Project Details

The Utah Prairie dog is a Federally listed Threatened species managed by the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with other federal and state partners.  The Utah Prairie Dog Revised Recovery Plan sets forth recovery goals and addresses species threats while prescribing mitigation measures. The U.S. Forest service (USFS) has been a partner in UPD conservation since UPD were first listed in 1973.  Conservation efforts have included habitat improvements, research, counting, plague abatement, and education and outreach efforts.  The USFS has conducted aggressive conservation efforts since 2002 by managing translocation sites, aggressively conducting plague abatement (dusting), and trapping and translocating UPD.  UPD are a conservation dependent species.  Recently USFS has initiated a cooperative agreement with Garfield county to focus efforts on trapping and management of UPD on private lands within the county.  This project proposal seeks to continue the conservation efforts already established, manage translocation sites, conduct predator monitoring at translocation sites and other colonies, and cooperatively continue to work with our state, federal and private partners.  Since 2002 conservation efforts within the Paunsaugunt portion of the recovery area have been hosted primarily by the USFS.  In recent years we have been able to expand these efforts with the help of many partners to BLM and Garfield County lands. USFS participates on the Utah Prairie Dog Recovery Team and the Utah Prairie Dog Oversight Group (UPDOG), and is a key member of the Conservation Strategy group where they represent USFS interests and positions. It is our goal to continue the great partnerships in conservation for the Utah Prairie Dog, as we all work towards a common goal of de-listing and supporting recovery of the species. USFS has been operating with force account funding to conduct conservation activities for multiple years.  In the past an earmark has facilitated funding for plague abatement and other activities.  This earmark funding has been reduced however there is still a conservation need to continue with the efforts of counting, dusting, predator management, trapping, and habitat improvement. We are proposing to increase efforts to understand predator relationships by adding a predator monitoring component to our program.  Writing a predator management plan that would be implementable when needed.

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.

Since 1973 USFS has been actively managing UPD in cooperation with other agencies.  Since 2002 the Powell Ranger District has intensively managed UPD and its habitat on the Dixie National Forest.  During this recent 20 year time frame UPD numbers have continued to increase  on the Paunsaugunt and gain stability due to these conservation efforts from the USFS and partners.  If it were not for these continued efforts, this conservation dependent species would be at a further risk and threat of extinction.  Currently the largest portion of UPD  that are within protected habitat reside on USFS lands within the Paunsaugunt.  These lands are managed by the Powell Ranger District.  For this reason the USFS needs to play and ACTIVE roll in managing and monitoring this species.  Plague is the primary threat on the Paunsaugunt range however more recently threats from recreational uses, predators have emerged.  This project proposal seeks to address many of the primary threats on the Paunsaugunt portion of the recovery unit. Because USFS earmark funding has been reduced there is a threat to the conservation program.  Without other funding sources we will no longer be able to conduct the UPD work at the levels we have in past years.  Last year we were only able to conduct plague abatement on less than 50% of active colonies.  We expect less this year based upon projected budgets.  More importantly if the program continues to be reduced we would expect to loose the relationships and support from our partners and private land-owners that we have worked hard to build.  We are at a critical intersection where keeping our efforts strong supports all of the efforts put into the Utah Prairie Dog Conservation Strategy that we are all engaged in.

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.

Methods include combining earmark force account funding with funds from Garfield county and ESMF to continue to manage and provide for UPD conservation within the Paunsaugunt portion of the recovery area.  Specifically: 1) Conduct spring counts on all USFS lands within the Paunsaugunt, 2) Conduct dusting on all active colonies on the Powell Ranger District, Roller Mill Hill translocation site, BLM translocation site, TNC colony near Coyote hollow, 3) Conduct research to determine appropriate Spike application rates on various translocation sites to reduce sagebrush to appropriate levels to facilitate UPD conservation, 4) Maintain over 7 translocation sites established within the Paunsaugunt, 5) Establish a predator monitoring program at translocation sites and key colonies, 6) Continue to trap and translocate UPD from private lands within Garfield county and translocate to approved protected sites, 7) Continue to develop conservation education throughout the recovery unit by maintaining signs, constructing new signs, and working with partners to conduct environmental education throughout the communities.

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.

Most of the protected occupied UPD habitat within the Paunsaugunt recovery unit is grazed by livestock.  In addition there are multiple large colonies found on private lands where large agricultural practices such as raising alfalfa, and other pasture management activities support UPD.  Managing livestock grazing on public lands has become a well established symbiotic relationship that can benefit UPD when conducted within the guidelines of Allotment Management plans on public land.  Our efforts to maintain relationships with private land-owners by providing a method for trapping and removal has continued to provide for sustainability on private lands as well.  The support from Garfield county and surrounding communities has shifted towards the positive by working with private landowners.  The conservation of UPD ultimately depends upon these relationships that have been built.  What we are doing now is working.  UPD numbers have remained stable.  Plague outbreaks continue to occur and move from colony to colony on private lands.  The plague abatement efforts (dusting) on protected public lands have increased stability within those colonies.  USFS has treated over 15,000 acres of occupied and unoccupied UPD habitat within the  last 20 years by removing PJ from sage-steppe areas, conducting brush removal projects, etc.  We plan to continue these efforts on the Dixie National Forest, Powell Ranger District.

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.