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

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.