Project Details

Provide evidence about the nature of the problem and the need to address it. Identify the significance of the problem using a variety of data sources. For example, if a habitat restoration project is being proposed to benefit greater sage-grouse, describe the existing plant community characteristics that limit habitat value for greater sage-grouse and identify the changes needed for habitat improvement.

Provide an overall goal for the project and then provide clear, specific and measurable objectives (outcomes) to be accomplished by the proposed actions. If possible, tie to one or more of the public benefits UWRI is providing.

LOCATION: Justify the proposed location of this project over other areas, include publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents that list this area as a priority, remote sensing modeling that show this area is a good candidate for restoration, wildlife migration information and other data that help justify this project's location.

TIMING: Justify why this project should be implemented at this time. For example, Is the project area at risk of crossing an ecological or other threshold wherein future restoration would become more difficult, cost prohibitive, or even impossible.

Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan
Habitat Objective1:  Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and
enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts
Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a
minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019.

Deer Herd Unit 16A Management Plan
Habitat -- Winter range is a limiting factor for deer on this unit. Portions of critical winter ranges are in poor condition (see range trend summary below). Factors contributing to poor range conditions include recent droughts and range use by deer and domestic livestock. This has resulted in a reduction of winter range carrying capacity. Utilization of key shrub species on critical winter ranges will be closely monitored.
Objective 1-Protect, maintain, and/or improve deer habitat through direct range improvements to support and maintain herd population management objectives.
Objective 2- Maintain and protect critical winter range from future losses. 
Strategy 1-Continue to improve, protect, and restore sagebrush steppe habitats critical to deer. 
Strategy-2 Reduce expansion of pinion-juniper and other woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by pinion-juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects like lop & scatter,bullhog, and chaining. We achieve this by treating the bullhogged oakbrush with herbicide. 
Strategy 3- Seek opportunities to increase browse in burned areas of critical winter range.

Statewide Elk Managment Plan
1. Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk
habitat.
2. Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives
and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock.

Statewide Turkey Managment Pan
III. ISSUES AND CONCERNS
High Priority: Urgent and Important 
Issue H2. Insufficient Winter Habitat
 Concern A. Starvation during severe weather.
 Concern B. Winter overutilization of urban and agricultural areas
Objective 1.Stabilize populations that are declining outside of natural population fluctuations;
especially through catastrophic events (i.e. following fires, severe winters, etc.).
Strategy c:ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Conduct habitat projects to address limiting factors.
Objective 2.ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Increase wild turkey habitat, quality and quantity, by 40,000 acres statewide by
2020.Strategy d:Conduct habitat improvement projects in limiting habitat(s).
Objective 1.Decrease the number of chronic material damage complaints per 
turkeys by 25% by 2020.
Strategy f:ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Improve habitat to draw wild turkey populations away from conflict.

Santaquin City Community Wildfire Protection Plan:
1) Community will work with county, state and federal fire officials to decrease fuels on adjacent public lands to reduce wildfire intensity, and impact in and around the community.
2)Fuels reduction project east of Exit 242 near shooting areas on DNR land.

2003  Forest Plan Uinta NF:
1)  Sub-goal-2-1(G-2-1) The fuel management aspect of the fire management program is emphasized through application of hazard reduction activities.
2)Sub-goal-2-8 (G-2-8) Ecosystem resilience is maintained by providing for a full range of seral stages and age classes (by cover type) that achieve a mosaic of habitat conditions and diversity to meet a variety of desired resource management objectives. Recruitment and sustainability of some early seral species and vegetation communities in the landscape are necessary to maintain ecosystem resilience to perturbations.
3)Sub-goal-2-25 (G-2-25) Maintain stable and upward conditions in big game winter range habitats and improve downward trend sites.
4)Objective-2-17 (O-2-17) By 2018, complete 1,000 acres of big game winter range habitat improvements to reach desired future conditions.

Treatments lie within Central Region UWRI focus areas.
 
Utah Smoke Management Plan (Revised 2006)
1)Mimimize or prevent smoke impacts to  such a degree possible in order to protect public health, public safety, and visibility.
2)Encourage the development and use of alternative methods to burning for disposing of or reducing the amount of wildland fuels on lands in the state.

Wasatch Front Fuels Assessment Report 2002.
1)Strive for joint cooperation between federal agencies, municipalities and private landowners to reduce fuels contributing to unwanted wildland fire impacting landscapes along the Wasatch Front.

List management plans where this project will address an objective or strategy in the plan. Describe how the project area overlaps the objective or strategy in the plan and the relevance of the project to the successful implementation of those plans. It is best to provide this information in a list format with the description immediately following the plan objective or strategy.

If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.

Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.

Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.

Describe the actions, activities, tasks to be implemented as part of the proposed project; how these activities will be carried out, equipment to be used, when, and by whom.

Describe plans to monitor for project success and achievement of stated objectives. Include details on type of monitoring (vegetation, wildlife, etc.), schedule, assignments and how the results of these monitoring efforts will be reported and/or uploaded to this project page. If needed, upload detailed plans in the "attachments" section.

List any and all partners (agencies, organizations, NGO's, private landowners) that support the proposal and/or have been contacted and included in the planning and design of the proposed project. Describe efforts to gather input and include these agencies, landowners, permitees, sportsman groups, researchers, etc. that may be interested/affected by the proposed project. Partners do not have to provide funding or in-kind services to a project to be listed.

Detail future methods or techniques (including administrative actions) that will be implemented to help in accomplishing the stated objectives and to insure the long term success/stability of the proposed project. This may include: post-treatment grazing rest and/or management plans/changes, wildlife herd/species management plan changes, ranch plans, conservation easements or other permanent protection plans, resource management plans, forest plans, etc.

Potential for the proposed action to improve quality or quantity of sustainable uses such as grazing, timber harvest, biomass utilization, recreation, etc. Grazing improvements may include actions to improve forage availability and/or distribution of livestock.