Rocky Ford Watershed Restoration and Resilience Phase 1
Region: Southern
ID: 6828

Project Status: Current

Project Details

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION SUMMARY: This proposal will consist of treating ~5405 acres. The plan is to treat an estimated ~2,000-3,000 ac of lop and scatter, mastication and prescribed fire on (BLM) and 2500 ac of Prescribed fire on (USFS) additional acres during future phases of the project.

Need for Project: Based on analysis of historic data, these areas have seen expansion and infilling of pinyon and juniper into sagebrush habitat over at least the last 50 years, but due to changes in disturbance regimes, expansion and infilling is believed to have been occurring for far longer. The increase in and eventual dominance of trees in sagebrush ecosystems can eventually lead to depleted understory vegetation, increased probability of high severity fire and decreased resilience to fires that occur, decreased resistance to cheatgrass invasion, increased soil erosion, and decreased habitat value for many wildlife species (Miller, et al. 2008). The restoration project would be designed to reverse these trends by removing most or a portion of the conifers in the planned treatment areas and replenishing the seedbank with native species where needed. The project focus area includes mule deer habitat and restoring the sagebrush ecosystem would be a benefit to the species.

Past and continuing conifer expansion and infilling is a significant threat to mule deer and other species that depend on healthy sagebrush ecosystems for some or all of their life cycles. The project focus area falls entirely within mule deer crucial winter habitat. The entire project focus area also falls within priority mule deer habitat restoration areas as designated by the State of Utah (UDWR 2019). The Mt. Dutton Deer Herd Management Plan identifies management objectives to maintain, protect, and enhance existing crucial habitats. The plan identifies the project focus area as an area where habitat is a limiting factor due to pinyon and juniper encroachment into adjacent shrubland. The plan also seeks to improve these conditions through partnership projects to improve the quality and quantity of deer habitat to meet mule deer population objectives (UDWR 2020). Within the management unit, approximately 27,000 acres have been treated since 2007. The management unit comprises 410,786 acres across multiple jurisdictions including Forest Service, Utah State Institutional Trust Lands, and BLM. Based on data from Landfire's Existing Vegetation Type dataset, approximately 137,650 acres of Pinyon and Juniper woodlands currently exist, 41,236 of which fall on BLM administered lands. Pinyon Juniper woodlands currently comprise approximately 33.5% of the management unit as a whole. The proposed project would treat approximately 3.2% of the total acres of existing Pinyon and Juniper woodlands which is 1.1% of the entire management unit (Landfire 2020).

Removal of expanding and infilling pinyon and juniper trees would improve the habitat quality, not only for mule deer but for elk, sagebrush-obligate birds, and other wildlife species by providing a more diverse and resilient plant community, including native forbs, perennial grasses, and shrubs (Freund, et al. 2021, Bybee, et al. 2016). Wyoming big sagebrush is the dominant shrub species and indian ricegrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, and needle and thread grass are the dominant native perennial grasses throughout the project focus area.

Historic imagery analysis within the planned treatment areas shows infilling and expansion of pinyon and juniper throughout the planned treatment areas. This data shows that tree canopy cover has increased approximately 47% across the planned treatment areas since 1965.

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.

