Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Atlantic Pigtoe and Designation of Critical Habitat

Issuing agencies

Abstract

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), list the Atlantic pigtoe, (Fusconaia masoni), a freshwater mussel species from Virginia and North Carolina, as a threatened species with a rule issued under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended. We also designate critical habitat for the species under the Act. In total, approximately 563 river miles (906 river kilometers) fall within 17 units of critical habitat in Bath, Botetourt, Brunswick, Craig, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Pittsylvania, and Sussex Counties, Virginia, and in Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Johnston, Montgomery, Nash, Orange, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Vance, Wake, Warren, and Wilson Counties, North Carolina. This rule extends the Act's protections to the species and its designated critical habitat.