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.

1. Reduce the risk of large, scale, catastrophic wildfires 2. Improve the resilience and adaptive capacity of the project area by managing stand densities 3. Improve wildlife habitat including the improvement of summer range habitat for mule deer, and increasing ground cover and foraging habitat for small mammals 4. Restore ecological function to riparian areas 5. Reduce the generation of fine sediment thereby improving fisheries habitats 6. Maintain or promote tree vigor and form in young stands to minimize the future impacts of biotic (e.g., mistletoe and bark beetles) and abiotic damage (e.g., snow damage and windthrow) by managing stand densities. 7.Restore aspen and riparian ecosystems 8. Reintroduce low severity fire to the landscape 
To achieve these objectives, we plan to reduce hazardous fuels, remove of dead, diseased, and encroaching trees, create a mosaic of different age/size classes, stand structures, and species compositions on the landscape level, and remove encroaching conifer from riparian vegetation types. All these tools work together to return the area closer to its properly functioning condition, and allow low severity prescribed and natural fire to be reintroduced to further maintain those properly functioning conditions. By reducing the risk of severe fire and decreasing vegetation cover to resemble properly functioning conditions, we can increase available water for the watersheds involved, as well as reduce the risk of water quality issues caused by high severity fires. Proposed treatments to reach these objectives include conifer removal, pre-commercial thinning via both mastication and lop and scatter, prescribed burning, cut pile and burn, cut skid and deck, and traditional commercial timber sales.

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.

If left untreated, the advanced lodgepole regeneration would continue the self-pruning process, their growth rate will gradually slow, and the understory vegetation will decline. Mature lodgepole and mixed conifer stands would move further away from properly functioning condition, with less than the desired amount of early seral age classes. These areas which are already poor habitat for most wildlife species would become even less desirable. Currently advanced regeneration areas are at an ideal stage for thinning, and beetle killed mature lodgepole still possess economic value that can be captured. There are also large amounts of dwarf mistletoe infecting the overstory of these areas. Large tree development in the project area will be delayed and may even be impossible without incorporating some form of density management treatment into the overall management strategy of these areas. Without intervention, the area will continue to decline in value for most wildlife species. Overall forage values will remain minimal, and the density of the stands will not allow for most wildlife passage and use. Dwarf mistletoe will continue to transfer from the overstory to the understory, inhibiting growth and stunting regeneration and overall recovery of these stands. The current state of the treatment area possesses a high risk for high intensity stand replacing fires. The areas where Sanitation treatments will occur are areas overrun with dwarf mistletoe. Prior treatments failed to consider the amount of disease in the overstory, resulting in a heavily infected understory. Without treatment, the stand is unlikely to develop the structure and individual tree size needed to provide quality habitat for wildlife species. The treatment hopes to eliminate but will definitely inhibit spread of the disease.

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.

Ashley National Forest Plan (pg. IV-28 -- IV-46)
Wildlife and Fish Goal 1: Manage fish and wildlife habitat to maintain or improve diversity and productivity. Objective 1: Develop and implement habitat management plan that will include key ecosystems and maintain habitat for supporting T&E or sensitive plants and animal species and management indicator species. Objective 3: Manage the habitat of all T&E or sensitive plant and animal species to maintain or enhance their status. 
Goal 2: involve concerned government agencies, environmental organizations, and special interest groups in wildlife and fisheries management programObjective 5: Develop support from wildlife interest groups for funding or labor for wildlife and fish projects. 
Goal 3: Restore or maintain forested landscapes in a properly functioning condition. Functioning forested landscapes provide habitat for the northern goshawk and its prey to support a viable population of goshawks in Utah (Ashley National Forest Plan Amendment --Utah Northern Goshawk Project (page cc-1)) 
Riparian Goal: Protect and enhance the unique and valuable characteristics of riparian areas
Objective #1: Maintain or improve riparian areas and riparian dependent resource values including wildlife, fish, vegetation, watershed, and recreation in a stable or upward trend. Manage for species diversity. 
Timber Goal: Optimize wood fiber production to meet public demands consistent with other resource objectives and environmental constraints.

