Project Details

Yellow Fork Creek is a stream on the edge of ecological collapse in a landscape of high human use. Stream and upland habitat quality has declined and a high risk of fire threatens habitat and the adjacent/intermixed human community. This effort uses existing partnerships to build on previous fuels treatments and stream restoration efforts.

Yellow Fork of Rose Creek is quite degraded. Utah DEQ lists Rose Creek as impaired for E. Coil, requiring a TMDL. Patches of the stream corridor are devoid of woody vegetation. There are no fish in Yellow Fork. The stream habitat diversity is quite low and the stream banks are extremely incised. Yellow Fork has a lot of potential to be a top-notch recreational destination in Salt Lake County. The entire canyon is open, public land, the stream is spring-fed with year-round flow, and the riparian corridor has several robust patches of aspen, willow, and hawthorne.

Yellow Fork is also connected to large swaths of upland habitat used by mule deer including spring/fall substantial and winter crucial habitat. Juniper expansion and infilling has degraded the sagebrush/mixed shrub ecosystem and greatly increased the risk of severe wildfire. Where trees dominate, they outcompete understory species for light, moisture, and nutrients eventually resulting in nearly complete removal of the understory. Without understory vegetation the native seed bank is depleted. The site becomes susceptible to soil erosion. Resistance to invasion by cheatgrass and noxious weeds and resilience in the face of disturbance and stressors declines.  Excessive fuel buildup can lead to an increase in the severity of wildfires.  High severity fire coupled with a depleted understory can make post-fire recovery challenging.
 
The Hi-Country Estates 1 and 2 communities are built on the lower slopes between Yellow Fork and Butterfield Creeks. The fire risk from the Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment in and near these communities is "extreme" decreasing to "moderate" up toward the ridges. There is a need for hazardous fuels treatment near these communities to decrease the risk of high severity fire impacting the communities and to increase the opportunities to safely engage wildfire in the area. 
The purpose of this project is to improve water quality; restore stream, riparian, and upland ecosystems; improve wildlife habitat; and decrease fire risk to habitats and human communities in and adjacent to Yellow Fork Canyon by constructing beaver dam analogs (BDAs), removing juniper, and seeding with perennial species.

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) Build beaver dam analogs (BDAs) to create habitat for beavers to re-colonize the watershed. If beavers do not re-establish, the BDAs will provide similar benefits to natural beaver activity.
 
2) Capture sediment, which improves water quality, while also raising the stream bed and reconnecting the stream with its floodplain. 
 
3) Promote healthy vegetation in sections of Yellow Fork Creek that are severely incised and devoid of woody vegetation.
 
4) Expand the area of and seasonal extent of green riparian vegetation through stream restoration practices and native plantings in order to improve habitat for migratory birds (e.g. Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo), native pollinators (e.g. Western Monarch Butterfly), and summer forage for mule deer in the area.
 
5) Protect and improve mule deer habitat, including winter crucial habitat.
 
6) Reduce crown fire potential and fuel loading by decreasing juniper cover.
 
7) Reduce fire risk to the Hi-Country Estates communities.
 
8) Further all three goals of the National Cohesive Strategy: Resilient Landscapes, Fire Adapted Communities, and Safe and Effective Wildfire Response.

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.

Yellow Fork is a tributary of Rose Creek, which is currently listed as an impaired waterway due to poor water quality (E. coli). Yellow Fork Creek's riparian forest is facing an ecological threshold. While the upper reaches of Yellow Fork have a healthy aspen community, there are several hundred meters of stream length devoid of woody vegetation. The stream channel is extremely incised, owing to past soil disturbance, and the stream is disconnected from its floodplain. There are currently no fish in Yellow Fork Creek, however partners in UT DWR's Aquatics team support restoration efforts toward a goal of releasing cutthroat trout if habitat improves sufficiently.
 
Upland habitats are threatened by juniper expansion and infilling and the risk of high severity fire. This project will decrease the risk of high severity wildfire by reducing fuel loading and promoting the growth of perennial understory species which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience. Implementing treatments sooner rather than later will prevent ecological thresholds being crossed due to the loss of native perennial species.

