Project Details

The completion of this project will address the need for action on Rose Creek to reduce levels of E. coli, prevent it's further degradation, and aid in mitigating the need for solutions to increasing human/wildlife conflicts in the area.

Due to historic livestock grazing in the area the riparian zone around the stream has diminished extensively as the stream channel has become channelized. Also, the springs that feed the stream have recently been impacted by cattle, leaving little to no vegetation and creating "potholes" around the springs, and possibly increasing levels of E.coli. These impacts have diminished the benefits that riparian habitat typically found around springs and streams provides for the majority of wildlife species found in Utah. By restoring the channel and flow through beaver dam analogs  flora and fauna, such as the amphibians, may return or be reintroduced and larger animals such as mule deer and other game species will have increased forage and water access.

This project will improve habitat for mule deer, and wild turkey in an area where residential development is encroaching on historical habitat. These species are known to create conflicts in residential areas. These conflicts include damage to property and wildlife/vehicle collisions. By providing habitat in areas where conflicts are not present or likely to be frequent we will mitigate the existing threat of conflicts in residential areas.

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 goal is to preserve, restore and improve the wetland and Riparian habitat for wildlife and human resource benefit. 
Objective 1 - Exclude Cattle from wetland and riparian habitat to stop degradation. This will be accomplished with a fence built around impacted springs to prevent further degradation by livestock while still allowing native wildlife to use the habitat. 
Objective 2 - Restore and improve previously degredated wetland and riparian habitat through beaver dam analogs that will be installed to restore the stream bed and raise the water table. Monitoring will be implemented to insure this objective is being accomplished. 
Objective 3 - Restore Native Riparian plant communities and ecological function. Non-native species will be removed. Monitoring will take place to insure this objective is met. 
  
These objectives directly support the public benefits identified by UWRI by increasing watershed health and biodiversity through stream and habitat restoration for wildlife and watershed health, and improving water quality and yield for all uses by managing water appropriately.

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.

Mule Deer Management Plan Habitat Objective 1: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. The historic land uses and the current development in the area impact the quality of riparian habitat in Rose Canyon. This project will mitigate the loss of habitat and potentially reduce human/wildlife conflicts in the area.
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.
Improving the riparian habitat in Rose Canyon will contribute to this UDWR statewide objective

Utah Wild Turkey Management Plan Goal A; Objective 2-  Increase wild turkey habitat, quality and quantity, by 40,000 acres statewide by 2020. Improving the riparian habitat in Rose Canyon will contribute to this UDWR statewide objective
Goal B. Minimize Human-Wild Turkey Conflicts; Objective 1.  Decrease the number of chronic material damage complaints per 100 turkeys by 25% by 2020;Strategy f:  Improve habitat to draw wild turkey populations away from conflict areas. This project will improve habitat outside of potential conflict areas.

Utah Wildlife Action Plan
The WAP identifies riparian and Gambel Oak habitats as key habitats for species of greatest conservation concern. The WAP recommends maintaining the integrity of important habitat areas by providing spatial and noise buffers to adjacent housing/urban growth and managing human-wildlife conflicts by means which minimize property and human safety risks while preserving intact wildlife populations. This project will both directly and indirectly protect these habitats.

Herriman General City Plan
Land use Goal 15: Recreational. Take advantage of the unique setting, while being sensitive to access limitations, view sheds, wildlife, recreation potential, and steep slopes.

Camp Williams INRMP
Under the SIKES act all military installations with significant natural resources are required to draft and maintain an INRMP. The INRMP outlines and guides how resources will be managed and conserved for sustainable and future use. The Camp Williams INRMP states that valuable habitat such as riparian areas will be managed for wildlife use and not allowed to be degraded by livestock or human use. The INRMP also lays out Camp Williams' efforts to control noxious weeds within it's borders.

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.

This project will directly benefit water quality and quantity. The Division of Water Quality lists Rose Creek as "impaired" for failing to protect its beneficial uses of infrequent primary contact recreation due to elevated levels of E. coli. The creek is listed on the Clean Water Act 303d List of Impaired Waterbodies. the Division of Water Quality is looking into potential sources (cattle, wildlife, human) currently. Water quality will improve by keeping cattle out of the watercourse and surrounding habitat that will decrease the amount of livestock feces in the water lowering the negative nutrient loading as a result. Exclusion of cattle will also allow for bank stabilization and decreased sediment disturbance, reducing over sedimentation form dredging and erosion.  Restoration of native plants will also assist in reduced sediment and nutrient loading by increasing bank stabilization and decreasing erosion. 
Water quantity will increase as a result of using beaver dam analogs that have been proven to increase the water table and result in a gain of total surface water. The project is located in a drainage where the stream has been receding over recent years and this project aims to extend flow to previous extents. The project will also result in increased and restored native hydric vegetation.

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.

Cattle Exclusion
A fence will be constructed around all wetland and riparian habitat to keep cattle and livestock out. Fences will be constructed following specs outlines by the DWR and allow for access to the area by native wildlife. The fence will be constructed and installed by a contractor using the materials and methods for the standard design four strand barbed wire fence. The fence will be erected in the summer/fall of 2020. 
Stream Restoration
Beaver dam analogs (BDAs) will be installed in the stream channel by Camp Williams staff and DWR staff in the summer/fall of 2020. BDAs will be constructed from wooden posts and follow documentation and methods outlined by the Beaver Management Institute. 
Riparian Habitat/Vegetation Restoration 
Non-native plants will be removed by physical means (i.e. pulling, cutting, digging). Native plants will be planted along the stream and in Riparian areas in association with BDAs in order to restore habitat and provide bank stabilization/erosion control.  Plants will be installed in the spring of 2021 by Camp Williams and DWR staff. Species to be planted include Rhus trilobata, Shepherdia argentea, Salix spp., Symphoricarpos occidentalis, and Amelanchier utahensis.

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.