PROJECT GOALS: 
1) With the numerous acres that have been treated adjacent to this project on both USFS, BLM and SITLA Lands, the overall goal of this project is to continue to implement a collaborative landscape level ecosystem restoration project with an increased pace and scale of implementation across boundaries. 
 2) Minimize project costs by promoting cost effective treatments along with increased scale and size of treatments that will reduce overall cost per acre. 
4) Manage forest cover types to provide variety in stand sizes shape, crown closure, edge contrast, age structure and interspersion. 
5) Implement a landscape level ecosystem restoration project that will reduce risk of catastrophic fire.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES: 
1) Improve and/or maintain the quality of habitat on big game winter and transition habitat by thinning or removing PJ with prior seeding. Design forage to cover ratios to benefit a variety of wildlife species. 
2) Improve and expand habitat for sensitive, threatened and endangered species such as Sage Grouse and other declining sagebrush obligate songbirds by increasing acres of shrub grassland ecological sites. 
3) Improve or maintain quality of habitat for wild turkeys by increasing acres of grass and forb communities. 
4) Reduce hazardous fuels while maintaining and improving fire resilient landscapes by improving the fire regime condition class to FRCC 1 and FRCC 2. 
5) Increase overall forage production, habitat quality, and species diversity by treating in a mosaic pattern of 60% treated and 40% untreated that will create biodiversity across the landscape. 
6) Minimize project costs by promoting cost effective treatments along with increased scale and size of treatments that will reduce overall cost per acre. 
7) Enhance habitat on USFS, BLM, SITLA to promote increased utilization of big game animals and lessen the impact on private agricultural lands.
8) Improve wildlife habitat transition and crucial winter range (i.e. Mule deer). 
9) Reduce sedimentation through erosion into Sevier River drainage.
10) install 1 Wildlife guzzler for upland and big game.

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.

Cost Prohibitive Ecological Threshold 
This multi-phase project has many goals, objectives, and outcomes. While many of those are related to biology and ecology, several are related to social and fiscal outcomes. As stated, this area is at a risk for severe fire impacts throughout the watershed. Conservation practices in past phases of this project and in this phase will mitigate and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Wildfire suppression is one of the most costly activities land management agencies undertake every year and depletes much of land management agency budget.

USFS: re-treating chaining's through lop and scatter of PJ is one of the most cost-effective tools that we can use to improve wildlife habitat and rangeland effectiveness for ungulates and wildlife species.  Due to scattered patches of rabbitbrush, RX burning would not be an appropriate tool in the Mud springs area on USFS lands.  Previous treatments in the early 2004/2005 have helped to further reduce conifer levels within this sage-steppe area.  With current cost estimates near $70/acre this area may even be less due previous work.  Now is a good time to re-treat this area.  Other investments that have recently occurred in the area include the addition of a wildlife guzzler in the Chokecherry area in late fall 2023.  These treatments combine to improve wildlife habitat effectiveness throughout the area.

On BLM administered lands within Kingston Canyon, many areas have seen large scale expansion of Pinyon and Juniper into sagebrush sites. Continued expansion and maturity of PJ within these sagebrush sites leads to a loss of valuable grasses and forbs which further impacts sagebrush obligate species. By lop and scattering PJ in lower density phase I and early phase II areas, loss of valuable vegetation within these sagebrush sites can be prevented. This in turn prevents the need of more expensive mechanical PJ removal methods and reduces ground disturbance.

Financial thresholds need consideration when funding habitat conservation. The type of pro-active work we are proposing reduces future cost from becoming prohibitive.

Species Threat 
This area has been identified as priority for restoration of CRUCIAL mule deer habitat under the Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan. "Crucial" means the areas habitat is necessary to sustain the areas mule deer herd.  Allowing the area to move into phase 2 and 3 pinyon and juniper encroachment will mean less quality habitat to meet mule deer objectives.

Elk and Mule Deer: The Rocky ford area of the Mt Dutton range is very important for mule deer and elk that transition from both Mt Dutton and Monroe Mountain Range. From higher to lower elevations elk and deer depend on the habitat with its available forage and cover to complete their life cycle requirements.  This project will greatly improve available forage for elk and deer populations. Treatments patterns will play an important role within the treatment implementation. One of the primary objectives of this project is to improve habitat for elk and deer. Winter range improvements from this project will benefit elk and deer populations for decades to come.  Future monitoring and maintenance of the project will be essential to prolong the integrity of the treatment and health of big game populations. It has been said by land managers, biologist, and researchers familiar with the project area that this area is very important because Mule Deer are space limited here, meaning available habitat and water seem to be the limiting factor for population growth.  As habitat is made available by doing this project, we are addressing an immediate threat to one of the primary limiting factors for this population. Several cow elk had calves in the proposed project polygons and spent the next 30 days there before moving areas. (See attached map.)