1. 2003 Wasatch-Cache Forest Plan:
(Sub goal 3d) Restore or maintain fire-adapted ecosystems (consistent with land uses, historic fire regimes, and other Forest Plan direction) through wildland fire use, prescribed fire, timber harvest or mechanical treatments. -(G24) Management activities that negatively affect pollinators (e.g. insecticide, herbicide application and prescribed burns) should not be conducted during the flowering period of any known Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive plant populations in the application area. An exception to this guideline is the application of Bacillus thuringiensis. - (G37) Use prescribed fire in wilderness only to meet wilderness management objectives. The objective of prescribed fire management in wilderness (FSM 2324.21) is to reduce, to an acceptable level, the risks and consequences of wildfire within wilderness or escaping from wilderness. - (G3.1W-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring watersheds to desired conditions, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface. - (G3.2U-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring terrestrial habitat, for hazardous fuel reduction, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface. - (G4.2-1) Vegetation/fuels treatment, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed to mimic historic conditions and to restore ecosystem functioning. - (G4.3-1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuels treatment, road construction, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed to mimic historic conditions and to restore ecosystem functioning as compatible with the backcountry recreation opportunity and natural setting desired. - (G4.5-1) Timber harvest, road construction, vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire, new recreation development, and new trail construction are allowed for the purposes of providing public enjoyment, safety, and protection of site investments. - (G5.2) Prior to use of prescribed fire and wildland fire use, investments made for timber production, such as road systems and silvicultural improvements, and the value of the timber for wood production receive consideration. - (G6.2 -1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuels treatments, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed to maintain or improve forage production or for hazardous fuel reduction. - (Objective 3.b.) Stimulate aspen regeneration and reduce other encroaching woody species in aspen by treating (fire use and/or timber harvest) approximately 3,200 acres average annually 1 for a 10-year total of 32,000 acres. - Vegetation cover types will form a mosaic of plant communities representing a diverse mix of ages, sizes, and species. Fire use will play a role in reducing fuels, maintaining the historic dynamic of aspen regeneration and ratio of conifer to aspen and mountain brush vegetation patterns and age classes. Mechanical treatment of fuels along with limited use of prescribed fire will emphasize the safety of people and protection of property in the heavily populated and increasingly developed urban wildland interface adjacent to National Forest.

2. 2001 Roadless Rule: -Prohibits cutting, sale, and removal of timber in inventoried roadless areas, except: -For the cutting, sale, or removal of generally small diameter trees which maintains or improves roadless characteristics and to: -Improve habitat for threatened, endangered, proposed, or sensitive species, or -maintain or restore ecosystem composition and structure, such as reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire effects.

3. Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan: -Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat in ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into aspen habitats. -Seek opportunities through WRI to improve aspen communities that provide crucial summer habitat for mule deer. -Encourage land managers to manage portions of aspen/conifer forest in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire. -North Slope is a habitat restoration priority area for mule deer in Utah.

4. Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan: -Identify habitat projects on summer range (aspen communities) to improve calving habitat. -Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat -Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early successional stages through the use of controlled burning and logging. Controlled burning should only be used in areas with minimal invasive weed and/or safety concerns.

5. Utah Moose Statewide Management Plan: -Initiate prescribed burns and other vegetative treatment projects to improve moose habitat lost to ecological succession or human impacts.

6. Utah Bighorn Sheep Statewide Management Plan: -Encourage land management agencies to use fire as a management tool to improve bighorn sheep habitat. When possible allow fires that can have beneficial effects for bighorn sheep to burn. -Initiate vegetative treatment projects to improve bighorn habitat lost to natural succession or human impacts.

7. Northern Goshawk of Utah: Habitat Assessment and Management Recommendations: -Early and mid-seral species should be increased using both mechanical means and fire. -Polices should be adopted to manage for the production of large early seral species through clearings, thinnings, and weedings, using mechanical means or fire. -Fire or mechanical treatments or both should be used to create conditions favorable to lodgepole pine and quaking aspen.

8. Guidelines for Aspen Regeneration on National Forests in Utah: - Much of the loss of aspen-dominated acreage is attributable to encroachment and overtopping by conifer. It has often been presumed that this encroachment i.e., the natural succession process for seral stands, is the result of fire suppression.

9. Boreal Toad Conservation Plan: -(3.1.1) Protect habitats in forest stands adjacent to and within 2.5 miles of breeding sites. -(3.1.2) Restrict burns to late fall through early spring during which time boreal toads are inactive in known occupied areas. -Burning of downed woody materials approximately 18 to 25 cm DBH is detrimental to boreal toads, because these materials are often selected as beneficial microhabitats. However, fire may eventually result in higher shrub densities in the understory that may provide cover and improved dispersal corridors.

10. Utah Black Bear Management Plan: -Successional replacement of aspen stands by conifers can significantly reduce bear-food production in aspen communities. Both fire and selective logging of conifers can be used to maintain aspen vigor.

