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Northern Region Browse and Water Enhancements
Region: Northern
ID: 5324
Project Status: Completed
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Project Details
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Need for Project
All of the Wildlife Management Areas in the northern region have the capacity to have winter range restored or improved on them. This project will continue the effort of improving them. This is not only beneficial for wintering wildlife but helps to reduce damages caused on nearby private lands. At the Richmond WMA's there are Sharp tailed grouse with a lek adjacent to the WMA. Sharp tail grouse benefit from a diverse habitat of grasses, forbs and browse. The Murray Farms area will be scalped as well. After the scalps and weed control spraying have occurred browse starts will be planted in the scalps. Turkeys would benefit from more forage at the Richmond WMA so planting fruit bearing trees there will be beneficial to them.
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
To install the 8 miles of pipeline and Ten 1300 gallon tire troughs on the Henefer WMA to provide water sources for improved cattle grazing and water sources for deer and elk. We will have the ability to turn on and off each tank to move cattle around. This will allow the DWR/permittee to improve grazing management with better livestock distribution, timing and intensity. Another pipeline and trough system will be installed as well. To operate the scalper on the Brigham Face, Richmond WMA's and Murray Farms to create valuable winter range browse for mule deer and elk. Bitterbrush, sage brush and forbs will be seeded in the scalps. The scalps at the Richmond WMA's will provode valuable habitat for sharp tailed grouse as well. To plant fruit bearing trees and shrubs at the Richmond WMA for turkey forage. To plant grain in the area disked and followed in the Richmond WMA (This will occur in FY22)
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?)
On Henefer the bottoms are at risk of becoming dominated by invasive species. Currently there are contained spots that the DWR habitat section has been able to successfully treat annually. The water sources on the ridges will allow them to return to more of a functional riparian habitat by reducing the grazing pressure in the bottoms. The areas to be treated on Brigham Face, Richmond WMA's and Murray Farms have crossed the threshold of being optimal winter habitat to being dominated by invasive and introduced grasses. So while there is minimal risk of the actual treated areas being harder to treat in the future there is a significant risk to surrounding beneficial habitat from fire and overuse due to greater demand on the remaining habitat.
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
Deer Unit Management Plans 2,3,4 and 5. Cache, Ogden, Morgan - South Rich and East Canyon -Address loss of critical winter range to wildfires and other land management practices Statewide Deer Management Plan -Loss of critical winter range habitat -Involve Sportsmen and groups in volunteer projects. Elk Herd Unit Management Plan #2 Cache Habitat - Maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements throughout the unit on winter range to achieve population management objectives. Pay special attention to WMA's and areas were holding elk could alleviate pressure on private landowners experiencing damage by wintering elk. Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan -Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. Utah Wild Turkey Management Plan 2014 Goal A. Maintain and Improve Wild Turkey Populations to Habitat or Social Carrying Capacity Objective 2. Increase wild turkey habitat, quality and quantity, by 40,000 acres statewide by 2020. Strategy d: Conduct habitat improvement projects in limiting habitat(s). Goal B. Minimize Human-Wild Turkey Conflicts State of Utah - Resource Management Plan pg 236 Expand Wildlife Populations Protect existing habitat and improve 500,000 acres of habitat Produce and maintain the desired vegetation for wildlife and livestock. 5. Utah Moose Statewide Management Plan: -Initiate prescribed burns and other vegetative treatment projects to improve moose habitat lost to ecological succession or human impacts. Cache CRMP Support agency coordination to provide adequate big game winter range habitat to reduce urban conflicts. Utah Wildlife Action Plan Utah Sage Grouse Management Plan Utah DWR strategic Plan Brigham Face WMA Habitat Management Plan 2010 -Primary purpose: provide crucial big game winter range. -Habitat Conditions/Problems: Loss of winter range from frequent fires. -Habitat Improvements:increase browse on the property. Forest Plan of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest Desired Condition: to improve or maintain stable watershed conditions by maintaining vegetation with healthy ground cover and plan communities dominated by desired perennial grasses, forbs, with a range of shrub cover. Associated herbaceous and woody vegetation provides for plant communities that are diverse in seral status and structure and provide food and habitat for game and nongame animals, songbirds, raptors, and reptiles, forage for livestock, and a variety of recreational opportunities and aesthetic values. Existing soil productivity and water quality shall be maintained or improved. Populations of non-native plant species are reduced or eradicated in rare plan actual or potential habitat. Established noxious weed infestations are not increasing or reduced to low densities. New invader species are not becoming established. New infestations of species are contained or reduced. New populations of existing noxious weeds are eradicated or reduced in highly susceptible, often disturbed, areas. Native plants dominate most landscapes that have been rehabilitated. Forest wide Goals: 3-Biodiversity & Viability, Goal 3d, Goal 3f., Goal 3g. Goal 3o., The project is consistent with the following Forest Plan Objective: 3.d. Increase grass and forb production and plant species and age class diversity in sagebrush and pinyon/juniper by treating approximately 2,000 acres average annually1 for a 10-year total of 20,000 acres. 