Forage productivity has diminished greatly over the past century and the PJ encroachment continues on a yearly basis into the more productive sage/grass/forb communities. Some areas within the project have lost a majority of the understory sage/grasses/forbs, but other areas have not completely lost the understory. One of the biggest threats realized in this area is if left untreated these areas with some understory of sagebrush/grasses/forbs left will eventually be gone as well. This will continue to be "poor" habitat and range for ungulate animals.

The area serves 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. 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 PJ has become dominate on the landscape and the loss of understory vegetation increases, big game and small game animals are experiencing a loss of foraging habitat.
 
Wild Turkey: Newly treated areas through fire or mechanical means will attract use by wild turkey. Insects and new growth will be readily available to support turkey populations. This project will provide more foraging opportunities for wild turkey as grasses and forbs provide insects and seed.

Sage Grouse: The area is also adjacent to the BLM's Priority Habitat Management Area for Greater Sage-Grouse. While the area does not fall within mapped BLM habitat areas, collar data show sage-grouse movement through the area and the project area falls within the State of Utah's Sage Grouse Management Areas.  In this area, sage grouse have been recorded moving across the landscape, to get to larger connected landscapes. This area would provide more of those refuge areas, as sage grouse move between summer and winter areas. In particular, this project will re-establish and maintain sagebrush steppe habitat that will open travel corridors and provide benefits to sage grouse habitat that has been identified as opportunity habitat. Collar data shows birds using east side of proposed project area and this proposed project will help with connectivity between both Pine Creek and Hodge ranch Leks.

Southern Leatherside Chub:  This project will provide reduce the risk of cataphoric wildfires in the area that could lead to derris flows in the Sevier River that is a Southern Leatherside Chub habitat.  After consulting Melinda Bennion from UDWR this project would offer that benefit to reduce the threat to the fishery.  The restoration of the upland habitat can improve the function of the watershed.

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.

-Richfield Field Office RMP 
 -Manage for a mix of vegetative types, structural stages, and provide for native plant, fish, and wildlife habitats.
- Sustain or reestablish the integrity of the sagebrush continuity, and quality of habitat that is necessary to maintain sustainable populations of sagebrush-dependent wildlife species. 
BLM Grazing Management Regulations:
 -Objectives are to promote healthy sustainable rangeland ecosystems; to accelerate restoration and improvement of public lands to properly functioning condition
 -Maintenance and enhancement of habitats to promote the conservation of Federal proposed, Federal candidate, and other special status spec.

-SITLA Management Plans:
Correspond with the Utah Code Title 53C Chapter Five Section 101, 102 and 103 in accordance with Management of Rangeland Resources
Utah Administrative Code R850-50-1100 Range Improvement Projects within the SITLA Property.

-This project falls within the Mt Dutton, Deer and Elk Herd Management Unit #24. Current winter range surveys show that mule deer winter range in this area is poor. This unit identifies habitat as a limiting factor and states that "P/J encroachment on traditional winter rangelands is decreasing diversity and vigor of browse plants." and then identifies as a habitat management objectives:  
*Winter range restoration efforts must be completed for this deer herd to reach its population objectives.  Pinyon and juniper reduction treatments and sagebrush restoration are necessary to stabilize winter range conditions and allow this herd to withstand heavy winters.
*Continue to be committed to the statewide goal of supporting habitat projects that increase forage for both big game and livestock.  Discourage the encroachment of Pinyon and Juniper (PJ) trees into sagebrush and other habitats.  Seek opportunities to improve habitat through grazing practices and mechanical treatments to improve habitat where PJ encroachment is occurring. 
The plan also identifies barriers to achieving unit management objectives: 
*Degradation of rangelands by woody vegetation. 
The proposed treatments will address some of the habitat management strategies outlined in the deer and elk management plans for herd unit by removing PJ and improving habitat for deer and elk.
The project also helps fulfill the state mule deer management plan section IV Habitat Goal: 
* Conserve and improve mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges.
The proposed projects will address the following goals and objectives of the Division of Wildlife Resources most recent strategic management plan:
*Resource Goal: expand wildlife populations and conserve sensitive species by protecting and improving wildlife habitat.
*Objective 1: protect existing wildlife habitat and improve 500,000 acres of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state.
*Objective 3: conserve sensitive species to prevent them from becoming listed as threatened or endangered.

