Completion Form

2020

This project was a great project to work together within the UDWR to see if we could establish some sagebrush with 120 acres for UDWR property located on Poverty Flat.  We wanted to establish some monitoring on this project so we enlisted the help from GBRC to make this happen. First, we wanted to get rid of the cheatgrass issues we had on site, so in the fall of 2017 we sprayed Plateau Herbicide on the 120 acres.  Application Contract was done by Hammond Helicopters and was applied at 6oz of Plateau Herbicide with 4oz of MSO Surfactant and 7 gallons of water per acre.  In spring of 2018 we again had Hammond Helicopters spray for the perennial grass species with the Ranger Pro Herbicide.  Herbicide was applied at 1.5 quarts/ac with a non-ionic surfactant and 7 gallons of water per acre.

In November of 2018 we applied 5lbs sagebrush and 1lb of forage kochia by aerial application with Hammond Helicopters within the treated site location (rates are bulk pounds).  We had great fall and winter moisture that year and in-turn we had great establishment of the sagebrush and forage kochia. All seed was flown on before snow fall.

The overall goal and directive of this project was to help the local Wildlife Biologist work to establish a shrub component of Sagebrush and Koshia on a very difficult site south of Monroe, UT.  This site has several hundred deer that winter here each year and the decreasing component of sagebrush shrubs was present in the area due to drought, previous fire conditions and wintering deer populations.  In working with GBRC to identify was to reduce the cheatgrass component along with the grass component we came to the conclusion we would like to implement a herbicide treatment prior to seeding. We implement the cheatgrass control in the fall, with a herbicide treatment in the spring.  We then followed up in the fall with the primary seeding of the sagebrush and kochia. We had great cooperation from GBRC and the work on the ground by the Wildlife Biologist has proved that under the right moisture conditions we can be successful in planting sagebrush.  We still have some cheatgrass and perennial grass species present but we have also established a large amount of sagebrush on site as well.

Kendall Bagley

08/26/2020 16:05:21