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.

1) Utah's Wildlife Action Plan: DWR Publication Number 15-14, State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources, Effective 2015-2025: One goal of this plan, is to increase the extent of native riparian vegetation by restoring beavers on the landscape, using the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT). For the upland habitats in the project area recommendations for improving conditions include: Promoting policies and management that allow fire to return to a more natural regime; Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the Uncharacteristic class, including cutting/mulching of invading pinyon and juniper trees, and herbicide or mechanical treatment of non-native invasive species such as cheatgrass; Promoting management that includes seeding a diversity of grasses, forbs and shrubs that will lead to increased resiliency and resistance in the plant community.

2) Utah's Beaver Management Plan (2017 update): Stated goal is to "maintain healthy, functional beaver populations in ecological balance with available habitat, human needs, and associated species." Using the BRAT tool and conversations with aquatic biologists, big game biologists, Utah DWR has identified Yellow Fork Canyon as a suitable habitat for beaver relocation.

3) Beaver WRI grant: Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources works closely with Utah State University to live-trap nuisance beavers, quarantine, and relocate them to more suitable areas.

4) Pony Express Resource Management Plan (BLM 1990) as amended: While the project is not specifically mentioned in the original plan, Wildlife and Fisheries Decision 4 (protect important wildlife habitat values from disturbing activities, page 37) and Decision 5 (improve crucial habitats of present wildlife populations, page 37) apply to the project.

5) Approved Amendment and Decision Record for the Salt Lake District Proposed Fire Management Plan Amendment, EA-UT-020-98-08 (BLM, 1998). Alternative 2-Proposed Action/Integrated Fire/Resource Management Plan (page 7-8) includes the fuels treatment methods in this project. The objectives of the project are consistent with the decision to emphasize greater use of vegetation management to meet resource management objectives.

6) West Desert District Fire Management Plan (BLM 2016): Consistent with goals, objectives, and protection measures (section 2.2) and with the priorities and goals of non-fire fuels treatments (section 3.3.2).

7) Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 2019: Section IV Statewide Management Goals and Objectives. This proposal will address Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2024. Strategy b: Work with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize mule deer habitats that need enhancement or restoration. Emphasis should be placed on crucial habitats including sagebrush winter ranges and aspen summer ranges.  Strategy d: 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. Strategy e: Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinyon-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire.

8) National Cohesive Strategy goals: Resilient Landscapes, Fire Adapted Communities, and Safe and Effective Wildfire Response.

9) Hi-Country Estates 1 and 2 Community Wildfire Protection Plans: Identified need for fuel reduction of pinyon-juniper to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire in these communities.

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.

BDAs and beaver reintroduction are low-cost fire mitigation strategies. By building BDAs, we are creating habitat for beavers to re-establish (see future management section) and take over these structures long-term. BDAs hold water back temporarily within the stream channel, increasing the surface area of stream and wetted soils along the stream bank. When soil moisture persists throughout the year, riparian plants remain green during dry summer months, serving as a green fire breaks. Recent studies have shown that beaver dams serve as fire breaks on the landscape, can reduce the severity of fires, and provide refuge for animals during large fires. Beavers also provide inexpensive thinning services.
 
Pinyon and juniper tree encroachment is the result of long-term fire suppression, however these dense canopies now pose an even greater fire risk. Mastication and thinning treatments will mitigate the risk of high severity fire by decreasing and rearranging the fuel loading. The treatments will also create more opportunities for safe engagement of wildfire. Treatments on private land near homes will create defensible space.

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.

NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 compliance will be initiated by BLM for the pinyon-juniper treatments on BLM land early calendar year 2022 and will complete it by fall prior to the beginning of work slated for this year. Compliance with additional applicable laws will be integrated with the NEPA process.
 
We will acquire a stream alteration permit (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued Programmatic General Permit 10 PGP-10) for the BDA work. Sageland Collaborative will work with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Cultural Resources Program Specialist to review the stream restoration sites and confirm that the BDAs comply with Utah Code Section 9-8-404 and NHPA We do not foresee the need for any municipal-level approvals for our work in Yellow Fork. We have acquired site access permission from Patrick Leary at Salt Lake County Open Space. In compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, we plan BDA building activities such that we do not disturb nesting songbirds by working in the stream during nesting season.

