[Federal Register: September 11, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 176)]
[Rules and Regulations]               
[Page 57637-57717]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11se02-13]                         


[[Page 57637]]

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Part II





Department of the Interior





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Fish and Wildlife Service



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50 CFR Part 17



Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical 
Habitat for the Northern Great Plains Breeding Population of the Piping 
Plover; Final Rule


[[Page 57638]]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018-AH96

 
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of 
Critical Habitat for the Northern Great Plains Breeding Population of 
the Piping Plover

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate 
critical habitat for the northern Great Plains breeding population of 
the piping plover (Charadrius melodus), pursuant to the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended. The designation includes 19 critical 
habitat units containing prairie alkali wetlands, inland and reservoir 
lakes, totaling approximately 183,422 acres (ac) (74,228.4 hectares 
(ha)) and portions of 4 rivers totaling approximately 1,207.5 river 
miles (rm) (1,943.3 kilometers (km)) in the States of Minnesota, 
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
    Critical habitat includes prairie alkali wetlands and surrounding 
shoreline, including 200 feet (ft) (61 meters (m)) of uplands above the 
high water mark; river channels and associated sandbars, and islands; 
reservoirs and their sparsely vegetated shorelines, peninsulas, and 
islands; and inland lakes and their sparsely vegetated shorelines and 
peninsulas. Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act requires Federal 
agencies to ensure that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out are 
not likely to destroy or adversely modify critical habitat. As required 
by section 4 of the Endangered Species Act, we considered economic and 
other relevant impacts before making a final decision on what areas to 
designate as critical habitat.