11. UDWR Wildlife Action Plan: - While the Aspen-Conifer physical (abiotic) habitat remains largely intact in Utah, coverage of aspen itself within that setting has declined greatly for two main reasons: (1) departure from natural fire regime (reduction in disturbance), resulting in widespread forest succession to conifer dominance; and (2) heavy ungulate browsing on young aspen stems, following disturbance. - The growing problem of catastrophic mega-fires can be solved by a systematic campaign of active restoration via mechanical fuel-reduction treatments and prescribed fire to safely return wildfire as a viable, natural, cost effective means of maintaining necessary patterns of ecological succession across the landscape. - Increasing disturbance from either prescribed or natural fire. Recent studies have shown that larger scale burns (e.g., 5,000 acres) that burn more intensely have been the most successful in terms of aspen regeneration. Higher-intensity burns stimulate higher numbers of young aspen per unit area, than lower intensity burns. A larger treatment area distributes ungulate browse pressure, allowing most young aspen stems to reach a safe height. - Applying mechanical disturbance agents such as timber harvest. This can also be used to stimulate aspen regeneration and avoid or reduce resource losses to conifer beetles. As with fire, larger mechanical treatment areas serve to distribute browsing pressure and reduce damage to individual stems, increasing regeneration success.

12. State of Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy: - Rather than justreducing fires, the ultimate goal is to return landscapes to a condition of health and resilience that allows for wildfires to burn without becoming catastrophic to either human or natural systems.

13. Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Colorado River Cutthroat Trout in the State of Utah: -Natural climatic events such as flood, fire and drought may threaten specific populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT); however, these forces only pose threats as long as CRCT range remains fragmented and populations are small. Small, isolated populations are more susceptible to catastrophic loss and impacts from demographic stochasticity.

14. Unit 8 Deer Management Plan -Work with federal, private, and state partners to improve crucial deer habitats through the Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI) process. Also work with federal and state partners in fire rehabilitation on crucial deer habitat through the WRI process. -Manage conifer encroachment on important summer ranges by utilizing prescribed fire. Seek opportunities to increase browse in burned areas of critical winter range.

15. Unit 8 Elk Management Plan Work cooperatively with the USFS and BLM to utilize prescribed burning, mechanical conifer and PJ removal, and grazing to enhance elk forage quantity and quality.
DAGGET COUNTY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN pgs. 13-15
To ensure public lands are managed for multiple use, sustained yield, and prevention of natural resource waste. Project is designed to reduce waste through the utilization of wood products created through treatment.
Resource use decisions should achieve and maintain in perpetuity a high level annual or regular periodic output of various principal resources, are designed to produce and provide the desired vegetation for the watersheds, water supply, timber, food, fiber, livestock and wildlife forage, and minerals that are necessary to meet present needs and future economic growth, community expansion, without permanent impairment of the land. Forest products generated by treatment would produce desired vegetation and provide timber products to meet present and future economic needs.
Forest, rangelands, timber and other vegetative resources provide resources for the state's timber and logging industries and contribute to the state's timber and logging industries. Forest products generated by treatment would produce desired vegetation and provide timber products to meet present and future economic needs.
SUMMIT COUNTY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN pgs. 21-25
Wildlife goal 1: provide for healthy wildlife habitats..
Wildfire management goal 1: continued prevention of catastrophic wildfires in Summit County. 
Forest management goal 1: provide for healthy and sustainable ecosystems while including benefits for people. Sub goal -- timber for commercial harvest: Use timber harvest where allowed, to contribute to the economy while achieving properly functioning conditions of vegetation and watersheds.

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 use of prescribed fire on the North Slope has been very limited during the past and most wildfires have been suppressed. According to fire statistics, the number of large wildfires appears to be increasing since 1980. The majority of the project is within fire regime IV (35-100+ years) and V (> 200 years) with a condition class of 2. One of the objectives of this project is to manage hazardous fuel loads, continuity of hazardous fuels, and minimize the potential for large, high intensity/high severity wildfires. This project will help the North Slope move towards a more properly functioning condition (composition, stand structure, age classes, and patch size). It will promote aspen regeneration and reduce conifer encroachment. Aspens are a more fire-adapted species than conifers since they have a higher moisture content, contain fewer chemicals, and provide less fuel during their dormant period. Reducing hazardous fuels along the road corridor and around recreational areas would mitigate public safety risks should a wildfire occur. Mechanical treatments would allow prescribed burns to be safely implemented by reducing hazardous tree risks and protecting fire personnel from injury during implementation.

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.

Dense stands prevent snow and moisture from reaching the forest floor which can be lost through evaporation and sublimation. The thinning of these dense stands will increase the amount of moisture reaching the forest floor resulting in increased water availability on the site as well as increase in runoff. Reductions in forest biomass have also been shown to increase available water to both streamflow and remaining vegetation due to an overall decrease of the amount of water being transpired by forest biomass. The decrease is fuel load could greatly increase water quality in the event of a wildfire by decreasing the fuel load the risk of hydrophobic soils would be significantly reduced. Removal of encroaching conifers in the riparian areas will allow for riparian vegetation to establish and maintain proper ecological function for riparian areas. Improve health and function of riparian areas by allowing continuous flow paths throughout the meadows, which in turn will lengthen the resident time of water in the meadow. Water quality will be improved by allowing the meadow to filter fine sediments rather than being transported down an in-board ditch.

