Completion Form

2021

The Luster Farm has received several grants apart from WRI and the combination of all funds has accomplished the following through Utah State Fiscal Year 2021.  Work was accomplished using a combination of TU volunteer time, consultants such as Watershed Artisans and River Restoration, ranch employees, and Utah Conservation Corp crews.
1.	The pump system was rebuilt to draw water from the top of the Colorado River rather than the bottom of the water column to reduce the amount of sediment drawn into the system and prolong the life of irrigation equipment.
2.	A Reinke Smart Pivot was installed on Pivot D to enable remote control of farming operations over the biggest field.
3.	Pivots B and C were repaired to resume functionality.
4.	Pivots C and D were replanted to a native grass and shrub perennial grass mix that will be wildlife friendly.  We have already seen deer, elk, turkeys, and a multitude of other animals utilizing the fields apart from their use as grazing for cattle during the winter months.
5.	Pivot D has been planted into teff grain and sorghum sudan grass to rebuild the soils underneath it. The pivot will be replanted in native perennials in Spring 2022. 
6.	The pump station for the farm was completely rebuilt with a portion of the pump system and the water it provides being redirected to periodically irrigate the wetland adjacent to the farm.
7.	A ÃÂÃÂ½ mile ditch was installed to carry water to the wetland.
8.	Brush piles and earth fill were pushed up strategically on the wetland to allow for water to pool more efficiently and give the most benefit to the wetland area
9.	The irrigation settling pond was restricted on the banks to allow for a submerged shelf for aquatic vegetation to grow.
10.	Several hundred pounds of wetland seed were planted along the banks of the settling pond down the wetland ditch and throughout the wetland area.
11.	Nearly 10,000 container stock and bare root wetland plants were installed along the banks of the settling ponds and irrigation ditch.
12.	Approximately one dozen large BDA like structures were strategically installed in the wetland area to enhance water pooling.
The Little Dolores finishes its route to the Colorado River as it flows through Mountain Island Ranch.  During the duration of this grant period a matching National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant was obtained to aid in restoration of the Little Dolores.  Activities completed with both WRI and NFWF funding include.  Work was accomplished using a combination of BLM fire crews, ranch employees and owners, consultants such as Tamarisk Coalition and Anabranch Solutions, and volunteers.
1.	Extensive surveying and planning for BDA installation.
2.	Installation of approximately 200 low tech structures; BDAs, PALS, etc.
3.	Removal and retreatment of Russian olive and burdock on approximately 20 acres of riparian area.

Mountain Island Ranch is a ranching and farming property spanning the border of Utah and Colorado. The ranch is surrounded by a designated Wilderness Study Area and a National Monument as well as other public lands and serves as a haven for many wildlife species. Over the years the owners have demonstrated their desire to create farming and ranching practices that meld with conservation through easements with local land trust organizations. 
The Luster Farm is a property on the western edge of Mountain Island Ranch and has functioned as a 530-acre alfalfa hay farm to help support the ranch's cattle operation.  Through an agreement with Intel Corporation and Trout Unlimited the Luster Farm is being transitioned into a wildlife agriculture interface by switching from water demanding alfalfa to more conservative cool season native grass mixed pasture.  The farm's goal is to support cattle grazing, use less water that can be contributed to the Colorado River system, increase wildlife use alongside the ranch operation, and restore as much surrounding land to its native state.
Luster Farm at Mountain Island Ranch is used by a wide variety of wildlife including nesting bald eagles, wild turkeys, elk, mule deer, a variety of songbirds.  The Little Dolores River and the Colorado River are used by several native fish species of conservation and ESA value.  The list of fishes includes Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, razorback sucker, roundtail chub, and flannelmouth sucker.  It presumed that bluehead sucker and bonytail use the area although it isn't presently known.
Surrounding Luster Farm are many acres that were previously wetland.  Through past farm operations the landscape had become more arid.  This project enabled us to divert water onto the landscape again and renew the wetland edges of the farm by promoting a more natural cycle of wetting and drying fiof of the wetland soils.  We were also able to plat more than 400 pounds of wetland seed and install over 8,000 containerized and bare root wetland plants in the wetland area.  Additionally heavy equipment was used to install BDA like structures to create water pooling.  Heavy equipment was also used to ush up naturalized berms throughout the wetland to enhance water collections and pooling.  The irrigation settling pond, through reshaping the banks and planting vegetation, will now double as a refuge for waterfowl, beavers, muskrats, and many other species of wildlife. A ditch was reopened through the wetland and the pump system restructured so the ranch can periodically divert water from their irrigation system over the wetland to ensure healthy watering regime.
The Little Dolores River flows through Mountain Island Ranch to its confluence with the Colorado River at the Luster Farm.  Russian olive trees have encroached on the banks of the Little Dolores through the entirety of the stream reach encompassed by the ranch.  Because of the denuding effects at the ground level of dense stands erosive forces in the stream have caused downcutting of the stream bed.  Using WRI funds as well as grants from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation we were able to hire Anabranch Solutions, the foremost authority on low tech structure design, bui8ld, and research to repair stretches of the Little Dolores River by installing approximately 200 structures to aggrade streambed and push water across the floodplain.  BLM, RiversEdge West, and Ranch employees worked together to remove several dozen acres of Russian olive trees to open up the stream corridor for access to elk, deer, moose, bears, turkeys, and migratory birds, and many other forms of wildlife.

Jordan Nielson

08/31/2021 09:05:08