Completion Form

2023

1,288 acres were treated during phase 5 of Upper Provo Watershed Restoration Project between 2021 and 2022.  This phase involved 3 treatments including mastication (415 acres), small wood thinning (791 acres), and group selection clearcut (82 acres).

Mastication-Wilkinson Construction completed 415 acres within a 665 acre unit of Juniper/Oak mastication between Upper Setting Road and Highway 150 in April 2021.  The objective of this treatment was to remove 60-90% of all Juniper within the unit as well as some oak.  This included masticating all Juniper under 12" DBH within areas where the excavators could operate.  250 acres within the unit were either too steep or rocky for the excavators to work.

Small Wood Thinning- MP Forestry completed 791 acres of small wood thinning in 4 separate locations along the Mirror Lake Highway.  568 acres were completed in September 2021 and 223 acres were completed in August 2022. There was a combination of machine piling (within two of the units along Iron Mine Road) and hand cut and piling.  171 acres of small wood thinning were machine piled, while 620 acres were hand-piled.  77 acres were completed by Alexander Lake, 56.5 acres along Norway Flats Road, 522 acres along Iron Mine Road, and 51 acres around Lambert Meadows.  The objective of small wood thinning was to treat conifers 8" DBH and below as well as all standing dead to achieve 15-20 foot spacing.  All remaining trees over 5" DBH were limbed no less than 6 feet above the ground.

Group Selection Clearcut- 82 acres of group selection clearcut were completed in September 2021 along Spring Canyon Road.  80 of those acres are within the initial 292 acre unit. With an additional 2 acres located across Spring Canyon Road.  The objective of this treatment was to create openings by treating all conifer 8" DBH and below within a tree length of aspen, all Lodgepole Pine and Subalpine Fir under 6" DBH, and all standing dead.

Phase 5 was completed in August 2022 using a combination of WRI, USFS, and NGO funding. The funds ran through the fiscal years of 2020-2022 and consisted of a combination of 3 different treatments to connect and reinforce some of the treatments from previous phases.  By connecting treatments from previous phases (Iron Mine Road and Spring Canyon Road) as well as treating areas between them (Upper Setting Road and Norway Flats Units), the US Forest Service will have multiple management options when wildfire enters the watershed. Within the past 4 years there have been 4 separate wildfires in or adjacent to the watershed.  Cumulative fuel loading due to beetle infestations fire suppression has escalated the risk for catastrophic wildfire.  In all, 1,288 acres were treated using a combination of treatment types.  These treatments include 415 acres of Juniper/Oak mastication, 791 acres of small wood thinning, and 82 acres of group selection clearcut totaling 1,288 acres  Along with previous phases, over 7,000 acres have been treated within the watershed to create an extensive system of fuel breaks.  These areas will enter a maintenance cycle for the unforeseen future to maintain resiliency.

873 acres of the treated area contain piles (small wood thinning and group selection clearcut). The piles from these treatment areas will need to be burned during future autumn/winter months, which may require multiple entries to minimize scorching and maximize consumption.  Some of the machine piles along Iron Mine Road have already been burned last winter, but more than 25% will need to be burned in future months.  The hand piles will need time to cure before they will be burned.  These areas of strategic fuel breaks can be used to manage future wildfires and decrease fire spread and intensity when they enter the watershed.  The small wood thinning and group selection clearcut units will be monitored by the Forest Service for future mechanical harvesting timber sales and the mastication unit will be monitored for potential broadcast burning.  250 acres of the mastication unit that were unworkable by the excavators will need to be treated by hand in the future.  The US Forest Service plans to treat these acres in-house as a Juniper lop and scatter.  The treated areas will enter a maintenance program once completed to ensure their effectiveness. Vegetation plots located within the project area will also be monitored using ocular estimates and post-treatment analysis. There are more phases in the planning and implementation process within the watershed as well.

Jeremy Nelson

09/19/2023 10:20:18