Skip to Content
Main Menu
Search
Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative
Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative
Projects
Maps
About Us
Register
Login
Search
Saving...
Thank you for requesting access to WRI.
An administrator will contact you with further details.
FY 21 Southern Region Small Fires
Region: Southern
ID: 5514
Project Status: Completed
Map This Project
Export Project Data
Project Details
*
Need for Project
The summer of 2020 has been very hot and dry and seen its fair share of fires including both large and small. Among those fires in the southern region is a handful that do not qualify for ESR funding due to their size but do have some merit in rehabilitation needs. Needs range from trying to outcompete invasives and prevent future larger fires to important wildlife habitat.
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.
*
Objectives
Seed small burned areas to prevent them from converting completely to invasive annuals such as cheatgrass that are more likely to burn again and burn bigger. By doing so we will also provide future protection to important wildlife habitat.
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.
*
Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?)
Without treatment conversion to invasive annuals is highly likely and future fires would impact an even larger footprint.
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.
*
Relation to Management Plans
The project is consistent with the following BLM land use plans and associated decisions: * Cedar Beaver Garfield Antimony Resource Management Plan Resource Management Plan (1986). * Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Approved Resource Management Plans as Amended (ARMPAs 2015 and 2019) * Southwest Utah Support Area Fire Management Plan (May, 2006) * The project is in conformance with the Normal Year Fire Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan Environmental Assessment (EA UT-0040-03-28). The project is in conformance with the applicable land use plans because it is provided for in the following land use plan decisions: Record of Decision and Approved Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan Amendments (2015 and 2019) Goal SSS-1: Maintain and/or increase GRSG abundance and distribution by conserving, enhancing, or restoring the sagebrush ecosystem upon which populations depend in collaboration with other conservation partners Special Status Species (SSS): Objectives SSS-1, SSS-2, SSS-3, SSS-4, and SSS-5; Management Actions (MA) MA-SSS-1, MA-SSS-3, and MA-SSS-4, MA-SSS-7. Vegetation (VEG): Objective VEG-1; MA-VEG-1, MA-VEG-2, MA-VEG-3, MA-VEG-4, MA-VEG-5, MA-VEG-6, MA-VEG-10, MA-VEG-11, MA-VEG-12, MA-VEG-14. Fire and Fuels Management (FIRE): MA-FIRE-2, and MA-FIRE-3. Other Plans/Strategies Utah Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-Grouse (2019) State of Utah Executive Order 2015/002- Implementing the Utah Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-Grouse (2015) Utah State Wildlife Action Plan (2015) State of Utah Resource Management Plan (2018) National Fire Plan (2000) Utah Pronghorn Statewide Management Plan (2009) Southwest Desert Deer Herd Unit Management Plan (2015) Coordinated Implementation Plan for Bird Conservation in Utah (2005) Local Sage-Grouse Working Group Plans Southwest Desert Greater Sage-Grouse Local Conservation Plan (2009)
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.
*
Fire/Fuels
Multiple fires encompassing approximately 1060 acres in the Southern Region. In just the Mineral Black Mountain Fire Management Unit (FMU) (646,151 acres). Approximately 241,620 acres have burned over the past 20 years within this FMU. This amounts to over 37% of the FMU being impacted by high intensity wildfire. Approximately 40,000 acres have burned more than once (cheatgrass burn/re-burn cycle). Most alarming is the fact that for the 22 years in which fire records are available (1993-2014) the number of fires has decreased over the past 10 years; however, the acreages burned has increased more than 200%. Without treatment it is expected that cheatgrass will invade and dominate these areas. Future fires will continue to be more difficult to control and have devastating effects by burning at a higher intensity, which could lead to fires getting larger and burning unburned habitat. Treatments identified within this proposal, includes seeding with more fire resistant vegetation are expected to reduce the overall threat of future wildfires, which could impact unburned areas in the watersheds.
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.
*
Water Quality/Quantity
The small footprints of these fires would have very little direct impact to water quality and quantity, but larger future fires could prove catastrophic to the watersheds these fires occurred in.
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.
*
Compliance
Any of the areas that ultimately received any soil disturbing activities would need prior archeological clearances which would likely be handled in house due to the small footprint of each fire.
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.
*
Methods
UDWR would contract for aerial seeding of these areas utilizing the simple but competitive seed mix attached to the proposal. UDWR and BLM would look for opportunities to cover the seed with chaining or a harrow as they move from project to project this fall.
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.
*
Monitoring
Photopoints could be taken at each location and revisited at intervals not to exceed 3 years to check for establishment of the seedings.
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.
*
Partners
UDWR and BLM have worked together to identify these small fire perimeters that both agencies believe have merit in attempting some rehabilitation.
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.
*
Future Management
Areas would continue to be utilized under the same resource management plans as they are currently managed under. Monitoring will check for establishment of seeding and subsequent treatments could be planned if results are not good enough.
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.
*
Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources
Biggest goal here is protection of important wildlife habitat from future fires. Parowan front sees significant hunting and wildlife viewing pressure as does Nephi pasture. Horse Valley and Baboon are both in or adjacent to areas important to mule deer, sage grouse, and utah prairie dogs.
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.
Title Page
Project Details
Finance
Species
Habitats
Seed
Comments
Images/Documents
Completion Form
Project Summary Report
Saving...