Project Details

The Upper Provo Watershed is in need of vegetation management in order to maintain and improve watershed conditions. Primary focus is terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and fuels reduction.

-Mastication & Lop Scatter- Juniper is encroaching into the sagebrush communities, limiting the diversity of plant and animal species and increasing the risk of unwanted fire effects in the event of a wildfire. The invasion of junipers excludes other plant species by limiting water, light and nutrients available to the understory vegetation. As other plant species are excluded, ground cover is decreased and the juniper out competes the understory vegetation and reduces the amount of browse available to big game. Also, the juniper is contributing to ladder fuels. The stage of encroachment is not particularly severe at this time, but conditions will continue to degrade if no action is taken. This stage of encroachment is ideal for implementation of mastication and lop/scatter because the understory is still established, making restoration easier and less costly to treat.

-Wetland Encroachment- The project encompassing 178 acres of wetlands and wet meadows includes areas that support both herbaceous and woody riparian vegetation. Many of these features are transitioning to a late seral status where surrounding conifer forest is encroaching, or in some cases, has completely covered over the wetland or meadow area.

-Prescribed Fire- a 6,007 acre block near Shingle Creek has been identified for treatment by prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is scheduled to be implemented in spring or fall 2018. The area slated for burning will break up the homogenous stands of beetle killed conifer, increase aspen seedling and sapling, as well as reduce the risk for high severity wildfire to impact the area.

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.

-Prescribed Fire: Near Shingle Creek a block of approximately 6,007 acres has been identified for prescribed fire. The Upper Setting Road borders on the west and Norway Flats on the east. This area has several vegetation types including lodgepole pine, aspen, mixed conifer, brush and oak types and sage brush/grass. Fire would be applied in a mosaic pattern across the unit in order to create patches of early seral conditions, thus increasing age and vegetative composition diversity at a landscape scale. The following objectives have been identified:
*	Apply fire to 20-80% of beetle killed lodgepole pine within the project area. 
*	Create a mosaic of burn patches within 30-50% of shrub and aspen communities. 
*	Cause 60-80% mortality of mature stems within shrub and aspen burn patches 1 year post-burn. 
Existing roads, trails and terrain features would be used to contain the fire, thus eliminating the need for extensive fire line construction. There would be some cleaning out along foot trails to reduce fuels adjacent to the tread. The hazard tree reduction along the roads also would strengthen those lines. Ignition would be primarily by hand held drip torch and terra torch along the roads and trails and with helicopter ignition on the interior. Either or both heli-torch and PSD (Plastic Sphere Dispenser) would be utilized during aerial ignition. 
This treatment would contribute towards the purpose and need by creating early seral patches within the burn area in all vegetation types.

Mastication: Mastication of juniper would occur in the north fork area along Highway 150 for a total of 155 acres. Mastication would be accomplished with track mounted mulching heads such as the hydro axe, or drum roller on a rubber tired machine. This would result in the reduction of canopy fuels in the event of wildfire and also encourages early seral stage vegetation development favoring the sagebrush and grasses. In the unit there are valley bottoms being encroached by juniper, primarily in the section east of Pine Valley and near the North Fork snowmobile parking area. In this unit removal of juniper would be beneficial to the sage brush by removing the juniper that competes for available water and sunlight. 
This treatment would contribute towards the purpose and need by removing potential fuels and returning the units to the sage/grass communities that would have been there in a natural fire regime that periodically burnt the young juniper.

Lop Scatter: Lop scatter would occur in areas stepper than 30% slope north of Samak, Utah. The area being targeted has younger aged juniper along a south facing slope. The juniper is encroaching into the mtn mahogany and oak habitat. This treatment will increase the availability of forage for Mule deer and elk as well as increasing there ability to migrate from winter/transitional/summer ranges

