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.

Lowland sagebrush is a key habitat identified in the WAP. The threats associated with this key habitat that will be addressed by this project are inappropriate fire frequency and intensity. . The removal of trees would create a break in the tree canopy where firefighters could begin to manage the fire.

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 16C Management Plan
Objective 1- Maintain a healthy mule deer population within the long term carrying capacity of the available habitat,based on winter range trend studies conducted by the DWR every five years. This project will help to increase the carrying capacity and maintain the health of the mule deer herd. 
Objective 2- -- Manage for a target population of 60,600 wintering deer (modeled number)
during the five-year planning period unless range conditions become unsuitable, as evaluated by DWR. This project will help to increase the available winter forage so that populations can increase towards this 60,600 deer population goal.
Habitat Management objective
1. Protect, maintain, and/or improve deer habitat through direct range improvements to support and
maintain herd population management objectives.
2. Work with federal, private, and state partners to improve crucial deer habitats through the WRI process.
3. Maintain and protect critical winter range from future losses. 
4. Continue to improve, protect, and restore sagebrush steppe habitats critical to deer. Cooperate with
federal land management agencies and private landowners in carrying out habitat improvements such
as pinion-juniper removal, reseedings, controlled burns, grazing management, water developments, etc.
on public and private lands. Habitat improvement projects will occur on both winter ranges as well as
summer range.
5. 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.

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.

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.