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Book Cliffs West Water Developments Phase 2
Region: Northeastern
ID: 5690
Project Status: Completed
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Project Details
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Need for Project
The upper elevation area of the Book Cliffs in Uintah and Grand counties has become the focal point for improved management by multiple partners that comprise the Book Cliffs Working Group. Partners include UDWR, SITLA, BLM, NRCS, UDAF, Private property owners, Permitees, and Sportsman's Groups. This group has identified the limiting resources of the Book Cliffs area and developed projects that will benefit all users on the landscape. Water sources in the Book Cliffs big game summer range are limited and the few existing sources experience over-use. Over-use of existing water sources can lead to over utilization of the surrounding forage, animal disease, and degradation of the water source.
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
The Book Cliffs working group has identified water availability as a priority to address in the Book Cliffs summer range area. Strategies, such as the identification and prioritization of areas needing additional water to allow for better animal distribution and forage utilization, were identified as methods to use to help improve the big game (mule deer and elk) summer range. Fulfilling this strategy will help improve mule deer and elk fawning and calving areas, helping those herds approach their management objectives for the Book Cliffs hunt unit. Project objectives include cleaning out excess sediment, re-packing dams where needed, contouring spillways where needed, and relining 25 existing stock watering ponds.
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?)
The Book Cliffs Working Group performed an inventory of resources available in the Book Cliffs summer range and the demand that is placed on those resources. The current permitted demand is almost equivalent to production on average years and during drought years, may exceed forage production. Increasing the number and distribution of water sources will help animals more effectively utilize forage across the landscape. This project will also lessen the degradation of existing water sources, risk of disease spread among congregated animals, and reduce the potential for over-use of adjacent range of limited water sources.
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
This project was identified as a priority action in the Book Cliffs Working Group 5 Year Plan: Issue and Strategy #4: Water Availability a. Identify and prioritize areas needing additional water to allow for better distributions. b. Identify a 5 year plan for water developments. c. Propose at least two water development projects annually to the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative Water Development Fund and the Utah Grazing Improvement Program. Book Cliffs Bison Herd Unit Management Plan Habitat Management Goal 4. Discourage bison from areas with potential conflicts by improving range conditions in areas where conflicts do not exist. Book Cliffs Deer Herd Management Plan Habitat Management Strategy: Maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements to support and maintain herd population management objectives.
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
N/A
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
Water quantity available for animal use will increase. Better distribution of animals may decrease erosion and sediment runoff around existing water sources.
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
The 25 existing ponds are located on SITLA and BLM surface. This project qualifies as a maintenance activity, does not extend beyond the original pond footprint, and will not require NEPA.
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
The Book Cliffs Working Group Action Plan identified strategies to increase water availability in an effort to help offset forage deficiency in the Book Cliffs. Using these strategies will help address one of the biggest summer range habitat issues in the Book Cliffs and help deer and elk herds in the area approach their management objectives. Pond clean outs and re-lining will be performed with a heavy equipment contractor that has experience performing similar projects.
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
Ponds will be monitored to ensure new construction and clean outs are successful.
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
UDWR, SITLA, Vernal BLM, NRCS, UDAF, Private property owners, Permittees, and Sportsman's Groups.
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
Ponds will be monitored for functionality and will be maintained as needed.
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
Water in the western area of the Book Cliffs will be better distributed and use of the forage by wildlife and livestock will be better distributed.
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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