Wetland Encroachment: This treatment would contribute towards the purpose and need by maintaining the integrity and health of the wetland communities. The wetland treatment units are found near Soapstone campground and the associated Columbia spotted frog population and south of Washington Lake. These wetlands are transitioning to a late seral status where surrounding conifer forest is encroaching, or in some cases, has completely covered over the wetland or meadow area. Generally proposed treatments would result in removal of conifer from the meadow perimeter of 178 acres of wetlands and wet meadows. In most cases only a small portion of the meadow would receive any treatment, leaving a small number of large old trees within the meadow and some large wood in the meadows would help provide for habitat diversity/cover, riparian buffer enhancement, and nutrient cycling. Any treatment would exclude use of mechanized equipment on saturated soils so as to avoid rutting and irreversible damage to these features. Where trees are small they may be cut and left in place, or piled for burning the slash. Larger trees will be cabled/winched out or removed over snow and bucked or piled for burning.
Wetlands serve a critical role in natural ecosystems, and provide habitat for a wide variety of species including birds, amphibians, and fish. Conifer encroachment is occurring in many locations and the cause may not be easily determined (Thompson J. , 2007). Removing conifers along the periphery of meadows and wetlands will help maintain a diversity of habitats within the project area. This project may be particularly beneficial for amphibian species some of which use wetlands almost exclusively. Columbia spotted frog breeding habitat requires areas of open water that are exposed to sunlight in order to raise water temperatures during the day (Goldberg & Waits, 2009). Eggs are often deposited in the northwest corner of breeding ponds as this is often the first area to become ice-free. Hossack and Corn in 2007 found that following wildfire boreal toad colonized previously unoccupied wetlands. Although some studies suggest that water yield increases following a timber harvest, it is not possible to know whether the removal of conifers will lead to a measurable increase in wetland size as water that was typically taken up by conifers remains within the wetland. It was found that populations of Columbia spotted frog in large wetlands were more drought tolerant than populations in small wetlands (Hossack et al, 2013). With climate change occurring, maintaining wetland complexes will become even more critical (McMenamin, Hadly, & Wright, 2008

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.

*	The few areas of sagebrush steppe in the project area are at risk due to juniper encroachment. If no action is taken, then watershed conditions and wildlife habitat will continue to degrade.
*	The juniper trees are creating ladder fuels and increasing the risk of high intensity/severity wildfire occurring.
*	Highway 150 is a heavily used recreation corridor, and public safety is potentially at risk should a wildfire occur in the area (as identified in a 2005 Fireshed Assessment). Reducing hazardous fuels along the corridor will help mitigate this public safety issue.

Encroachment from juniper into sage habitat as well as conifer encroachment into wetlands is already happening and conditions will only degrade further with time, making the process of removal more difficult. NEPA is complete on a watershed scale and other projects are moving forward. There is potential to combine this project with others (mowing, mastication, Rx burning) to lower costs.

Habitat for big game will be reduced.

Aspen stands within the project area are typically classified as either early seral or late climax and are the primary target of the prescribed fire. Stands characterized as early seral within the project area are currently being encroached upon by local conifer species, including sub-alpine fir and lodgepole pine. Under historical conditions, aspen often act as a natural fuel break during wildfire due to high fuel moisture contents and a lack of vertical fuel continuity in the typical even-aged stands (Howard 1996). Therefore vegetation age class and species diversity will continue to degrade, encroachment and homogeneity will continue to negatively impact the watershed.

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.

-UDWR. 2006. CONSERVATION AGREEMENT AND STRATEGY FOR COLUMBIA SPOTTED FROG (RANA LUTEIVENTRIS) IN THE STATE OF UTAH. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Publication Number 06-01, Salt Lake City, UT.

Cites that: "Habitat loss and degradation have been indicated as major causes of the declines in spotted frog populations and distribution" pp.22.

-UDWR. 2005. BOREAL TOAD (BUFO BOREAS BOREAS) CONSERVATION PLAN. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Publication Number 05-37, Salt Lake City, UT.

Indicates that habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and fire intensity/effect are threatening BT populations. pp.12-17.

-The Upper Provo Restoration Project falls within the Western Uintas Management Area. Vegetation management activities in the project area center on trying to improve soil, water, and vegetation conditions within the Upper Provo Watershed to restore the overall watershed health; the proper functioning of physical, biological and chemical conditions.
-Biodiversity/Viability Desired future conditions for Vegetation and Disturbance Processes for the Western Uintas Management Area (USDA Forest Service, 2003; 4-179) include:
-Beaver Creek Area:  Mechanical thinning of invading species (such as Juniper and Gambel Oak) followed by prescribed fire or mastication will be employed to maintain the unique Ponderosa pine component of the landscape.  Gambel oak and mountain brush will be managed to increase age class diversity and reduce fuel loading adjacent to private property. Sagebrush will be managed to increase the diversity of age classes and decrease canopy cover of juniper, as a consequence increase grass-forb cover.
Social (non-recreation) Desired Future Conditions for the Western Uintas Management Area include (USDA Forest Service, 2003; 4-190):
-Risks to private property from unwanted fire will be reduced through close coordination with local communities. In the Soapstone and Weber River summer home areas, permit holders, The State of Utah Department of Natural Resources and private homeowners will work Cooperatively to provide fuel breaks and defensible space.
-Forest-wide Subgoals (USDA Forest Service, 2003) that are applicable to this project and fuels/fire ecology are: -2h. Maintain and/or restore diversity, productivity, vigor, and regenerative capacity of native and desired nonnative riparian and wetland plant communities to provide an amount and distribution of large woody debris characteristic of natural aquatic & riparian ecosystems; provide adequate summer & winter thermal regulation; and to help achieve rates of surface erosion and channel migration characteristic of those under which desired communities develop.
-3d. Restore or maintain fire-adapted ecosystems (consistent with land uses, historic fire regimes, and other Forest Plan direction) through wildland fire use, prescribed fire, timber harvest or mechanical treatments. -3f. Maintain or restore species composition, such that the species that occupy any given site are predominantly native species in the kind and amount that were historically distributed across the landscapes.
4d. Reduce hazardous fuels (prescribed fire, silvicultural and mechanical treatments) with emphasis on interface communities (wildland/urban) and increase proactive participation of communities at risk.
-Forest Guidelines and Desired Conditions applicable to this project and fuels/fire ecology include: -Minimize the amount and impact of smoke from "fire use" activities by identifying smoke-sensitive areas, using "best available control measures," monitoring smoke impacts, and following guidance in State smoke management plans.
-Manage vegetation for properly functioning condition at the landscape scale. Desired structure and pattern for cover types of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest are as follows except in the Wildland Urban Interface, where vegetation structure and pattern should be managed to reduce threat of sever fire to property and human safety.
=(G3.1A-1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuel treatments, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed only for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring riparian and aquatic habitat to desired conditions or to protect property in the wildland urban interface
-(G3.1W-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring watersheds to desired conditions, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface.
-(G3.2U-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring terrestrial habitat, for hazardous fuel reduction, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface.

