Project Details

The Quail Creek Diversion Dam, located below the treatment area, diverts water to the Hurricane Hydropower Plant before being stored in Sand Hollow Reservoir, a municipal water source. During flood events, the gates are lifted to avoid impacts to the infrastructure. This results in a loss of water stored for municipal use. With expected changing weather patterns of high intensity storms and limited snow pack (NOAA), it is important to restore watershed function in this area to capture more flood runoff. Russian olive and tamarisk alter the flow of the river, resulting in incised stream banks, increased flood damage risk, and reduced water quality. By removing these invasive species, the treatment area will have reduced stream channelization allowing for dispersed floodwaters.

Additionally, restoring native vegetation to the treatment area will provide a functioning riparian forage buffer that can recharge ground water and lessen storm water runoff. Restoring native vegetation in this area can filter debris from post-fire flooding while propagating additional cottonwood and willow forests. Benefits of this project include reduce wildfire potential, increased wildlife habitat, and increased water quality and quantity.

Desert sucker, flannel mouth sucker, and Virgin spinedace are not currently ESA listed. Virgin spinedace was recently petitioned for the second time to be listed under the ESA. Due to recovery efforts, including projects similar to this, the Virgin spinedace has maintained population levels and are not listed under the ESA. According to the report on the Federal Register, the primary stressors affecting the Virgin spinedace include reduced streamflow, impeded fish passage, poor water quality, and climate change. Removal of Russian olive and tamarisk will reduce stream channelization allowing for more riffles and pools increasing the habitat for these fish species. Additionally, there is no diversion or dam upriver of this treatment increasing success of this project to benefit wildlife.

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.

FFSL is using other federal grant funds, that are soon expiring, for staff funding and treatment of private lands. Combining this funding with the requested WRI funds will allow for FFSL to  extend onto BLM lands that would otherwise not be treated. Expanding this treatment to BLM lands will prolong the treatments success by removing the seed source. Additionally, most of this river corridor is developed and BLM property offers an ideal area for floodwater distribution to recharge ground water.

The overstory is composed of native cottonwood vegetation. Recent flooding has resulted in
an increase of native cottonwood and willow regeneration along the banks of the river. At the moment, the native plants have the advantage. Nonetheless, Russian olive and tamarisk can grow up to six feet a year and soon begin to outcompete native species and become dominant. In drought years, these long taproot invasive species are able to access the water table whereas native shallow rooted species begin to die from lack of water. These invasive species will continue to lower the water table, extending drought conditions experienced by native vegetation. Currently these invasive species are small and scattered throughout native vegetation, with few patches of dense monocultures of these invasive species. This is especially important because the soil biota still supports cottonwood germination and establishment. Once a riverbank is only composed of invasive species, the mycorrhizal fungi required for cottonwood seed germination is often missing, requiring soil inoculation for successful restoration. Treating this area now will have high success rates, whereas delaying this treatment will have increased cottonwood and willow mortality caused by drought conditions and competition with invasive species.

Treatment is relatively inexpensive at the moment. As invasive species increase so does treatment cost and effectiveness. Russian olive and tamarisk also change the natural flow of the river. With each flood the banks become more incised altering the natural flow of the channel and lowering the water table, making it difficult for native plants to re-establish. Re-vegetation will also be minimal since the area is dominated by natives. However, in another five years invasive species will begin to dominate making re-vegetation much more difficult and costly.

Tamarisk and dense Russian olive thickets increase the risk for wildfire. Wildfire can be carried much easier through these species compared to native species. This area borders many residences and businesses. Not only are structures at risk, but a fire in this area would be detrimental to this ecosystem. If a fire were to occur many of the old growth cottonwoods would be killed and the soil could be sterilized, preventing establishment of new cottonwoods. As this ecosystem is not adapted to fire, it is likely the burn area would be replaced with the re-sprouts of tamarisk and Russian olive and other secondary weeds. This area needs to be treated before it is lost to a wildfire where restoration would be difficult with limited success.

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.

There are numerous management plans that address removal of invasive species, increase of wildlife habitat, reduction of fuels, and increasing collaboration and education with landowners. Below highlight some of those plans.

--1-- Forestry, Fire and State Lands, Utah Forest Action Plan 2020: This project addresses 3 of the 4 goals of Utah's FAP: 1. Restore healthy and resilient trees and forests across Utah.
2. Reduce wildfire risk to communities, water resources, and other natural resource values.
3. Increase collaborative landscape-scale forest restoration activities across the State.