-Dixie National Forest LRMP.

-Greater Plateau Elk Complex, Elk Management plan, (24 Mt. Dutton) 4 Range improvements: Maintain or/enhance forage production on elk summer and winter range throughout the units. Coordinate with the USFS, SITLA, BLM and private landowners to improve elk distribution across the unit. Identify higher elevation habitat projects that would encourage elk to winter higher and potentially away from traditional deer wintering areas.

-UDWR Wildlife Action Plan: This project is geared toward meeting the goals found within this plan for a variety of wildlife species from large too small. a. Threat - Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity:  Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity 1. Fire is excluded from habitats in which potential burns now would be frequent, large, and destructive to soils and native vegetation; the habitats are being actively managed (treated) to reduce components or factors that promote risk of catastrophic fire, such as cheat grass, excessive conifer encroachment, or unnaturally large stands of mature Gamble oak.

-Utah mule deer statewide management plan, Dec 01,2014. pp. 18-Habitat goal: Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis in crucial ranges. 
Habitat Objective1: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and  enhancing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. Strategies: C. Work with local, state and federal land management agencies via land management plans and with private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning, wintering and migration areas. Habitat Objective2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,0000 acres if crucial range by 2019.  G. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forest in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire.

-Utah Wild Turkey Management Plan: Newly treated areas through fire or mechanical means will attract use by wild turkey. Insects and new growth will be readily available to support turkey populations. This project will provide more foraging opportunities for wild turkey as grasses and forbs provide insects and seed.

-National Cohesive Strategy: This project is in line with the strategy. By means of prescribed fire and mechanical thinning at a landscape scale, the resulting mosaic of early and late successional forests will work toward the goal of restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes.

-State of Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy: The Rocky Ford Watershed Collaborative Project aligns with the mission of the State of Utah's Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy. The project reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire occurrence negatively affecting property, air quality and water systems.

-Bald Eagle Management Plan and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d) is a United States federal statute that protects two species of eagle. Bald eagles migrate to the area in late October and remain through late March. Treatments will attract wildlife species that are common prey to eagles and other raptors. Wintering Bald Eagles utilize the project area and treatments would improve life cycle opportunities for them.

-Central Utah Fire Management Plan (FMP): a. Greater use of vegetation management to meet resource management objectives b. Hazardous fuels treatments will be used to restore ecosystems; protect human, natural and cultural resources; and reduce the threat of wildfire to communities. Sagebrush steppe communities will be a high priority for ESR and fuel reduction to avoid catastrophic fires in these areas.

Garfield County
 -Support the removal of conifers and manage land to promote the establishment of attendant grass, brush, and forbs.
 -Garfield county encourages federal and state agencies to adopt and maintain scientifically sound forest management policies based on high quality, recently acquired data, and
to pursue multiple use of public forest resources to provide sustainable and continuous yield of timber, forage, firewood, wildlife, fisheries, recreation, and water.
 -Support managing forest cover types to perpetuate tree cover and provide healthy stands, high water quality, and wildlife and fish habitat.
 -Support agencies in providing for harvest of forest products when the activity would improve water production and does not adversely affect water quality.
 -Support the management of forests and woodlands for healthy conditions that contribute to healthy habitat for animal and plant species, proper watershed functioning conditions, and
riparian restoration and enhancement.
 -Support agencies in prioritizing fuel reduction treatment in high value/high-risk areas.
Implementation of fuels management actions should be prioritized using the following criteria:
 -Wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas.
 -Areas with fuel loading that could potentially result in the loss of ecosystem components following wildland fire.
 -Support the prioritization of using native seeds for fuels management treatment based on availability, adaptation (site potential), and probability of success. Where probability of
success for native seed is low, desirable non-native seeds may be used to trend toward restoring the fire regime. When reseeding, use fire-resistant native and desirable non-native
species, as appropriate, to provide for fire breaks.
 -Hazardous fuels reduction treatments should be used to restore ecosystems, protect human, natural, and cultural resources, and reduce the threat of wildfire to communities.
 -Support the reduction of fuel loading conditions in forests and woodlands.

