Project Details

This phase of the project proposes to address watershed-wide ecosystem health through reducing conifer encroachment on 1,220 acres of sagebrush and Mountain Brush capable landscapes. This is phase three of a greater than 15,000 acre focus area with NEPA approved treatments on the Thousand Lake Mountain, much of which is critical winter habitat transitioning into critical summer habitat for mule deer and crucial elk winter range. In the lower elevations of Polk Creek there are areas of potential Pygmy Rabbit habitat that are also being threatened by pinyon and juniper expansion. Currently surveys for these rabbits are ongoing. Over 1,500 acres of the proposed treatment area lies within the Parker Emery SGMA and ties into over 18,000 acres of completed pinyon and juniper reduction as part of the Mytoge Mountain wildlife habitat improvement project. Part of this project phase is within three miles of an active Sage-grouse lek (Sage Flat). This lek has shown declining counts over the last ten years. Radio collars have been deployed on Sage-grouse at the nearby Tidwell lek and telemetry locations indicate that these grouse need more usable space nearby the lek. An image of those telemetry locations is attached to this proposal. All six collars deployed in 2018 and 2019 are now off the air. 
 
This proposal addresses conifer expansion and provides for increased big game forage through pinyon and juniper reduction. In order to address this concern and maintain persistent large open sagebrush landscapes, encroaching conifers in phase I and early phase II will be removed. Persistent woodlands and big game travel corridors will be retained. Lop and scatter will occur where appropriate for the density of encroaching conifers. In the Polk Creek 25B-5 range trend site the trend from 1985 shows a change from Phase I pj transitioning to Phase II pj in a bitterbrush/black sage habitat type to a Phase II transitioning to Phase III pj on the same site in 2018. If no treatment occurs here this trend will continue and the site will convert from bitterbrush/black sage to PJ.

We need to enhance habitat on Forest Lands to promote increased utilization of big game animals, especially during the winter, and lessen the impact on National Park Service lands east of the project. During an aerial elk survey in 2019 over 1600 elk were using areas inside Capitol Reef National Park. The Park is concerned about impacts to cryptobiotic soil crusts, endangered cacti and limited water sources.

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)	Mitigate the threat of conifer expansion into crucial sage-grouse nesting and brood rearing habitat, critical summer mule deer habitat and crucial elk winter habitat.
2)     Provide increased forage for big game transitional range by an estimated 450-600 pounds per acre.
3)     Improve and expand habitat for sensitive, threatened and endangered species including reducing canopy cover of pinyon/juniper near the Sage Flat lek to less than 4% cover to benefit Sage-grouse. Pygmy rabbit surveys in potential habitat in lower Polk Creek are ongoing.
4)     Manage forest cover types to provide variety in stand sizes, shape, crown closure, edge 
        contrast, age structure and interspersion. 
5)	Increase overall forage production, habitat quality, and species diversity by treating in a 
        mosaic pattern that will create biodiversity across the landscape. 
6)     Reduce risk of catastrophic fire by reducing hazardous fuels while maintaining and 
        improving fire resilient landscapes. 
7)     Minimize project costs by promoting cost effective treatments along with increased scale and size of treatments that will reduce overall cost per acre. Especially if treatments are delayed and treatment areas transition to phase III p/j enchroachment.
8)     Enhance habitat on Forest Lands to promote increased utilization of big game animals and lessen the impact on National Park Service lands east of the project. During an aerial elk survey in 2019 over 1600 elk were using areas inside Capitol Reef National Park. The Park is concerned about impacts to cryptobiotic soil crusts, endangered cacti and limited water sources by this elk population.

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.

Hand treatment areas range from early to late phase I pinyon-juniper succession. Withholding treatment will transition the late phase I areas into phase II needing mastication treatment and re-seeding probably within 10-15 years. Mastication treatment areas proposed for later phases treat early through late phase II. Greater infill into these areas will increase per-acre treatment costs. This pinyon/juniper removal project also addresses inappropriate fire frequency and intensity in relation to the threat of Problematic Native Plant Species in Mountain Sagebrush systems. This project area is in danger of crossing an ecological threshold in the near future if left untreated.

