FWS R2 ES Bexar County Karst Invertebrate Critical Habitat

<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(76,76,76);font-family:&quot;Avenir Next&quot;, Avenir, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:15px;">Critical Habitat was designated in 2012 for areas known to be occupied by any of the federally endangered karst invertebrates in Bexar County, Texas. These Critical Habitat Units (CHUs) include the cave footprint, surface and subsurface drainage areas of the cave (where known), a cave cricket foraging area, and an area of at least 100 acres around the cave footprint of undisturbed or restorable vegetation as recommended by the Bexar County Karst Invertebrates Recovery Team. In this designation, the Service included areas that possess those physical or biological features essential to the conservation of each of the species and that may require special management consideration or protection. Even though karst invertebrates spend their entire lives underground, the Service included specific surface features when identifying CHUs, given they are important drainage links into the caves, and because surface habitat is needed to support the plant and animal communites upon which karst invertebrates depend for nutrients.</span></p>