2a. Identify areas not in properly functioning condition. Improve plant species composition, ground cover and age class diversity in these areas. 2j. Maintain and/or restore habitat to sustain populations of well distributed native and desired non-native plant, vertebrate, and invertebrate populations that contribute to viability of riparian dependent communities. 3o. Provide adequate habitat components for sustainable big game populations coordinated with State wildlife management agencies, private lands and other resource needs and priorities. 3s. Greatly reduce known infestations of noxious weeds and rigorously prevent their introduction and/or spread. 10c. Manage livestock grazing levels and operations on suitable lands for sustainable forage use within properly functioning conditions. Standards and Guidelines: (G25) Integrated weed management should be used to maintain or restore habitats for threatened, endangered, proposed and sensitive plants and other native species of concern where they are threatened by noxious weeds or nonnative plants. When treating noxious weeds comply with policy in Intermountain Region's Forest Service Manual 2080, Supplement #R4 2000-2001-1 (Appendix III). Statewide Sharptail Grouse Management Plan Habitat Degradation -Land treatments seeded into monotypic stands of non-native species that have limited value to Sharp-tailed Grouse. Degradation of traditional breeding, brooding and wintering areas. * Continuing loss of essential habitat.
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
Minimal but one of the major objectives of the water distribution system on Henefer is to reduce the amount of fine fuels from annual grasses on the ridge lines via cattle, sheep and elk grazing. The scalps also provide temporary strips of bare ground that would reduce and slow a fire.
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
The pipeline at Henefer will help the streams return to a healthier riparian condition by providing water sources along the ridge for domestic stock and wildlife. The existing channel will continue to have water in it and with the additional storage of the 1300 gallon tanks there will be an increase is available water on the landscape to domestic stock and wildlife. At Brigham Face there are erosion channels (pictures attached) that will benefit from having scalps across them, which is the same as multiple small earthen check dams in the system. By establishing a more diverse plant community of grasses, forbs and shrubs and the physical nature of the scalps themselves on the Richmond WMA's it will increase filtration of water flowing into streams at Cherry Creek and Oxkiller.
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
Most of the areas have been involved in previous treatments that were either lost to fire or did not meet all the project objectives. The NEPA has been completed on FS property. Remaining areas that require arc clearance will be surveyed with DWR arc.
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
To operate the scalper on Brigham Face, Murray Farms and Richmond WMA's to plant browse and forbs. Plant bitterbrush starts in the scalps Plant fruit bearing trees at Richmond Have local farmer spray roundup at richmond plot for chemical fallow Contract the construction of pipeline and troughs at Henefer.
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
The scalps will be monitored for success and control cages will be set up at all three locations. Past scalping monitoring data attached in the documents section. The pipeline and troughs will be operated on an agreed upon schedule with the permittee and DWR, the permittee will maintain the system as part of the contract between DWR and grazer.
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
The Richmond and Henefer WMAs are grazed by cattle. The grazers will both be used to help monitor and design the project and ensure the pipeline remains functioning. Adjoining landowners at Brigham and Richmond not considered due to goal of keeping wildlife higher on mountain and not creating depredation issues. The pipeline plan on Henefer was developed in conjunction with the grazer with the emphasis on getting cows up higher on the ridges and out of the bottoms. Forest service for scalping at Murray Farms. At Richmond a local farmer has disked a plot that he will spray with roundup to fallow and then in FY 22 it will be scalped and planted with grain. At Richmond WMA's and Murray farms scalping not considered on neighboring properties.
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
All projects are or will be included in DWR WMA management plans for the specific property. Currently the management plans for the involved WMA's are not current. If areas planted by the scalper do not succeed at the desired level planting browse species starts in the scalps will be used to augment success. Monitor the success of the scalps from sample sites and use cages to exclude all grazing on small 15' sections. Maintain the hog panel cages to exclude browsing on a small sample size. Maintain the water system at Henefer. Needed repairs will be part of the grazing agreement in the future. Richmond plot will be fallowed and then planted in FY22. Continue scalping on WMA's and other properties where we are allowed.
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 pipelines and troughs at Henefer improve how grazing can be managed on the property which is managed for 150 AUM's. It will also eliminate the need for the grazer to haul water to the ridgelines.
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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