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.

This Treatment would help maintain consistency with the Forest LRMP, as well as the Utah Fire Amendment, in reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire, and moving the area towards a FRCC 1. The goal is to create a landscape that is not one large vegetation community of homogeneous stands of PJ (Utah Fire Amendment, Oct 2000). Completed treatments along with planned and future treatments reduce the risk of fire at a landscape level while promoting resilient landscapes. Wildfire suppression costs are extremely high especially when suppressing fires in similar fuel types and loadings as present on this project.

When wildfires occur, this could result in increased erosion, greater opportunities for noxious weed establishment, impacts to available short-term forage, stream sedimentation, and possible mud slides/flooding events.  Enhancing the habitat in these areas will result in multiple benefits, which also include reducing hazardous fuel accumulations and breaking up the continuous fuel bed of PJ that currently exist in the Kingston canyon area.

This treatment will promote a fire resilient environment that reduces the risk for large scale, intense wildland fires, with less risk to public and firefighter safety. Fire risk would be reduced to multiple watersheds and communities located in the Kingston canyon, Circleville, Kingston and Otter Creek. The communities of existing wildfire risk index in the project area ranges from moderate-high to very-very low. It compliments completed BLM and USFS treatments located in the area.

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.

Otter Creek -- East Fork Sevier TMDL Study identifies PJ encroachment as a land use issue contributing to water quality impairment Specifically in section 2.4.1 it states: "Due to fire suppression and historic overgrazing, pinyon-juniper cover has been encroaching on sagebrush grasslands. This has decreased the grass/forb understory and exposed greater amounts of soil surface, resulting in increased upland erosion."

Completion of this project would reduce flooding and runoff from heavy rainstorms by depositing woody debris in the gullies to slow and hold back the water. Currently with the pinyon and Juniper on site there is a lot of bare ground available for erosion. By planting this treatment with a variety of grasses, forbs and shrubs the ground cover will be greatly increased, which will decrease the potential for erosion. Areas that become dominated by pinyon and juniper out compete understory herbaceous species and leave bare soil prone to erosion. This herbaceous vegetation is important to reducing overland flow and reducing soil loss.  
Wildlife guzzler installation of 1 Boss Tanks guzzler kit will be placed in Rocky ford proposed area where natural water sources are rare or non-existent. These 1,800 gallon fenced guzzler tanks will provide much needed water for all wildlife species found in proposed area. Wildlife distribution will be greatly enhanced, and less pressure taken off private land in the north end of project.

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.

-The BLM portion of this project is authorized by decision for the Rocky Ford Mule Deer Habitat Restoration project (DOI-BLM-UT-C020-2023-0013-CX). The project is also in conformance with the Bureau of Land Management Richfield Field Office Resource Management Plan signed 2008. Arc and wildlife survey's will be completed before implementation.

- The U.S. Forest Service portion includes lop and scatter on 2639 acres of previously chained area.  The original environmental documentation for this project falls under the Dixie National Forest plan 1986.  Maintenance for the area was again approved as part of the Mud Springs Chaining Maintenance in 1995, and a silviculture prescription was prepared at that time as part of NEPA for the Jones Corral allotment EA, signed 1996.  Since that time the site was maintained again in 2005/2006.  The area is now in need of further maintenance.  The site has been reviewed by specialist from the Dixie National Forest for new species occurrences or other environmental concerns and all resources concur that the area should be maintained to improve the wildlife habitat effectiveness and livestock grazing.

