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.

Local increase of Fire Hazard for short phase when cut slash is in "red needle phase". However, this will mitigate quickly as needles fall from stems and slash begins to decay.

There is low potential for weed invasion. Cheatgrass is found in areas of  the project area; but overall is minimal. However; it has not been shown to dominate for extended periods of time after disturbance. Whereas this is a hand thin project, no direct surface disturbing activities will be taking place.

If the area remains untreated as densities of pinyon and juniper increase into areas once dominated by grass, forbs, and shrubs the risk of losing key areas for mule deer and pronghorn increases.  Increased pinyon and juniper densities also increase the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the project area. Untreated areas would burn as stand replacing events rather than low severity, low tree mortality events. Increased stand densities could also lead to reduced forest health as the risk of insect and disease increase.

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.

Horse Hollow Vegetation Enhancement Project EA/FONSI/DR - 2015 The EA/FONSI/DR recognized the importance of the Project Area regarding improving the vegetation component within the Horse Hollow Area. A variety of treatments were authorized that would improve/maintain pinyon-juniper vegetation types in accordance with the Ecological Site Description. The focus for management within this area is to improve pinyon-juniper types for wildlife habitat and forest health. This project is consistent with the Pinyon Management Framework Plan (1983) and the Cedar Beaver Garfield Beaver Antimony Land Use Amendment (2004) for management of woodlands for commercial and non-commercial values. This project will satisfy demands for future products such as posts and fuelwood while improving forest health and age class diversity. Wildlife and range objectives of improving habitat will be met with removal of PJ and increased production of forage. By reducing stand densities, this project meets objectives of the National Fire Plan (2000) and Healthy Forest Restoration Act (2003) for reducing hazardous fuels and improving forest health. This project falls within Deer Herd Unit #20 (Southwest desert) of the UDWR Deer Herd Unit Management Plan (summer - winter, Substantial) and the Statewide Management Plan for Pronghorn. Habitat will be enhanced by reducing PJ densities thus allowing for increased forage production.

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.

The Mud Springs Old Growth Thinning Project falls within the Escalante Desert Fire Management Unit (FMU) as identified in the current Cedar City Fire Management Plan (FMP) (2004). This FMU requires full suppression action of wildfires due to wildland urban interface and noxious weed potential. The plan calls for protection of private lands and areas with low rehabilitation potential. Full suppression tactics have been used for many years on any wildfires within the project area. This has resulted in a large fuel load build-up and an alteration of fuel structure and composition. The pinyon/juniper trees once held in check by frequent fires, have expanded in range and moved into areas once dominated by shrubs, forbs and grasses. Pinyon/juniper expansion is well documented throughout the west. One of the objectives for the Escalante Desert FMU is to use treatments to reduce the existing fuel load in specific areas. Within the project area, mature pinyon and juniper stands are now at a stage where the tree canopy and material on the ground has increased the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Extreme fire behavior such as fire whorls, flame lengths in excess of 300 feet, and spotting distances in excess of 1/2 mile can be anticipated in dense canopy pinyon, juniper and sagebrush fuel types (FMP, 2004). With the expansion of human development into this area, the risk to private property, firefighter and public safety is of great concern. Hazardous Fuels reduction treatments should be designed to reduce the risks of wildland fire by decreasing or modifying fuels to reduce the potential for severe fire behavior and reduce the impacts of post fire damage.  Fuels can be modified by changing the vertical and horizontal distribution and continuity, size and shape of fuels, and fuel loading. Fire Regime and Condition Class is out lined in the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station technical report entitled "Development of Coarse Scale Spatial Data for Wild land Fire and Fuel Management (RMRS-87) dated April 2000. The Healthy Forest Restoration Act (2003) adopts this classification system, known as the Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC), which describes the amount of departure of an area or landscape from historic to present conditions. This departure from the natural state may be a result of changes in one or more ecosystem components such as fuel composition, fire frequency, or other ecological disturbances. As mandated by national direction, the Cedar City FMP utilizes the FRCC classification system to rank existing ecosystem conditions and prioritize areas for treatment. The entire project area is in FRCC 3 which are lands that are significantly altered from their historical range. The lands targeted for treatment in the proposed action are areas which have the greatest potential for moving from FRCC 3 to FRCC 2 or FRCC 1. The treatments proposed would require maintenance in the future which would be based on need due to regrowth of fuels and the continued effectiveness of fuel breaks.

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.