This proposed action would lower the need for seeding the area post-treatment, and will be easier and less expensive to treat than a later successional encroachment phase. We have had success hand seeding some of the thicker pj areas within these type of treatments with a small amount of seed usually obtained as the need is recognized during treatments. This seed is hand applied as project areas are checked for compliance with treatment requirements during implementation. The greatest risk to this project's success is the same as inaction and eventual wildfire occurrence, with the possibility of cheatgrass invasive species post treatment.

Within the phase I treatments, most have a good understory still present but pinyon/juniper encroachment continues on a yearly basis into these more productive sage/grass/forb communities. Areas that have experienced disturbance in the past show a great bitterbrush response while next to these small openings the understory is lacking. If left untreated these areas with productive sage/grass/forb communities will degrade in productivity and treatment costs in the future will go up dramatically. As pinyon/juniper has become dominant on the landscape and the loss of understory vegetation increases, big game and small game animals and birds are experiencing a loss of foraging habitat. This compression of more pinyon/juniper and less sage/grass/forb habitat has contributed to the decrease in Mule deer populations and other wildlife species on the mountain. Mule deer on the Thousand Lakes Unit have seen a steady decline in population of over 570 animals or 43% of the population in the last seven years. Deer population estimate models show a decline from 1320 in 2014 to 750 in 2021. When populations are modeled for 2022 the population will show another decline. The pinyon/juniper enchroachment in this project area is a limiting factor for wintering and transitioning populations of Mule Deer. 
In general upland birds, including Forest Grouse and Turkeys, require open stands of conifer and aspen with an understory of berry producing shrubs, forbs and grasses. A healthy insect component in this matrix is critical for early brood rearing. Healthy mixed forests, early successional forests, and edges of aspen forests provide these kinds of environments. Our current habitat struggles to provide these requirements.

Within future phases of mastication treatments, seeding will occur on the project to promote grasses and forbs in the effort to out-compete cheatgrass. Some understory sage/ grasses/forbs still exist but are about to cross the threshold into phase 3 dominated PJ and lose the remaining understory. Ground surveys and site visits have allowed us to see the lack of understory plants in the pinyon/juniper complex on the east and west sides of Thousand Lake Mountain.

The portion of the project area within the Parker SGMA is already at greater than 4% canopy cover that can put Greater Sage-grouse at risk. Allowing these areas to further increase in pinyon-juniper canopy cover would continue to be a detriment to sage-grouse populations in the area. Sage-grouse populations in the Parker SGMA have steadily declined in recent years in this project area. The sage-grouse hunt in this area was discontinued in 2021 because the population met the criteria for a hard federal adaptive management trigger. The project polygons are within three miles of the Sage Flat lek. Typically nesting and early brood rearing occurs within roughly 3 miles of leks and pinyon/juniper removal in this area should increase usable space for Sage-grouse. The project would also encourage understory forbs and grasses to be more vigorous. This population of Greater Sage-grouse need all the help they can get and any useable space, especially near a lek, would be a great benefit to the grouse using the Sage Flat lek.

Big game winter use of National Park Service lands has been a source of warm contention. During an aerial elk survey in 2020 over 1600 elk were using areas inside Capitol Reef National Park. If acres of national forest lands, like these polygons, are returned to properly functioning conditions, it is probable that big game animals will spend more time on National Forest lands and less on National Park Service lands. The  Fremont River Ranger District expects that long-term cumulative effects from this project will be positive in providing an increase in forage for wild and domestic grazing ungulates. Parts of the pinyon-juniper zone on the east side of these areas serve as transition range and winter range for big game and because it is in poor condition animals fail to remain in this zone for the season of use that should be normal. Big game, because of the lack of good forage, have a tendency to migrate to the lower part of the mountain in the winter, especially near private lands and highways, and return to the higher elevations in early spring before range readiness.

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) Fishlake Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) also referred to as the "forest plan" LRMP IV-3. Integrate vegetation management with resource management to maintain productivity and provide for diversity of plant and animal communities.
LRMP, IV-3. Coordinate wildlife and fish habitat management with State and other Federal and local agencies. 
LRMP, IV-4. Identify and improve habitat for sensitive, threatened and endangered species including participation in recovery efforts for both plants and animals. 
This project will contribute to Mule Deer recovery on this unit and help Elk habitats keep animals in preferred wintering areas. Removal of pinyon and juniper trees contributes to the health of our sagebrush steppe ecosystem in this area.