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.

In this phase of the project, planned treatment will include 
~5405 total acres (USFS ~2640 ac, BLM ~ 2305 ac, SITLA ~462 ac)

Treatment methods will include the following: 
USFS 1) USFS hand thinning contract for approx. 2640 acres to be completed fall 2025). 
BLM 1) Lop and scatter contract for up to 2200 acres (Fall 2025). 
BLM 2) Cut and Pile contract for up to 104 acres (Fall 2025)
BLM 3) Archeological clearence 2085 acres (In-Kind through BLM 2025)
SITLA 1) Lop and scatter contract for approx. 462 acres (Fall 2025). 
 
The BLM proposes to reduce conifer populations through the use of a number of available and approved tools. The use of hand tools for lop and scatter may be used in areas of low tree density, young tree stands, and/or steep slopes. In some areas, felled conifers could be piled and burned. Piles may be partially covered with plastic to protect them from snow and rain, keeping them dry to facilitate ignition. Pile burning would be completed by qualified BLM personnel. Conifers may be lopped and scattered without burning in stands where conifer density is low or where location makes pile burning impractical or unsafe. Where trees are lopped and scattered, trees will be segmented and distributed in a manner to reduce fuel loading and to keep fuels low to the ground. In areas with higher tree density and lower slope angles, a masticator may be used to reduce on the ground fuel load and to provide surface mulch to facilitate seed germination. Large and old-growth trees would be retained as much as possible regardless of species. Project design features were selected to minimize any soil erosion in the planned treatment areas as well as to address other resource concerns. The project would expand previous habitat restoration and fuels treatment investments within the watershed.

A mosaic treatment pattern combined with travel corridors will be designed into the project to allow some hiding, thermal and migration cover for big game. This diversity will help create a mix of life cycle benefits for a variety of wildlife and insect species.

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 BLM administered lands, and prior to implementation of a project phase, Line-Point Intercept plots will be established within the planned treatment area in order to provide a baseline of vegetative cover data. Plot design will follow the guidelines found within the Monitoring Manual for Grasslands, Shrubland and Savanna Ecosystems (Herrick, et al. 2009). The sites would then be read 2 years post treatment and again at 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years post treatment. This will allow for the detection in vegetative composition change over time and allow the BLM to determine the success or failure in reaching vegetative goals for the benefit of mule deer. This will also allow determinations to be made on whether retreatment of an area may be needed.
 
During project design, analysis of historic imagery at 16 randomly selected sites provided a baseline of change in tree canopy cover from 1965 to 2018. Those sites may be used again for future analysis if deemed necessary.

In addition to vegetative cover data collection, the BLM will rely on mule deer population counts within the area. This will allow BLM as well as the State of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) to determine whether the project positively impacts mule deer presence and populations within the project focus area. These counts will be conducted by UDWR personal or by BLM qualified wildlife biologists.

The BLM will also establish a monitoring program to determine impacts to pinyon jay populations. Prior to any potential treatments, pre- treatment monitoring of populations and habitat use surveys will be conducted. If treatments are conducted within a known nesting colony, post-treatment monitoring will be completed to determine if the colony moves and if the new habitat has similar characteristic to the original colony location.

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.

One of the main goals for this project is to promote treatment efforts at a landscape level with a collaborative effort between the USFS, BLM, SITLA, UDWR. Several coordination meetings have taken place and will continue to take place to collaboratively determine future treatments that will mutually benefit all agencies along with promote landscape-level restoration. This multi-agency collaborative project is located in Garfield and Piute Counties and includes USFS, BLM, SITLA. Some USFS/BLM across boundary work has already been completed adjacent to this project. These treatments will compliment previously accomplished treatments and wildlife benefits from the numerous treatments that the USFS and BLM have already completed in the Mt Dutton area. The USFS, BLM, SITLA, UDWR are not only collaborating on this project but are also consulting about future treatments in the area. During project planning the local UDWR biologists offered suggestions that were incorporated and offered support for the 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.