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.

Ashley: Vegetation treatments would vary across the project area depending on landscape conditions. For example, in treatment areas with adequate access for logging trucks treatments that allow for utilization of forest products would be prioritized, while those areas within roadless lacking adequate access could be treated with cut pile and burn treatments.
In the Hickerson Park Area, the project includes precommercial thinning in young lodgepole pine stands where approximately 300-360 trees per acre would remain (11-12 foot spacing), and slash would be lopped and scattered. Sanitation of immature lodgepole stands heavily infected by dwarf mistletoe and conifer removal from meadows would be accomplished via contract crews using chainsaws, where unwanted trees would be felled, lopped, and scattered. A cut-skid-deck contract would treat mature lodgepole stands that have become heavily affected by mountain pine beetle and dwarf mistletoe. Timber products would be decked and sold following treatment. The main road (FSR 001) leading to Sprit Lake Lodge and Campground dissects quite a few meadow (also knowns as Parks on Forest Service maps). The road has caused disruption of flow continuity of upstream side of the meadow to the downstream side. Water is diverted along the in-board ditch of the road and not allowed to follow its natural flow path, leading to dewatering parts of the meadows. In August of 2016, the forest service installed a series permeable fill cross drains to help alleviate to problem. Permeable fill cross drains are constructed using geotextile fabric, and layer of course rock and another layer of fabric. The area is still in need of additional cross drains to maintain the health of the meadows. In addition, by allow the flow of water to follow its natural paths, fine sediment generated from the road surface will be reduced from entering nearby stream channel via in-board ditches The Forest Service is proposing to install a series of additional permeable fill cross drains as part of this proposal.
UWC: UWC: The project area is divided into three treatment units: the northern (4,510 ac), eastern (1,300 ac), and the southern (20,088 ac). The project will include 20,000- 30,000 acres (prescribed fire, lop and scatter, and cut and pile). Some treatments will overlap in acres.  Phase 5 1,772 acre broadcast burn Between Fish lake Trail and Burnt Fork trail.

Virtual Fence : The Burnt Fork Allotment is permitted for 182 cow/calf pairs from June 26 to September 30. The Burnt Beaver Project has removed tress which acted as natural barriers to keep livestock on their allotment (Burnt Fork Allotment). As result, livestock are not staying on their allotment. Virtual Fence has been proposed to address this issue as opposed to traditional physical fencing. Virtual fence provides the opportunity to restore the barriers and keep livestock on the allotment and within their respective units without additional traditional physical fencing. This is a migration area for big game wildlife. It is very likely not having to put in more traditional physical fencing will enhance the migration for big game wildlife in this area. Virtual fence can also protect streams and wet meadows, if monitoring shows it is needed.

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.

During Phase I of this project partners included UDWR through obtaining funds to hire Utah Conservation Corps crews to conduct timber stand, Browns transect, and goshawk surveys and hiring an archaeology contractor to survey the project area. During Phase II and III, a Mule Deer Foundation participation agreement  and Shared Stewardship was used for mechanical and hand treatments. UDWR is part of the collaborative process of selecting Phase III and IV treatment areas and supporting project implementation. 
Phase V of the Uinta Wasatch Cache and the Ashley National Forest  have partnered to expand the project area across forest boundaries. 
The Ashley N.F. will continue to collaborate with UDWR, UWC and other sportsmen groups as their side of the project progresses.

See link in documents to see videos about partnership between FS/MDF/DWR

Nearby SITLA land has been treated with previous WRI projects.
Private land and other agencies were not applicable due to distance and lack of forest component.

Other partners include: Habitat Council Account, Federal Aid (PR), USFS-WRI, Internal Conservation Permit (ICP Bighorn), Utah Wild Sheep Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, Sportsman for Fish & Wildlife, and Utah Archery Association.

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.

Ashley: Stands in the project area that are designated as being suitable for timber production will continued to be treated over the rotation cycle of the stands, with precommercial thinning, and other forms of harvest. Cut-skid-deck units will be monitored to ensure they meet stocking requirements, and those that do not will be planted accordingly. Prescribed and/or managed wildfire may also be used in the future where appropriate.

UWC: Future phases will continue mechanical treatments and focus on prescribed burn treatments throughout the project area. Thinning in the UWC's Eastern unit will also provide a potential area for a future sustainable timber harvest. Follow-up treatments may be pursued where appropriate and allowable if initial treatments are deemed unsuccessful. If treated stands cannot be certified as naturally regenerating after five years, then planting(s) may be scheduled to meet Forest Plan stocking requirements. Continued monitoring of collared animals in the area by DWR biologist.

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.