Project Details

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Utah landscapes is prized not only for its aesthetic value but also because it provides habitat for game and non-game wildlife species, shelter for livestock, and can serve as a fuelbreak (DeByle & Winokur 1985; Fechner & Barrows 1976).  Aspen is also associated with disproportionately high levels of bird and plant diversity.  The decline of aspen in Utah forests due to drought, conifer encroachment, and/or ungulate browsing is an increasing concern (Worrall et al. 2013), and aspen decline has become a dramatic feature of many Utah landscapes in recent years.  The traditional silvicultural approach for regenerating aspen is through coppicing (clearcutting) of existing mature aspen stands, which can stimulate vigorous suckering when protected from browsing.  However, coppicing can only be used where aspen stands already exist, and it does not increase genetic diversity, which is needed for adaptation to changing climates.

For these reasons, we have been investigating seedling-based approaches for aspen restoration in Utah, following approaches commonly used in Alberta, Canada in mined-land reclamation (Pinno et al. 2012).   Aspen trees can produce copious amounts of seed, and because they are dioecious, seed from a single tree will represent many paternal trees and therefore a high level of genetic diversity.  Our work over the past 4 years has demonstrated that aspen seed production occurs every year in Utah landscapes, and that seed lots have germination rates of over 95%.  We have a collection of aspen seeds from trees in northern and central Utah from 2014-2017, and have successfully grown over 6,000 containerized seedlings in a nursery setting in the past from these seed stocks.  In a previous study on Cedar Mountain we had limited success with outplanting aspen, due primarily to drought and rodent herbivory (Howe 2018). However, our work indicated that nursery production of seedlings is not a problem, and that improved site selection and site preparation could dramatically increase the success rate in the first critical years of establishment.

Aspen seedlings do occur naturally in western state landscapes, particularly in the first few years after fires (Long & Mock 2012; Fairweather et al. 2014), when herbivory and vegetative competition for light and water are reduced.  Thus, aspen seedling-based restoration may have the highest success rate following large moderate-to-severe fires.  Once aspen seedlings are established, they can expand into large persistent clones, in contrast to other non-suckering forest trees, where a single seedling produces a single tree.  We anticipate that nursery-grown aspen seedlings could become an important component of post-fire restoration, particularly as planting protocols are optimized.

Such planting efforts could be important in: 1) increasing the aspen component of Utah's forests, by establishing aspen where it does not currently exist, 2) increasing the resilience of Utah's forests, by dramatically increasing the number and genetic variation of clones on the landscape, and 3) increasing successful aspen establishment in defensible spaces or in strategic fuelbreak areas.  The Brian Head Fire, which burned over 70,000 acres in late June 2017, provides exactly this window of opportunity.  There are aspen stands remaining at the edges of the Brian Head fire footprint (a dramatic illustration of the fuelbreak capacity of aspen stands), and vigorous suckering from these stands was already evident in the fall of 2017.

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.

The overall goal of the project is to plant genetically diverse aspen seedlings in the Brian Head fire footprint, in locations where aspen does not currently exist. This objective directly relates to UWRI's priority area "Watershed health and biological diversity." These aspen seedlings will increase biological diversity at the genetic level up to the community level, since aspen support remarkably diverse biological communities. Specific objectives include:

1.	Demonstrate the operational feasibility of using nursery-grown aspen to establish stands in new areas in a post-fire environment. Locating one plot in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) may encourage neighboring landowners to plant additional aspen on their own property.

2.	Assess what planting methods work best, based on previous work. The plots will incorporate several strategies to increase survival during the first 2 years, when mortality is expected to be highest. The outcome of our project will be an improved understanding of the planting protocols needed for nursery-grown aspen seedlings in large post-fire landscapes and/or defensible spaces around structures. The improvement of methods to establish aspen seedlings in wildland fire footprints is a clear benefit to Utahns, both because of the ecological benefits of aspen forests and the potential for aspen stands to serve as fuelbreaks.

3.	Contribute to forest restoration protocols that improve habitat, increase biological diversity, and increase watershed health for generations to come. The successful establishment of seedlings through improved planting protocols has the potential to dramatically increase genetic diversity, and hence adaptive potential, in Utah's forests.

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.

Utah Black Bear Management Plan V. 2.0 (2011-2023): Objective 1 of the plan is "Seek to prevent the loss of occupied and suitable unoccupied bear habitat and to improve existing bear habitat through 2023." Aspen stands provide critical habitat for black bears. The management plan states that "aspen stands are probably the most important forest community [for black bears] in Utah, providing both cover and food." This project will directly address improved bear habitat by planting and evaluating strategies for establishing aspen habitat.

Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan: Habitat Objective 2 is "Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019." Strategies d, e, f and g under this objective address aspen. Strategy f specifically states "Seek opportunities through the Watershed Restoration Initiative to improve aspen communities that provide crucial summer habitat for mule deer." This project will directly address the objectives and strategies related to aspen in the mule deer management plan.