2) Utah Wildlife Action Plan, 2015 Publication Number 15-14, State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources, Effective 2015-2025 -- Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the uncharacteristic and surpluses of older age class, including: Dixie/chain harrow, brush mowing or other treatments that reduce the older age class and stimulate the younger/mid age classes; herbicide or mechanical treatment of non-native invasive species such smooth brome; single tree mulching/cutting of invading conifer (p.51).  
This juniper removal project also addresses uncharacteristic and surpluses of older age class trees and reduces the threat of Problematic Native Plant Species in Mountain Sagebrush systems.

3) US Forest Service Greater Sage-grouse Utah Amendment, September 2015. Objective: Every 10 years for the next 50 years, improve greater sage-grouse (GRSG) habitat by removing invading conifers. Desired Conditions: In GRSG seasonal habitat, capable of producing sagebrush, have less than 10% conifer canopy cover. Vegetation treatment projects should be conducted if they maintain, restore or enhance desired conditions for sage-grouse. This project improves greater sage-grouse habitats by removing invading conifers to restore and enhance desired conditions.

4)Parker Mountain Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Local Conservation Plan, October 1, 2006. 
2. Strategy: by 2011, make an assessment of non-desirable/invasive vegetation in sage-grouse habitats.
2.5. Action: Treat areas where undesirable vegetation has become, or is at risk of becoming a factor in sage-grouse habitat loss or fragmentation.

5) Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-grouse in Utah January 11, 2019
     4c. Using WRI, remove conifer as appropriate in areas protected by federal, state and private landowners to ensure that existing functional habitat remain.
     4d. Using WRI, maintain existing sage-grouse habitats by offsetting the impacts due to conifer encroachment by creating additional habitat within or adjacent to occupied habitats at an equal rate each year - or 25,000 acres each year- whichever is greater.
      4e. Increase sage-grouse habitats by using the WRI- and other state, federal and private partnerships- to restore or create 50,000 acres of habitat within or adjacent of occupied habitats each year in addition to 4d.
This project restores and maintains useable space for greater sage-grouse by addressing impacts from conifer expansion into sage steppe habitats.

6)U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Conservation Objectives: Final Report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, CO. February 2013. 
General Conservation Objectives: 1. Stop population declines and habitat loss. 2. Implement targeted habitat management and restoration.  Specific Conservation Objectives: 1. Retain sage-grouse habitats within PAC's. 3. Restore and rehabilitate degraded sage-grouse habitats in PAC's. Conservation Objective: Maintain and restore healthy native sagebrush plant communities within the range of sage-grouse 
Conservation Objective: Remove pinyon/juniper from areas of sagebrush that are most likely to support sage-grouse (post-removal) at a rate that is at least equal to the rate of pinyon/juniper incursion.
-Prioritize the use of mechanical treatments.
-Reduce juniper cover in sage-grouse habitats to less than 5% but preferably eliminate entirely.
-Employ all necessary management actions to maintain the benefit of juniper removal for sage-grouse habitats. 
All of these management plans relating to Sage-grouse are being addressed by this treatment of pinyon/juniper adjacent to lekking and brood rearing areas. There is an image attached to this project showing Sage-grouse telemetry points collected from 2017-2019 that show sage-grouse use in and around this projects proposed treatment areas.

7) Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer. Section VI Statewide management goals and objectives. This plan 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 (pg19). 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 are being taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats. Strategy f. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages.  
This project will reset the vegetative successional stage on 1,220 acres of critical Mule Deer habitat.

8) Plateau Deer Herd Management Plan Unit #25 (2020) - Habitat Management Objectives -- Encourage vegetation manipulation projects and seeding to increase the availability, abundance, and nutritional content of browse, grass, and forb species. Strategies: Habitat Protection, Improvement and Maintenance - Reduce expansion of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by Pinyon-Juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects like lop & scatter, bullhog and chaining projects; maintain summer fawning areas by increasing beneficial habitat work in summer and transitional habitat areas.(pgs 5-6) 
This project is expected to benefit Mule Deer by improving food resources long term and restoring sagebrush ecosystems which the deer rely on for browse especially in critical times of their life cycles.