--2-- Virgin River Resource Management and Recovery Program (VRP): Actions to benefit 3 native fish species under the ESA  and the southwestern willow flycatcher. Participants include USFWS, Zion NP, DNR, Washington County Water Conservancy District, and TNC. Actions include riparian restoration, removal of non-native plants, flow improvements, and education.

--3--Utah Wildlife Action Plan 2015-2025: Invasive species, a level 3 threat, are ranked very high for Virgin spinedace, Desert sucker, and Flannelmouth sucker. It is ranked high for Southwestern willow flycatcher. The project is within the riverine aquatic key habitat. This project helps reduce 3 of the threats to this key habitat: inappropriate fire frequency and intensity, droughts, and invasive plant species.

--4--Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Program, Mountain-Prairie Region Strategic Plan 2017-2021: this project is within a PFW focus area, priority habitat type (riparian) and priority species (the proposed project addresses invasive species as a habitat threat).

--5--Natural Resource Conservation Service, Working Lands for Wildlife Program: this project addresses habitat restoration, invasive species removal and connectivity of suitable habitat for a focus species, the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, through addressing the following goals: protect, maintain and restore riparian habitat; increase and improve occupied, suitable and potential SWFL breeding habitat; improve weed and invasive species management; increase connectivity of existing and potential SWFL habitat.

--6--DEQ Virgin River Watershed Water Quality Management Plan: is supported by this project by the continued control of exotic plants including tamarisk and Russian olive and restoration of cottonwood trees.

--7-- Utah Noxious Weed Act supports this proposal through the continued removal and control of tamarisk, a Class C Weed. Also by meeting Strategic goals and Objectives, Goal I, protect the State's natural, agricultural, and ranching resources including water quality and quantity.

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.

Numerous residences, businesses, and historical buildings in Virgin, Springdale, Rockville and Grafton have high wildfire risk with current Russian olive and tamarisk thickets. With limited access across the river and between parcels, a fire on either side could be difficult to combat. This project is focused on the Virgin River above the Quail Creek Diversion Dam, which supplies water to the Hurricane Hydropower plant before delivery to Sand Hollow and Quail Creek Reservoirs. A fire in this watershed could severely impact multiple municipal water supplies and damage water infrastructure.

A fire in this ecosystem could severely damage cottonwood stands, reducing the limited native vegetation along the riparian corridor. This would heavily impact wildlife species, including endangered and sensitive species. A severe fire could sterilize the soil, killing the mycorrhizal fungi required for cottonwood germination. As riparian ecosystems are not adapted for fire, recovery from a fire would be very difficult and success would be limited.

This project will remove Russian olive and tamarisk and the fire risk associated with it. Native cottonwood and willow trees in this ecosystem are adapted to flooding. By removing the invasive species and allowing for natural flooding, sand deposits will create vegetation gaps and reduce the fine fuel build up; this creates a sustainable fuel reduction project.

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.

Removing Russian olive and tamarisk will reduce stream channelization and create a functioning riparian vegetation buffer, increasing both water quality and quantity. The headwaters of this river are not dammed. The first diversion is below the treatment area, which has the gates lifted during flood events. Restoring the native vegetation along the riverbanks will allow for periodic flooding into the riparian vegetation buffer. This will allow for reduced flood damage, increased sedimentation filtration, and allow for flood waters to recharge ground water sources. A functioning riparian vegetation buffer has the potential to reduce the need for the diversion dam gates to be lifted, increasing the amount of water diverted for municipal use to Sand Hollow and Quail Creek Reservoirs. Additionally, a functioning riparian vegetation buffer can reduce the impacts of post-fire runoff on fish, wildlife, and municipal water infrastructure.

Tamarisk plants excrete salt, resulting in an accumulation of salt in the surface soil. This salt layer increases soil pH, reduces native vegetation, and negatively impacts the watershed during runoff events. Removal of tamarisk will help water quality for this watershed, as well as reducing cumulative impacts on downstream uses.

Russian olive and tamarisk are deep-rooted, invasive species. In drought years, they have better access to lower ground water tables, where native species start to drought out. These invasive species can prolong drought effects on native vegetation as they continue to access limited ground water. Removing these invasive species will increase water quantity to native vegetation and reduce prolonged drought effects on the landscape.

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.