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.

BLM will masticate pinyon and juniper trees on approximately 237 acres between Yellow Fork and Butterfield Canyon, adjacent to Hi-Country Estates 1. Mastication is limited to slopes less than 30%.  Up to 100% of trees would be removed, but scattered and clumped trees would be left to protect wildlife, old-growth, and visual resources. Affected areas will be seeded prior to mastication to promote perennial herbaceous growth. FFSL will create fuel breaks by thinning, scattering and chipping trees along the edge of BLM property abutting private lands between Butterfield and Yellow Fork Canyons.
 
We plan to install up to 150 BDAs in Yellow Fork Canyon. We will hire a contractor to install pre-sharpened fence posts into the steam bed, using a hydraulic post pounder. Based on prior work in this stream, each BDA needs 3 to 5 posts to span the stream channel. Next, we will recruit volunteers to fill in the gaps between fence posts with materials found on site (rocks, branches, etc.).

We will plant 500 plants (native tree, shrub and herbaceous species) along the riparian corridor. We will consult range maps in the NRCS technical note (Tilley et al 2012) for riparian species in the intermountain west. Plantings will coincide with with BDA placement to increase water availability to young vegetation.

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.

FFSL will work with landowners to ensure best management practices are being followed to maintain the best value of fuels mitigation efforts.

BLM will monitor fuel treatment effectiveness for a minimum of five years post-treatment.Multiple 3-spoke monitoring plots will be established and read within the project area. Vegetation and ground cover data will be collected using the line-point intercept method and nested frequency. Photos will be taken and a botanical survey of the plot completed. Data will be collected pre, 1, 3, and 5 years post treatment.  Reports will be generated as data are collected and summarized and uploaded to the WRI database.

Sageland Collaborative will monitor the site before and one year after BDA installation using the Rapid stream Riparian Assessment tool (Stacy et al. 2013), and monthly water quality samples between March and October using the Utah Water Watch protocol. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will install trail cameras to monitor beaver and other wildlife activity in the restored area.

DWR and Camp Williams Environmental Resource Management have set up Pinyon Jay monitoring stations on Camp Williams and one in Yellow Fork Canyon. These stations will provide data on Pinyon Jay occupancy in the area potentially for 5+ years.

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.

BLM will complete NEPA compliance, and carry out mastication and seeding activities on BLM-own land.  FFSL will contract Utah Fire Authority to carry out chipping and spreading activities along private landowner property lines. FFSL will continue to develop relationships with landowners in adjacent properties for future fuels mitigation activities beyond FY23.

Utah DWR Central Region habitat section will work closely with Sageland Collaborative to implement BDAs and participate in the volunteer events. Members of the Utah DWR aquatics team have visited the site and expressed support for building BDAs and improving the riparian habitat. If the habitat improves sufficiently, this stream could host cutthroat trout. Utah DWR big game biologist Jason Robinson also visited the site and expressed support for trail cameras, improvements for summer forage, and beaver activity in this watershed. Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation owns the land that the BDAs will be implemented on, and has expressed enthusiastic support for restoration of this stream.

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.

The first phase of the juniper treatment will be mastication on BLM land north of Yellow Fork. Lop and scatter and pile burning are planned for several hundred more acres that connect the initial mastication treatment to Yellow Fork Canyon. The subsequent phases will be covered in the NEPA completed this year. There will also be expansion into privately owned lands in subsequent phases as funding and landowner relationships continue to grow.

Releasing beavers -- UT DWR has been using beavers for habitat restoration in other watersheds around the state. Yellow Fork Canyon is listed on their list of potential beaver release sites to improve the hydrology and wildlife habitat, as well as mitigate water quality issues identified by the Division of Water Quality. This project will significantly increase the chances of successful beaver establishment. Upon completion of this project and sufficient time has passed, UT DWR will assess whether other absent native species (i.e. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout) can be reintroduced due to the improved habitat.

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.