Utah's Wildlife Action Plan (WAP): The WAP identifies Aspen-Conifer as a key habitat that may be addressed through project planning in the Panguitch Municipal Watershed NEPA project. A potential conservation action is: 2.3.14: Conduct upland vegetation treatments to restore characteristic upland vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings. This project will design and test treatments to restore characteristic vegetation.

Dixie National Forest Land Resource Management Plan (as amended): Goal 15 is "Maintain or enhance the terrestrial habitat for all wildlife species presently on the Forest" (page IV-5). A general direction is to "Maintain structural diversity of vegetation on management areas that are dominated by forested ecosystems. Manage aspen for retention wherever it occurs."

Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan: The plan states "although elk inhabit most habitat types in Utah, they prefer to spend their summers at high elevations in aspen conifer forests." It also states "Elk in Utah are more closely tied to aspen than any other habitat type." Habitat Management Goal B is "Conserve and improve elk habitat throughout the state." As a primary habitat for elk, this project addressing aspen re-establishment directly relates to improving habitat for elk.

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.

Except in the most severe fires, mature aspen stands can function as fuelbreaks. The rate of spread, heat energy released, and difficulty of fire containment are all lower in aspen stands compared to conifer stands. Managers often report that crown fires "drop to the ground" in aspen stands and can provide a valuable opportunity for fire control. Values that can be protected with appropriately sized and located fuelbreaks include human communities; permanent infrastructure such as power lines and roads; municipal watersheds; campgrounds, and critical wildlife habitat. The establishment of aspen in areas where it has been lost or does not currently exist will require planting.  However, nursery and planting protocols for aspen seedlings in western landscapes are just now being developed (Long & Mock 2012).  This project will be a significant step toward developing protocols for large-scale seedling-based aspen restoration in fire-prone landscapes.  The project could also help promote planting of aspen seedlings in defensible spaces around homes and structures.

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.

The project will be designed to quantitatively assess the benefits of the following variables in planting protocols:  site selection, mulching, the use of coarse woody debris, and exclosures to minimize ungulate herbivory.

Task 1: Seedling production. A target of 4280 aspen seedlings will be produced in the Harrington Forestry Research Center in Mora, New Mexico.  This facility has successfully produced aspen seedlings in recent years, and has experience using aspen seedlings for reclamation of mined lands.  Seedlings will be grown in D16 pots and will be induced to set bud early in the season to maximize root:shoot ratios, which has been shown to increase seedling success. Seeds from a mixture of maternal trees in Utah and Idaho are available in our freezers from past years of collections. Even seeds from 2014 have recently shown high rates of germination (>95%).  Seeds will be sown in April 2018 and seedlings will be ready for planting in fall 2018.  To ensure sufficient numbers of high quality seedlings, we will grow an additional 1000 seedlings.  Excess seedlings will be donated to landowners in the Brian Head area.

Task 2: Site selection.  Based on our previous work with aspen seedlings, we will use a combination of GIS, early summer imagery, and site visits to choose five sites which are likely to retain soil moisture from winter snowmelt into the summer months. Sites with obvious pocket gopher activity will be avoided.

Task 3: Exclosure construction and site preparation. At each of the five sites, we will construct a 30x30m exclosure, 8' tall, using game fencing, t-posts at 8' spacing, and Easy Fence H-braced corners. In our previous work on Cedar Mountain, this construction design was shown to be durable over several winters of heavy snow.   Exclosures will be constructed during the summer 2018.  Site preparation will include glyphosate treatment if necessary to reduce competing regenerating vegetation.

Task 4: Seedling planting. Seedlings will be planted in September or October 2018.  Fall planting will allow seedlings to take advantage of spring moisture in 2019 before the sites are accessible.  All seedlings will be watered at planting, and will be planted in staked Vexar tubes to minimize herbivory.  Four of the exclosures ("Silviculture plots") will be used to test operational planting treatments well within the fire boundaries.  The fifth exclosure ("WUI plot") will be used as a demonstration plot for a planting within the fire boundary and near a structure (e.g. a cabin or lodge) with available irrigation water.  At each site a total of 576 experimental seedlings and 80 border trees will be planted within the exclosure and 200 will be planted outside the exclosure (total of 856 seedlings/plot).  All seedlings will have 1m spacing.

The 4 Silviculture exclosures will be divided into 36 blocks of 16 seedlings.  We will randomly assign 4 block types (shade/no mulch, shade/mulch, no shade/no mulch, no shade/mulch), with 9 replicates per block type and 16 seedlings per block. Shading treatments will use either shade cards or coarse woody debris, placed to provide shade from the southern aspect.  The 200 seedlings planted outside each exclosure will be located on similar substrate, slope, and aspect as the exclosed seedlings. These seedlings will be divided into the same 4 block types as the exclosed trees, with two replicates per block type and 25 trees per block.

The WUI plot will be divided into 16 blocks, and blocks will be randomly assigned to 4 plot types, with 4 replicates per plot type: no treatment, mulching only, irrigation only, and mulching + irrigation.    An interpretive sign will be placed on the WUI plot.

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.