9) Wayne County Resource Management Plan 2017. This action is congruent with Pinyon-Juniper page 49. 
11. Pinyon-juniper -- Pinyon and juniper is eliminated or reduced on any site that has the
potential to support grassland, sagebrush grassland, or other vegetation types more useful
in terms of watershed condition and resource outputs, unless it has been determined, on a
site specific basis, that PJ does not jeopardize watershed condition and adds to the
combined resource outputs and values on the site. On sites where pinyon-juniper occurs
that do not have potential for good perennial grass and shrub cover, or where technology
is lacking to establish such cover by reasonable efforts, pinyon-juniper stands are
maintained in an open canopy state when possible to prevent catastrophic wildfire and
stand replacement with invasive annuals. (p.49) 
This project site has the potential to support grassland, sagebrush grassland, or other vegetation types more useful in terms of watershed condition and resource outputs if treated to remove the pinyon/juniper trees.

10) This treatment is aligned with the State of Utah's Resource Management Plan, objectives for livestock and grazing under page 148.
Actively remove pinyon-juniper encroachment in other ecological sites due to its substantial consumption of water and its detrimental effect on sagebrush, other vegetation, and wildlife. 
Water quality, quantity and livestock forage should improve by completing this project.

11) National Cohesive Strategy. By means of mechanical thinning at a landscape scale, the resulting mosaic of sagebrush and persistent pinyon-juniper forests will work toward the goal of restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes, one of the three goals described in the National Cohesive Strategy. 
1. Resilient Landscapes General guidance regarding vegetation and fuels management include
* Use and expand fuel treatments involving mechanical, biological, or chemical methods where economically feasible and sustainable, and where they align with landowner objectives. (pg. 58)  
This is phase one of a greater than 15,000 acre focus area with NEPA approved treatments on the Thousand Lake Mountain which should contribute to resilient landscapes.

12) State of Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy
The Thousand Lakes Project aligns with the mission of the State of Utah's Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy. The project has developed a comprehensive and systematic approach toward reducing the size, intensity and frequency of catastrophic wildland fires near the existing infrastructure. The project reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire occurrence negatively affecting property, air quality and water systems. 
The Mission: Develop a collaborative process to protect the health and welfare of Utahns, and our lands by reducing the size and frequency of catastrophic fires. (pg. 4) 
5. Adopt Key Recommendations from the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. (pg. 15) 
* Encourage federal land management agencies to expedite fuels treatments. (pg. 15) 
* Prioritize landscapes for treatment (irrespective of jurisdictional boundaries). (pg. 15)
This project will aid in reducing the size, intensity and frequency of future catastrophic fire on Thousand Lakes Mountain.

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.

Kormas et al, Deboodt et al 2008, Baker et al 1984, Roundy et al 2014, Roth et al 2017 and Young et al 2013 all recommend pinyon and juniper removal to improve water quality and quantity. The Thousand Lake Habitat Improvement Project, contains a cumulative 15,567 acres of pinyon and juniper expansion reduction through hand cutting and mechanical means. Phase III contains 1,220 acres of hand cutting and is expected to increase water quantity through reduced conifer presence and improve water quality through decreased erosion due to greater ground cover.

Waterbodies/drainages that will benefit from project activities and occur within the project area include Polk Creek, a perennial creek, and Upper Middle Desert Wash. The riparian areas of these areas will be treated to remove pinyon/juniper to the extent that shading is not impacted. These drainages receive flow/runoff from the project area and subsequently flow into the Lower Fremont River which is listed as a 303d impaired waterbody for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). Project activities would generate improved understory conditions, grass, forbs, and shrubs which should improve water quality by leading to less generation of sediment during overland flow events and thereby delivering less sediment to riparian areas and subsequent rivers and reservoirs. Reducing sediment travel from the project area can decrease pollutants in the Lower Fremont River. Additionally, vegetation treatments would be designed to reduce the risk of severe wildfire and all of those associated undesirable water quality effects. The watersheds in which the work is occurring support irrigation, important to the local agriculture economy.

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.

