of this document under Proposed Regulation Promulgation. We include more detailed information on the boundaries of the critical habitat designation in the preamble of this document. We will make the coordinates or plot points or both on which the map is based available to the public at http www.regulations.gov under Docket No. FWSR2ES2020
0015, on our internet site at https
www.fws.gov/southwest/es/
AustinTexas/, and at the field office responsible for the designation see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Proposed Critical Habitat Designation We propose to designate one unit of approximately 0.19 ha 0.48 ac as critical habitat for the South Llano Springs moss, labeled Upper South Llano River Unit in Table 1 below. The critical habitat area we describe below constitutes our current best assessment of areas that meet the definition of critical habitat for the South Llano Springs moss.

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