Russian olive and tamarisk will be cut using hand-removal methods, herbicide will be applied using the cut-stump method, and the majority of the cut material will be piled to burn. Slash will be chipped in retreatment areas with road access. Herbicides to be used include: Glyphosate for Russian olive, and Triclopyr for tamarisk. Work on BLM and TNC properties will be completed by UCC crews or private contractors if needed. FFSL seasonal staff will conduct the retreatment and the initial treatments on the other privately owned parcels included in the project boundary. The work will take place outside of bird nesting season and fish spawning season: after August 31st and before mid-April.  Seeding will occur in the late fall, after all material is cut. Pile burn operations will occur in the winter when conditions allow. Willow pole cuttings will be harvested and planted in the dormant season. Areas where burn operations are complete and where active regeneration is necessary will take priority for willow planting. Resprouts will be monitored for 1 year post-treatment, and removed by FFSL using other federal grant funding.

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.

For short-term monitoring, FFSL will conduct a retreatment on non-federally owned lands 1 year following the treatment using current federal LSR grant money. Any invasive species that are detected will be removed. Additional willow and cottonwood plantings will occur, if needed or requested by landowners. Repeat photo points will be collected before, after, and 1 year post-treatment to show the treatment's progression.

To ensure long-term success, landowners will be educated on how to identify invasive species, and encouraged to monitor and retreat their properties yearly. The Rockville and Springdale newsletters have been used in the past and will continue to be used to remind landowners to remove invasive species during their spring clean-ups.

Additionally, DWR biologists annually conduct fish monitoring surveys in this area and conduct bird surveys below the diversion dam. TNC staff will continue to monitor their property and conduct retreatments of invasive species as necessary. The Virgin River Management Team and Zion NP have been fully supportive and help remove upriver seed sources, prolonging the effectiveness of this treatment.

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.

TNC: Treatment of 1.7 river miles; approximately 60 acres of floodplain to treat.

BLM: Treatment of 0.6 river miles; approximately 55 acres of floodplain to treat.

Town of Springdale: Outreach and education for re-treatment on private lands, treatment of 0.6 river miles at the town holding ponds; approximately 12 acres of floodplain to treat.

Town of Rockville: Outreach and education for retreatment and initial treatment of privately owned lands.

Grafton Heritage Partnership: Treatment of 1 river mile and extending to approximately 36 acres of flood plain. Continuing ongoing partnership to retreat areas.

Washington County Water Conservancy District: Treatment of 0.15 river miles; approximately 3 acres of floodplain to treat.

FFSL: Project lead, collaboration with partners and landowners through outreach and education.

DWR: Ongoing bird and fish surveys on the Virgin River.

Hurricane Fire Department: Pile burning with help from FFSL.

Private Landowners: Retreatment is planned for approximately 40 landowners who participated in previous treatments. One landowner, Tracy Cox who boarders the Springdale ponds, is scheduled for initial treatment this year.

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.

On-going outreach and education will occur at a community level to encourage landowners to continually monitor and remove these invasive species on their property. The Virgin River Management Team is fully supportive of removing these invasive species and are working with the Town of Springdale in monitoring and removal efforts on town owned property. Grafton Heritage Partnership and The Nature Conservancy are continually monitoring the sections of their properties that have been previously treated, and seeking efforts to remove the re-sprouts. FFSL will continue to educate and encourage landowners to remove any re-sprouts. Additional funding and funding sources will be sought to continue this treatment downriver and assist landowners with retreatment efforts. Zion NP continues to remove the upriver seed source of these invasive species, prolonging the effectiveness of this treatment. Native seed mix requested for this project will be planted in areas that do not have cattle grazing. Grazing will not need to be rested for this treatment.

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.

During flood events fields are undercut and irrigation ditches are filled with sediment. This treatment will help disperse flood waters to areas that would benefit from flooding, and reduce impacts to agriculture in the area. Additionally, river access and vegetation will be improved helping disperse wildlife and reduce wildlife landowner conflicts. Turkeys, deer, and geese often occupy hay fields in the area. The BLM treatment area falls within the Zion Hunting Unit. Dispersing the deer and turkeys to this area would benefit both agriculture landowners and the hunting community. Both Rockville and Grafton are crucial winter range for mule deer, and year-long habitat for turkey.

Grafton Heritage Partnership, BLM, and private landowner Tracy Cox graze cattle. Removal of these invasive species will help distribute grazing along the riparian corridors. During drought years, native species and forage will have better production if these tap rooted invasive species are removed.

Additionally, this project protects the cottonwood forests and their biological diversity. This is an important aesthetic for the local economies.

Continuing projects to remove these invasive species will continue to promote the recovery of the listed fish species. Virgin spinedace has been petitioned twice to be listed under the ESA, which would regulate the other uses in this area more.

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.