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Jarvie Ranch Pollinator Plot
Region: Northeastern
ID: 5174
Project Status: Completed
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Project Details
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Need for Project
We are currently monitoring monarch butterflies that utilize the John Jarvie Ranch area. We are tagging and collecting parasite data as part of the Southwest Monarch Study and Project Monarch Health as well as collecting baseline data on milkweed occurrences and other pertinent data. This past year we tagged 10 monarchs at the John Jarvie Ranch and observed that nectaring plants are a limiting factor in the area, especially during the fall migration period. Thus, we are proposing a pollinator plot that will contain native pollinator plant species to enhance and create habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. The project will also greatly benefit greater sage-grouse, mule deer and migratory birds that may utilize 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.
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Objectives
We propose planting a 7-acre pollinator plot to provide nectaring plants for food and shelter for pollinators that use the area. The number of native pollinators are declining and are threatened by habitat loss, disease, and excessive inappropriate use of pesticides. The main objective of this project is to increase the quantity and quality of nectaring plants for monarch butterflies that are using the milkweed along the banks of the river.
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.
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Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?)
Monarch butterflies have been petitioned for listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Currently, the monarch is considered a BLM UT sensitive species. Once common and widespread throughout North America, monarch populations have experienced drastic declines in recent years. Some of the major threats identified for monarchs are extensive loss of milkweed, logging at overwintering sites, insecticides, parasites, disease, predators, climate change, and loss of nectaring plants. Not only have monarch populations declined but concurrently the abundance, diversity and health of other pollinator taxa globally have declined. Thus, there is a great need to conserve these species and their habitats, as pollinators play a crucial role in most ecosystems.
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.
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Relation to Management Plans
Vernal Resource Management Plan (2008): Cultural Resources (CUL): P. 75, CUL-25: Revise the 1989 plan for John Jarvie Historic Site to provide for: * Maintaining the integrity of the National Historic District through reconstruction, stabilization and restoration of important cultural features, and the elimination or separation of other features that are not culturally significant * Providing adequate protection and management of site * Managing the site for public education and enjoyment by developing educational and interpretive programs and keeping the site open for public viewing during normal visitor use periods Vegetation (VEG): P. 135, 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. Special Recreation Management Areas (SRMA): P. 110, SMRA-3: Browns Park (18,490 acres) will continue to be managed as an SRMA. An activity management plan will be developed and implemented consistent with overall management objectives. In the recreation portion of the plan, the following uses will be emphasized: * Camping * Comprehensive trail system for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and OHV use * Cultural and historic interpretation * Facility development * Fisheries * Hunting * Riparian * Scenic vistas * Special status species resource values * Water based recreation * Water quality * Wildlife viewing opportunities Special Status Species (SSS): Goals and Objectives: * Conserve and protect special status species and enhance their habitats. * Conserve and recover all state special status species, including federally listed species and the ecosystems on which they depend. * Implement the management recovery measures necessary to increase populations of special status species, including federally listed animal species, and restore them to their historic ranges by enhancing, protecting, and restoring known and potential habitat and the ecosystems on which they depend. * Manage non-listed sensitive species and the habitats upon which they depend in such a manner as to preclude the need to list them as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The guidance for this management is put forth in the BLM 6840 Manual. P. 129, SSS-1: The BLM will continue to implement the specific goals and objectives of all recovery plans, conservation plans and strategies, and activity level plans. Recovery Plan revisions or new Recovery Plans will also be implemented. P. 129, SSS-3: Where special status plant species, including listed T&E plant species, occur on public lands in the VPA, the BLM will collaborate with affected and or appropriate local, state, and federal agencies and researchers in the implementation of approved recovery plans and conservation strategies to protect, stabilize, and recover such species and their habitats. In addition to on-the ground actions, strategies will be developed to provide public education on species at-risk, significance and importance of the species to the human and biological communities, and reasons for protective measures that will be applied to the lands involved. Continue or develop monitoring studies in order to determine population dynamics and trends. P. 129, SSS-4: Continue and complete inventories and map current occupied and potential habitats for all listed and non-listed special status plant and animal species. P. 129, SSS-6: In collaboration with the USFWS, UDWR, and other partners, develop and implement habitat management plans or conservation strategies for sensitive species. P. 130, SSS-7: As additional data are collected over the life of the RMP, land managers will continually reevaluate population and habitat status. Management emphasis will be to accumulate ecological information and distributional data to enhance the BLM's ability to protect, conserve, recover, and manage these species in the future. P. 130, SSS-9: Collaborate with the appropriate local, state, and federal agencies to promote public education on species, their importance to the human and biological community, and reasons for protective measures that will be applied to the lands involved. Wildlife and Fisheries: Goals and Objectives: * Provide, maintain, enhance, and protect habitats for a diversity of fish and wildlife species within the VPA. * Maintain, restore, enhance, and protect crucial habitats for all fish and wildlife species and restore degraded habitats. Manage for unfragmented blocks of continuous habitat that will provide the life cycle requirements of a variety of wildlife species. * Identify species and habitats most in need of conservation. P. 142, WL-7: Manage habitat to prevent the need for additional listing of species under the Endangered Species Act and to contribute to the recovery of those species already listed. P. 142, WL-10: Wildlife habitat improvement projects will require consultation with UDWR on job design, construction techniques, and project feasibility. P. 144, WL-27: Improve or increase forage through vegetation treatments that will setback the seral stage of crucial use areas, and, if necessary, re-seed areas with a variety of native and adapted non-native plant species. Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation Plan 2019-2069 (WAFWA): The purpose of the Western Monarch Conservation Plan (Plan) is to identify and promote a shared set of conservation strategies for the entire life cycle of the western monarch population, including the overwintering grounds in California and breeding and migratory habitats throughout the western U.S., to achieve the vision of a viable western population of monarch butterflies. DOI Pollinator Protection Plan: 1. Increase the number of native milkweed species in Seeds of Success collections. Increase the number of collections of species already included. 2. Determine a list of the best nectar forbs and shrubs and trees for pollinators that would provide nectar throughout the year and variety in flower color and shape for native pollinators. 3. In existing native plant landscaping increase public awareness through plant identification labels and interpretive signing 4. Determine baseline of the quantity and quality of pollinator friendly native landscaping at BLM facilities.
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.
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Fire/Fuels
By irrigating the meadow, the likelihood of a fire is reduced because the area will have a higher moisture content in the soil and plants.
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.
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Water Quality/Quantity
Pollinator plots can make a positive impact on the water quality in our watersheds. Native plants that make up monarch and pollinator habitat like milkweed, wildflowers, and bunch grasses, have deep root systems that can reach several feet into the ground. These roots not only provide soil stability and prevent erosion, they also form channels in the soil that help rainfall soak in and replenish our groundwater supply. Moreover, some plants act as sponges for heavy metals and other pollutants, and can prevent them from getting into our streams, rivers, and lakes by soaking them up into their tissues with the water and removing them from the soil.These plants provide food and shelter for many wildlife species, including monarchs, while also helping to slow the flow of runoff and prevent contaminants from reaching our waterways.
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.
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Compliance
A CX and archaeological review/survey will be completed this spring before any items are purchased for this project.
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.
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Methods
The implementation of our project will include (the polygon is between 60 and 65 ft. from the river/bank edge): 1. Installing a 1200 ft. wheel line irrigation system. This would include burying 210 ft. (long) of 6-inch PSI PVC riser line with appurtenances approximately 3 ft. deep. A 7.5 HP pump and 60 ft., 4 inch long rubber suction line with a foot valve and screen would be used to extract water from the Green River. The rubber suction line would remain above ground and the pump would be installed in the same location as the current pump. Currently BLM has a water right for irrigation of 9.61 acres (Attachment 1: Proposed Irrigation System Design). 2. After the wheel line irrigation system is installed, the meadow would be irrigated and in June, the vegetation that emerges would be treated with a glyphosate herbicide to reduce any competition with pollinator plant seeds and increase the success of the seeding. The herbicide treatment is covered under the Vernal Planning Area Invasive Weed Management Plan (DOI-BLM-UT-G010-2016-0011-EA). 3. The area would then be lightly disked, watered again and treated with glyphosate herbicide a second time in August if needed. 4. In the fall of 2020 or spring of 2021, the pollinator plants would be seeded with a rangeland drill. There may also be some hand planting of seedling milkweed and cottonwood trees (Attachment 2: Pollinator Seed Mix). 5. The irrigation would then be employed from approximately May through September of each year to maintain the pollinator seeding. 6. Spot treatments of noxious and annual non-native weeds would occur annually. 7. An education kiosk about pollinators and monarchs is proposed to be placed on the west side of the meadow, to educate visitors about the importance of pollinator species (Attachment 3: Map of Project).
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.
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Monitoring
Spot treatments of noxious and annual non-native weeds would occur annually. Also, we will evaluate if additional plantings are needed in the future. BLM will maintain the irrigation system.
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.
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Partners
NRCS has provided technical assistance in regard to surveying the plot to draw up designs for the wheel-line and also has had input on the seed mix. The USFS has helped with providing helpful information on the irrigation system. The local nursery will help in growing milkweed seedlings to plant in the meadow.
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.
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Future Management
We will evaluate if additional plantings are needed in the future or if grazing is a management tool we want to utilize to remove biomass occasionally.
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.
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Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources
The BLM is creating an outreach/educational program for the Jarvie Historical Ranch. Our hope is that this pollinator plot will provide educational opportunities, birding/nature walks and also be a location for furthering science on pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. The BLM also has a water right that needs to be proved up on and maintained.
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.
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