Project Details

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources manages a free ranging bison herd in the Book Cliffs.  The management plan for bison calls for up to 450 individuals. While the bison have not yet reached objective and only minor concerns have been identified, UDWR wants to be proactive in staying ahead of any conflicts with domestic livestock or other wildlife species.

The upper elevations of the Book Cliffs is dominated by mountain big sagebrush.  This sagebrush subspecies grows at higher elevations and takes advantage of higher precipitation patterns.  As a result, it can quickly become dense and impact understory vegetation such as grasses and forbs.  Several areas in the Book Cliffs have mountain big sagebrush exceding 20% canopy cover.

This project is intended to reduce mountain sagebrush cover in polygons and drainages in an effort to increase grass and forbs.  The project is not designed as a block treatment, but rather as a mosaic treatment focusing on significant sagebrush density reduction within polygons as a means to achieve density reduction over a longer period of time, while still maintaining cover nearby.

The project is within summer habitat for mule deer and elk and increasing forbs and grasses should benefit these species.  The area is not defined as sage grouse habitat and no reports have been documented of sage grouse in these areas for several decades.

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.

Book Cliffs Bison Plan:
B. Habitat Management Goal: Provide quality habitat to establish and maintain
a healthy bison population in the Book Cliffs.
     Objective 1: Maintain or improve sufficient bison habitat to allow herds to reach
population objectives.
          Strategies:
               1. Identify critical bison use areas and work with land managers and
private landowners to improve or maintain habitat quality in these
areas.
               3. Continue cooperative habitat improvement efforts.
               4. Vegetation monitoring will be established on habitat projects prior to
implementation, and read two years after implementation to evaluate
success or failure of the project.
     Objective 3: Achieve bison population distribution that effectively utilizes
available habitat and minimizes conflict.
          Strategies:
               1. Provide adequate forage on summer and transitional ranges to discourage
bison use on winter ranges during summer months. Consider other
alternatives such as gap fences, herding, and fencing of water sources
on winter ranges.
               4. Discourage bison from areas with potential conflicts by improving range
conditions in areas where conflicts do not exist.

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.