FUTURE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT: 
By continually promoting a collaborative effort between USFS, BLM, SITLA, UDWR, it is anticipated that a long-term level of success will be obtained on all the current and future treatments. Future maintenance of projects to protect investments made by USFS, UWRI, BLM, SITLA, have been addressed and allowed through the project planning document (NEPA). Adaptive management has been allowed for in the NEPA documents. Many tools have been analyzed in the NEPA planning process to allow other methods in the future.

USFS: Treatment areas will be monitored post-implementation. If noxious and/or invasive weeds are detected, the district will take the appropriate actions to control spread and eliminate the noxious and/or invasive weeds from the treatment areas. Implementation of this project will reduce the risk of catastrophic high severity wildland fire; thus, reducing the risk to the public and firefighters. Health and public safety is improved.  As future PJ expansion occurs, maintenance/re-treatment of this project via hand thinning of new PJ growth/whips is expected to be implemented to maintain the integrity of this project and the anticipated continued PJ expansion. Increased pace and scale of restoration type projects in this area is currently underway. Multiple projects have been and are currently being implemented and more are being planned in this area. With numerous projects and thousands of acres treated in the surrounding area, this project compliments this completed restoration work at a large landscape scale and will hopefully promote future restoration projects.  Also, this project is in a continued effort to disperse browse pressure of both wild and domestic ungulates and improve watershed health.

FUTURE RANGE MANAGEMENT:  
BLM:  All areas seeded will be rested for a minimum of two complete growing seasons or until the seedlings become established and set seed. Once seeding establishment has been confirmed, BLM may authorize grazing according to the Utah's Fundamentals of Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Grazing Management (2007). Vegetation will continue to be monitored for utilization, cover and trend. Following the rest period, the current management plan will govern. If needed, grazing adjustments would be made in Grazing Allotment Plans and through the grazing permit renewal process.

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.

PUBLIC and ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY: The project areas are very popular for camping, hiking, sight-seeing, wildlife viewing, fishing, hunting, and ATV trail riding. Miles of hiking and prominent ATV trails exists. Treatments will promote a renewed resilient beautiful sustainable forest that will be enjoyed by future generations. Multiple contracts are planned during this phase of treatment along with future planned phases. This project benefits the local communities by providing private companies work and associated economic benefits. This project promotes sustaining hunting of big game such as elk and deer along with small game such as wild turkey. Treatments like this have potential to increase wildlife numbers and potential hunting opportunities to future generations. A main goal of these treatments is to enhance habitat at a landscape scale rather than at a jurisdictional level to promote increased utilization of big game animals and lessen the impact on private agricultural lands. Other sustainable uses towards this project will be the use of additional firewood that will be available, cutting of cedar post, access to additional hunting opportunities for big game such as mule deer and elk. Additional opportunities will be opened up for turkey hunting and upland game hunting.

FORAGE PRODUCTION or IMPROVED DISTRIBUTION: 
Forage productivity has diminished greatly over the past century and the PJ expansion continues on a yearly basis into the more productive sage/grass/forb communities. As PJ is thinned, understory vegetation increases, wild and domestic ungulates will experience an increase in foraging habitat. Through the mechanical thinning, PJ expansion is addressed, and sagebrush, grasses, and forbs are promoted. This in return moves the sage/grass/forb ecosystems in the Rocky Ford area on a trajectory toward improved forage conditions, thus improving ecosystems for both wildlife and livestock. Portions of the project are currently not being grazed due to the lack of understory and PJ expansion. This project has the potential to improve distribution of domestic livestock into new areas. The amount of forage available to livestock and wildlife is expected to increase significantly as a result of this project. With the removal of PJ, the amount of usable grasses and forbs in the and sagebrush is expected to increase significantly. With increased forage, ungulate distribution is expected to improve. Many areas that are currently unproductive due to overgrowth will soon become desirable for future uses by ungulates.

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.