ETWP; Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for the Northern Great Plains Breeding Population of the Piping Plover; Proposed Rule

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to 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 (Act). The proposed designation includes 16 critical habitat units comprised of 11 areas of prairie alkali wetlands, inland and reservoir lakes, totaling approximately 196,576.5 acres [79,553.1 hectares] and 5 areas found along portions of 4 rivers in the States of Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota totaling approximately 1,338 river miles (2,153 kilometers). Critical habitat would include prairie alkali wetlands and surrounding shoreline, including 200 feet (61 meters) 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 Act requires Federal agencies to ensure that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out are not likely to destroy or adversely modify critical habitat. Section 4 of the Act requires that we consider economic and other relevant impacts prior to making a final decision on what areas to designate as critical habitat; we may exclude areas from the final critical habitat determination if we determine that the benefits of excluding these areas outweigh the benefits of including them in the final designation. As a result, the final designation may differ from this proposal.