Fish and Wildlife Service July 10, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce that we are further revising our proposed revised designation of critical habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew (Sorex ornatus relictus) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). In 2009, we proposed to revise our critical habitat designation to consist of 4,649 acres (1,881 hectares) of land in five units in Kern County. That acreage has been recalculated, with use of current Geographic Information Systems technology, as 4,657 acres (1,885 hectares). In this revised proposal, we propose to add 525 acres (212 hectares) as critical habitat in the general areas of Kings and Kern Counties, California, including new units near Lemoore, Kings County, and near Semitropic, Kern County, California. In total, we are now proposing to designate approximately 5,182 acres (2,098 hectares) as critical habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew. We are reopening the comment period to allow interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposal to revise the designation of critical habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew as proposed to be further revised in this document.