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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 146 / Tuesday, August 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations the results of the comprehensive biological status review, provides an evaluation of how potential threats may affect the species viability both currently and into the future, and provides the scientific basis that informed our regulatory decision regarding whether this DPS should be listed as an endangered or threatened species under the Act, as well as the risk analysis on which the determination was based Service 2018, entire. The following discussion is a summary of the SSA report.

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Species Information Red foxes Vulpes vulpes are small, slender, doglike carnivores, with elongated snouts, pointed ears, and large bushy tails Aubry 1997, p. 55;
Perrine 2005, p. 1; Perrine et al. 2010, p. 5. The Sierra Nevada red fox is one of 10 North American subspecies of the red fox Hall 1981, p. 938; Perrine et al.
2010, p. 5. Diagnostic features, by which red foxes can be distinguished from other small canines, include black markings on the backs of their ears, black shins, and white tips on their tails Statham et al. 2012, p. 123.
Sierra Nevada red foxes average about 4.2 kilograms kg 9.3 pounds lb for males and 3.3 kg 7.3 lb for females, as compared to the general North American red fox average of about 5 kg 11 lb for males and 4.3 kg 9.5 lb for females Perrine et al. 2010, p. 5.

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The Sierra Nevada red fox is characterized by what appears to be specialized adaptations to cold areas Sacks et al. 2010, p. 1524. These apparent adaptations include a particularly thick and deep winter coat Grinnell et al. 1937, p. 377, longer hind feet Fuhrmann 1998, p. 24, and small toe pads 4 millimeters mm 0.2
inch in across or less that are completely covered in winter by dense fur, which may facilitate movement over snow Grinnell et al. 1937, pp. 378, 393;
Fuhrmann 1998, p. 24; Sacks 2014, p.
30. The Sierra Nevada red foxs smaller size may also be an adaptation to facilitate movement over snow by lowering weight supported by each footpad Quinn and Sacks 2014, p. 17, or it may simply result from the reduced abundance of prey at higher elevations Perrine et al. 2010, p. 5.
Genetic analyses indicate that red foxes living near Sonora Pass, California, as of 2010 are descendants of the Sierra Nevada red fox population that was historically resident in the area Statham et al. 2012, pp. 126129. This is the only population known to exist in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and is thus the last known remnant of the larger historical population that occurred along the upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountain range from Tulare to Sierra Counties. The only other known Sierra Nevada red fox
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population in California is located near Lassen Peak, in the southern Cascade mountain range, and shows clear genetic differences from the Sonora Pass population Statham et al. 2012, pp.
129130 see also DPS analysis in our October 8, 2015, 12-month finding 80
FR 61011. The population near Lassen Peak is part of another population segment, whose range also includes the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. We determined that listing the Southern Cascades population segment was not warranted in 2015 80 FR 60989.
Range and Habitat Based on known detections, as well as what is known regarding high-quality habitat, we consider the current range of the Sierra Nevada DPS to run southeast along the Sierra crest from just south of California State Highway 88 to a few miles north of Kings Canyon National Park Figure 1. The range includes the easternmost portion of Yosemite National Park hereafter referred to as Yosemite, in Tuolumne and Madera Counties, as well as additional portions of those counties, and of Alpine, Mono, Fresno and Inyo Counties Cleve et al.
2011, entire; Sacks et al. 2015, pp. 10, 14; Eyes 2016, p. 2; Hiatt 2017, p. 1;
Figure 1; Quinn 2018a, attachments;
Stermer 2018, p. 1.
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