Repeat photo points and range site survey locations consisting of nested frequency sites recording vegetation and percent cover already exist within the proposed project area. Vegetation surveys will occur following treatment and five years after treatment. Monitoring is required under the Fishlake National Forest Pinyon and Juniper Project Decision Notice.
Wildlife Population surveys for Sage-grouse will be conducted through the local UDWR Area Biologist and the local PARM Working Group annually. The Sage Flat lek is a Sage-grouse lek near the project area and is a part of the Parker Mountain SGMA lek complex. Mule Deer classification routes are conducted in this area annually by DWR biologists. Pygmy rabbit surveys will be continued during this project phase. Before and after treatment photos will be taken and posted onto the WRI database.

These tools for assessing potential for conifer encroachment and invasive plant establishment, as well as a qualitative site condition assessment, will be completed in accordance with existing monitoring protocols.  
Proposed funding for weed control will go towards monitoring project areas pre-treatment and post-treatment to reduce impacts from noxious weeds.

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.

Project design and location has been coordinated between the USFS and UDWR.  Castle Valley ranch has repaired two allotment fences in conjunction with this project and has a full-time rider that keeps cattle in the correct place throughout the season of use. This project addresses habitat concerns with Sage-grouse and Mule Deer, both of which have shown population declines in this area recently. The 18,000 acre Mytoge Mountain habitat projects which were planned and carried out jointly by the PARM local working group (Group members include representatives from: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah State University, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resource Conservation Service, State of Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, Wayne County Commission, Private Landowners, Utah Division of State Institutional and Trust Lands, Division of Wildlife Resources, and USU extension.), DWR and USFS are dovetailed into this project. Capitol Reef National Park has been a coordinator on the project polygon designs. This project has come about through a desire to provide crucial habitat improvements for Sage-grouse and big game and to distribute ungulate pressure across USFS and National Park Service lands. USFS and DWR are contributing in-kind finances to this project.

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.

Working with permittees, seeded treatment areas in phase II p/j will be rested from grazing post-treatment a minimum of 2 years or as long as necessary for seeded areas to become established.

A phased approach to implementation allows for sagebrush community response monitoring to inform future treatment phases. Future phases of this project are planned to extend these treatments to the south. The project area will be monitored for re-encroachment and proposed for future re-treatment either through volunteers like the DH program or a full WRI proposal depending on the severity and extent of the re-encroachment.
Most of the East Thousand Lake project is in the Solomon allotment which is a five pasture deferred rotation grazing system. Each pasture is grazed for about 30 days.  There are a total of 559 head of cattle that graze from June 1 to October 31.  151 head of cattle are held off the allotment until June 15th to allow for better spring growth on the forage.  The cattle enter the allotment near Meeks Lake/Morrell Pond on the first year and then move to East Tidwell pasture and then to Forsyth Unit then on to West Thousand Lake and finishing in the Round Lake Unit.  The second Year the cattle would enter the Round Lake unit then go to West Tidwell, Forsyth unit then East Tidwell and finish in the Meeks Lake /Morrell Pond unit.

The Solomon allotment has a full time rider employed keeping cattle in the desired areas.

Herding will be used to rest treated areas along with modifications to the grazing pasture rotation schedule.  Pasture schedules will be changed/shortened to allow for plant response and recovery.

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.

The project area contains 6 miles of motorized and 4 miles of non-motorized trail. The nationally recognized Great Western Trail sits to the west of the project area. Trails will be maintained following project implementation. This portion of the Fishlake National Forest is adjacent to Capitol Reef National Park, which receives in excess of one million visitors per year, and contains part of the road commonly driven as part of the Cathedral Valley loop. Removing pinyon and juniper trees should improve visitors ability to enjoy scenic National Park vistas and wildlife viewing opportunities.

This project site has the potential to support grassland, sagebrush grassland, mountain brush or other vegetation types that are more functional in terms of watershed condition and resource outputs if treated to remove the pinyon/juniper trees. This project will reset the vegetative successional stage on 1,220 acres of critical Mule Deer habitat. This should help a struggling Thousand Lakes deer herd with increased food resources which translates into more deer on the landscape and more deer available for viewing and hunting opportunities. Grazing management for domestic livestock will also be enhanced by completing this project.

Where adjacent to existing roads, lop and scatter material from this project will be made available for firewood gathering.

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.