Beluga whale Cook Inlet DPS critical habitat for use in ESA/FIFRA consultations

Critical habitat includes two specific marine areas in Cook Inlet, Alaska. These areas are bounded on the upland by Mean High Water (MHW) datum, except for the lower reaches of four tributary rivers. Critical habitat shall not extend into the tidally-influenced channels of tributary waters of Cook Inlet, with the exceptions noted in the descriptions of each critical habitat area.(1) Area 1. All marine waters of Cook Inlet north of a line from the mouth of Threemile Creek (61°08.5′ N., 151°04.4′ W.) connecting to Point Possession (61°02.1′ N., 150°24.3′ W.), including waters of the Susitna River south of 61°20.0′ N., the Little Susitna River south of 61°18.0′ N., and the Chickaloon River north of 60°53.0′ N.(2) Area 2. All marine waters of Cook Inlet south of a line from the mouth of Threemile Creek (61°08.5′ N., 151°04.4′ W.) to Point Possession (61°02.1′ N., 150°24.3′ W.) and north of 60°15.0′ N., including waters within 2 nautical miles seaward of MHW along the western shoreline of Cook Inlet between 60°15.0′ N. and the mouth of the Douglas River (59°04.0′ N., 153°46.0′ W.); all waters of Kachemak Bay east of 151°40.0′ W.; and waters of the Kenai River below the Warren Ames bridge at Kenai, Alaska.Critical habitat does not include manmade structures and the land on which they rest within the designated boundaries that were in existence as of May 11, 2011.Critical habitat does not include the following areas owned by the Department of Defense or for which the Secretary has determined to exclude for reasons of national security:(1) All property and overlying waters of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson between Mean Higher High Water and Mean High Water; and(2) All waters off the Port of Anchorage which are east of a line connecting Cairn Point (61°15.4′ N., 149°52.8′ W.) and Point MacKenzie (61°14.3′ N., 149°59.2′ W.) and north of a line connecting Point MacKenzie and the north bank of the mouth of Ship Creek (61°13.6′ N., 149°53.8′ W.).

These data represent critical habitat for the beluga whale (Cook Inlet DPS) designated on April 11, 2011 (76 FR 20180).

Note that this ESA/FIFRA spatial data file contains the same information as NMFS’s “agency-official” species critical habitat data as seen via the critical habitat mapper: https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=f66c1e33f91d480db7d1b1c1336223c3

NMFS OPR added a new "Citation", "File Identifier", “Credits”, and “Point of Contact” to this metadata record that are unique to the ESA/FIFRA consultations.

These data are not the official legal definition of critical habitat. The Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 226.220) is the source for the legal definition of the critical habitat designation.

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