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.

The proposed project is in compliance with the Presidents Executive Order 13855 - Promoting active management of America's forest, rangelands and other federal lands to improve conditions and reduce wildfire risk.  Green River District Fire Management Plan, Miner's Draw Fuels Reduction EA, Vernal Field Office Weed Plan, and the Vernal 2008 RMP ROD. The project would also meet the objectives in the Utah Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-grouse (January 2019), Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan, Wildlife Action Plan, and Utah Pronghorn Management Plan.
Vernal RMP
FIRE-4- Hazardous fuel reduction activities will be implemented primarily through the use of prescribed fire and managed wildland fire. In some cases, chemical and/or mechanical treatments will be used in conjunction with fire. Where social and/or resource constraints preclude the use of fire, mechanical and/or chemical treatments will be used.
FIRE-5- Criteria for developing hazardous fuel reduction priorities will consist of the following:
* Areas of Fire Regime Condition Class 2 and 3
* Areas where the potential risk of losing keystone ecosystem species is present
* Areas where threats to private/public property exist
VEG-1 - Allow mechanical, fire, biological, or chemical control of noxious weeds and insect
infestations within the resource planning area with restrictions to protect desired ground cover
and water quality. Use the type of manipulation appropriate to and consistent with other land
use objectives.
VEG-4 - Manage the vegetation to attain the ecological stage that will benefit wildlife in
crucial habitat and livestock grazing. Manage vegetation in remaining areas that results in high vegetation species diversity.
VEG-9 - Manage the vegetation to attain the ecological stage that will:
*	Ensure sustainability;
*	Meet authorized use allocations (such as livestock and wildlife); and
*	Ensure species diversity.
VEG-10 - Manage the vegetative types to achieve the desired mix of seral stages, as outlined in the ROD page 134.

Utah Greater Sage-grouse Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment:
MA-VEG-1: In PHMA, where necessary to meet GRSG habitat objectives, treat areas to maintain and expand healthy GRSG habitat (e.g., conifer encroachment areas and annual grasslands).

MA-FIRE-1: In collaboration with the USFWS and relevant state agencies, complete and maintain GRSG Landscape Wildland Fire and Invasive Species Habitat Assessments to prioritize at risk habitats, and identify fuels management, preparedness, suppression and restoration priorities necessary to maintain sagebrush habitat to support interconnecting GRSG populations. These assessments and subsequent assessment updates will also be a collaborative effort to take into account other GRSG priorities identified in this plan. Appendix H describes a minimal framework example and suggested
approach for this assessment.
 Vernal Fire Management Plan:

Fire Management Objectives:
Management objectives of the Vernal Resource Management Plan state:
1)	Allow mechanical, fire, biological, or chemical control of noxious weeds and insect infestations within the resource planning area with restrictions to protect desired ground cover and water quality. Use the type of manipulation appropriate to and consistent with other land use objectives.

Utah Statewide Pronghorn Management Plan:

B. Habitat Management Goal: Assure sufficient habitat is available to sustain
healthy and productive pronghorn populations.
Objective 1: Maintain or enhance the quantity and quality of pronghorn habitat to allow
populations to increase.
Strategies:
a. Identify crucial pronghorn habitats and work with public and private land
managers to protect and enhance those areas.
c. Work with public land management agencies to minimize, and where
necessary, mitigate loss or degradation of pronghorn habitat.
e. Under the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, design, implement, and
monitor the effectiveness of habitat improvement projects to benefit
pronghorn.

Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan:

B. Habitat Management Goal: Conserve and improve elk habitat throughout the state. 
Habitat Objective 1: Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. 
Strategies:
B. Habitat Management 
a) Coordinate with land management agencies and private landowners to properly manage and improve elk habitat, especially calving and wintering areas. 
C. Watershed Restoration Initiative 
a) Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. 
b) Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration. 
Habitat Objective 2: Reduce adverse impacts to elk herds and elk habitat.
Strategies:
C. Noxious Weed Control 
a) Work with land management agencies and county weed boards to control the spread of noxious and invasive weeds throughout the range of elk in Utah.

Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan:

Habitat Goal: Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges.
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.
Strategies:
d. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with
emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that have been
taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by
encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats, ensuring that seed mixes
contain sufficient forbs and browse species.
e. Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration
Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats
throughout Utah.

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.