Project Details

The Stansbury Mountains have great needs for watershed restoration activities to be conducted. There have been multiple fires on the westside of the Stansbury's that have resulted in cheatgrass or non-native grass monocultures. This has caused the mule deer herds to suffer from loss of winter range. The UDWR recently reintroduced bighorn sheep to the mountain range and these animals frequent the project area and are in need of improved habitat as well. Also, many rabbit and other small mammal species that depend on a diversity of forbs and shrubs have also suffered. This loss of a prey base then impacts raptors such as golden eagles that nest in this area. In addition to the fires there is current plans to build a large solar farm that will remove much of the remaining shrub habitat and areas that have not been burned. 
Because of these threats and impacts the UDWR has been working with the BLM to begin a large-scale shrub and other native plant restoration project. This is a very important project that will greatly benefit the wildlife of this area. AS part of the project we also hope to build green strips of less flammable vegetation such as kochia, sunflower, alfalfa, blue flax, yarrow, and small burnet. This will help to disrupt the cycle of frequent fires and reduce their size to protect our re-establishment efforts. Water is very scarce out in this area and reducing the fire risk will reduce the amount of run off and erosion that can reduce water quality and quantity in this watershed. Also, by removing cheatgrass we will have more water available for a greater diversity of plants.

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.

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.

The  Project complies with the following plans and initiatives:

5) Mule Deer Unit 18 Mgt Plan

Objectives/Strategies: 
b)	Condition of winter ranges is a long-term problem.
c)	Fire and encroachment by pinyon and juniper trees results in the loss of forage production, diversity and quality.
d)	Cooperate with federal land management agencies and private landowners in carrying out habitat improvement projects.
e)	The primary concern on the studies within the subunit is the abundance of weedy annual grass species (cheatgrass), particularly on the lower elevation sites.

6) Utah DWR Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer
Objectives/Strategies:

a)	Programs that provide incentives to private landowners to manage their properties for mule deer and other wildlife are critical to the success of the state's deer management program.
b)	Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges.
c)	Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts.
d)	Work with local, state and federal land management agencies via land management plans and with private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning, wintering and migration areas.

f)	Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that have been taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats, ensuring that seed mixes contain sufficient forbs and browse species.
g)	Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah.
This plan addresses improving and restoring Mule deer habitat, by working in cooperation with partners, mitigating invasive annual species, and improving sagebrush-steppe.

https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/biggame/pdf/mule_deer_plan.pdf

8) Utah Wildlife Action Plan:
a) Mountain Shrub (page 53)
project addresses key threats (pg 55) to this habitat; 
*	Continuing the use of appropriate methods for reducing the spread and dominance of invasive weeds and annual grasses, including "early detection -- rapid response" programs.
* Continuing the development of new plant materials (especially native forbs) and restoration
techniques suited to this habitat.
b) We will also be improving the Aquatic Forested habitat types (pg57) 
 Promoting policies that maintain or restore natural water and sediment flow regimes. * Promoting policies that reduce inappropriate grazing by domestic livestock and wildlife. *

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.

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.