-Deer Herd Unit Management Plan- Deer Herd Unit #7 (Kamas)
The limiting factor for big game in this management unit is the lack of adequate amounts of good quality winter range.  There are areas that are experiencing juniper encroachment and are in need of treatments to address this problem.
Issues: juniper encroachment and annual grass competition reducing the amount of browse species available to wintering wildlife.

-Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan 2014
The project is designated crucial summer range for Mule Deer.  Section IV Statewide management goals and objectives. This project will address Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2013 (p11-12). Strategy F. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages. https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/biggame/pdf/mule_deer_plan.pdf

Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan (2010)
The project is designated crucial summer range / calving habitat for Elk.  It will address Habitat Objective 2:
Improve the quality and quantity of forage and cover on 250,000 acres of elk habitat with emphasis on calving habitat and upper elevation elk winter range by the end of this plan. Under this objective, strategies D and F apply.  Strategy D. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve elk habitat with emphasis on calving habitat and winter ranges. Strategy F. Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early succession stages through the use of controlled burning and logging. Controlled burning should only be used in areas where there are minimal invasive weed and/or safety concerns. This project area is of minimal weed concern. https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/biggame/pdf/elk_plan.pdf Fire / Fuels:
This project will remove fuels and yet not likely reduce fire risk as moisture content in treated areas would probable prevent wildfire.

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.

These vegetation treatment is expected to result in an overall improvement in Riparian Habitat Conservation Area wildfire resiliency and will contribute to the attainment of the Riparian Management Objectives that have been established for the Upper Provo Project (Upper Provo Watershed Restoration Project Environmental Assessment, 2015), including:
*	Maintain or improve water quality and attainment of established beneficial uses of surface waters within the project area.
*	Maintain or improve instream habitat features and characteristics.
*	Maintain or improve stream channel stability and floodplain function.
*	Maintain or improve non-point source pollutant filtering capacity of RHCAs.
*	Maintain or improve timing and variability of water tables in meadows, wetlands, and riparian corridors. Additionally, the treatment will result in an increase in ground cover and a subsequent reduction in erosion potential. Water Quality will not change as BMP's will be utilized to remove potential impacts.
Wetland Encroachment- Removal of conifers may increase water quantity. Water Quality will not change as BMP's will be utilized to remove potential impacts.

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.

Wetland Encroachment- Generally proposed treatments would result in removal of conifer from the meadow perimeter and in most cases only a small portion of the meadow would receive any treatment. Leaving a small number of large old trees within the meadow and some large wood in the meadows would help provide for habitat diversity/cover, riparian buffer enhancement, and nutrient cycling. Any treatment would exclude use of mechanized equipment on saturated soils so as to avoid rutting and irreversible damage to these features. Where trees are small they may be cut and left in place, or piled for burning the slash. Larger trees should be cables/winched out or removed over snow.

Prescribed Fire- The 6,007 acre burn was black-lined in fall 2017, we would target the western portion in spring 2018 with aerial ignition and firing devices before green up. Next we will target the upper portion in the beetle killed spruce and lodge pole with aerial ignition late summer/fall 2018. Resources needed will be 3-6 engines, 1-2 10 person squads, 1 water tender. All prep work is complete and unit is ready to be finished.

Juniper Encroachment- Methods will include both mastication and lop/scatter depending on slope. The area north of Samak will be lop/scatter due to slope and the area near north fork parking lot will be mastication. Chainsaws will be used for lop scatter and excavator/skidsteer will be utilized for the mastication.

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.