Project Details

The Fountain Green Wildlife Management Area was purchased to provide high quality winter range for big game animals.  On this WMA, cheatgrass competes with sagebrush and other perennials lowering the quality of the winter range. This also greatly increases the threat of fire. A fire on this site would likely cause this site to cross an ecological threshold, which would make it difficult to restore to sagebrush. The Fountain Green WMA has one of the few intact sagebrush stands on the south end of the Nebo Wildlife Management Unit. This area has been impacted by multiple large wildfires, including the Salt Creek Fire in 2007 and the Wood Hollow Fire in 2012. Both of these fires burned large portions of important big game winter range.

In 2007 WRI project #288 was initiated to address threats to this area. Sagebrush was in poor condition with little recruitment of young plants due to competition with cheatgrass and drought conditions. The project used Imazipic to control cheatgrass for a couple of years. This cheatgrass reduction resulted in increased sagebrush vigor and seed production. A cohort of younger plants has been observed from this interruption of cheatgrass dominance. However, the control of cheatgrass by Imazipic was only 2-3 years and the understory is dominated by cheatgrass, which makes it more vulnerable to another wildfire.

A new herbicide (Rejuvra) is now available that has longer lasting control. Rejuvra can control cheatgrass germination for over four years. This has been shown to be long enough to deplete the seed bank of all cheatgrass seeds, which results in longer control where perennials can gain greater dominance.

Shrublands that provide food and cover for rabbits in turn provide food for Golden Eagles. An understory of native grasses and forbs is preferable to cheatgrass. The loss of the sagebrush in a fire that leads to a cheatgrass monoculture is detremenmtaal to golden eagles. The regional biologist notes there are recent records of GOEA nesting territories on the NE end of the Sanpitch.

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.

The primary objective of the project is to remove cheatgrass competition from the sagebrush community on the Fountain Green WMA and thereby improve the vigor and health of the community as demonstrated by an increase in cover and frequency.  This associated anticipated improvement of the vigor and health of the vegetative community by extension will increase the value of the land for wintering big game better accomplishing the purpose of the land ownership. Removing this fine fuel will also reduce the likelihood of a catastrophic wildfire that would destroy the sagebrush that is so critical on this winter range.

One secondary objective is to evaluate the potential future use of Rejuvra. We will accomplish this by doing some comparison plots with Imazipic and monitor the differences overtime along with some other locations in the state.

Another secondary objective is to use the project area as a demonstration property where others can come and see the results of the use of this new product for better or worse.

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.

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.