Project Details

Preserving wildlife habitat amidst human development is becoming increasingly important. The city of Eagle Mountain continues to grow rapidly in population and infrastructure. This growth imposes challenges on local wildlife populations.

Tickville Gulch provides an opportunity to preserve and improve threatened habitat. This ephemeral wash is the primary drainage for an area of over 80 square miles, and extends from the Traverse Mountains southeast through Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs into Utah Lake; it is the only stream that exits Cedar Valley into the lake. Water generally runs in the gulch through late May, sometimes through June. In 2023, water flowed at over 300 cfs for several days. While many banks, bottoms, and adjacent uplands support basin big sagebrush communities, much of Tickville Gulch supports productive riparian and wetland systems.

The wash provides numerous wildlife species with resources that are not available in the surrounding landscape. The wash offers a source of seasonal surface water which could be particularly important to bat species like little brown myotis, long-eared myotis, and long-legged myotis, all of which occur nearby. Bats rely on open pools to skim for drinking water and forage for insects. Larger pools are particularly important, and occur within the wash; these pools could be expanded using BDAs. Riparian vegetation, especially grasses and forbs, provides forage and cover resources for small mammals, insects/pollinators, and birds. California quail occupy this area and could benefit from forage and cover of improved riparian vegetation. Woody riparian vegetation like willows can also provide cover and nesting habitat for birds. Amphibians like the Columbia spotted frog once utilized the gulch, but have not been observed for many years; upper reaches of the gulch have been considered for future reintroductions (WRI 4800). The gulch itself, and the thick vegetation it supports, can provide animals with hiding and thermal cover. These resources are scarce in the surrounding sagebrush steppe, which has mostly been developed for housing, commerce, and agriculture. Tickville Gulch provides an important refuge that should be preserved and enhanced.

Despite its potential value, the wash has become degraded in both structure and function. Streambanks within the wash have eroded through downcutting and channelization, reducing water quality. In these areas, the lowered water table has allowed upland vegetation to encroach into wetland habitats, reducing habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity within the wash. Additionally, bike trails are widespread in the gulch, indicating heavy recreational use that has likely intensified with the growth of the city. Excessive recreational traffic can damage existing plant communities, facilitate the spread of weed seeds, and destabilize soils. While components of the native plant community are still present, invasion by weeds like tamarisk and phragmites is clearly underway.

To improve this habitat, several processes could be addressed. Downcutting and channelization could be mitigated by slowing water down, spreading it out across the floodplain, elevating the water table, establishing beneficial vegetation, and stabilizing soils. This could also help to re-establish riparian vegetation in areas where upland vegetation has encroached, enhancing forage and cover resources for wildlife. By slowing water, large pools can be created which will support greater insect abundance and provide skimming areas for bats. Areas degraded by heavy bike traffic could be restored by managing access and re-establishing vegetation. Weed invasion could be managed by applying chemical treatments, and establishing native riparian plants through seeding and vegetative planting.

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.

LOCATION: Tickville Gulch offers resources that are scarce on the surrounding landscape. Seasonal surface water, woody and herbaceous riparian vegetation, and a corridor of safe passage through developed areas of Eagle Mountain could benefit numerous wildlife species. SGCNs like the little brown myotis, long-eared myotis, and long-legged myotis could benefit from large in-stream pools created by BDAs. HIG/Fs like the California quail could benefit from improved forage and cover resources of riparian vegetation.

TIMING: Eagle Mountain is growing rapidly, so now is the time to consider how that growth affects wildlife and habitat. Without immediate action, development may cause harm that could have been avoided. Currently, city planners are willing and eager to collaborate on wildlife interests, which is a benefit that is not guaranteed in the future.

Degradation of Tickville Gulch is ongoing, and inaction will only accelerate the process, making future restoration more difficult and costly. This is especially true with processes like channelization. Every year water will cut deeper into the channel, further separating the stream from its floodplain, unless structures like BDAs are installed now. Weed invasion is also likely to get worse without immediate action. The Utah Wildlife Action plan emphasizes "early detection, rapid response" as a primary strategy to address invasive species threats.

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.

Utah Wildlife Action Plan

"For Invasive Plant Species (Non-Native): Invasive plant dominance/presence is reduced or eliminated in locations or habitats where such an outcome is realistic (ecologically and economically)."

Invasive weeds are present in Tickville Gulch, but so is native/beneficial vegetation. By treating invasive weeds and promoting the establishment of native/beneficial vegetation, reduction or elimination of weeds is realistic.

Eagle Mountain City Parks, Trails, and Open Space Master Plan, 2020

"Strategy #2: Ensure sufficient and quality undeveloped land is available for
wildlife movement."

Tickville Gulch provides a potential migratory corridor through developed areas of the city. Improving the gulch would support this objective by making it "quality undeveloped land" that is available for wildlife movement.

Utah Bat Conservation Plan

Actions: "Protection of large areas of all natural habitats or plant associations from lowland desert to tree line and especially riparian communities within broader plant associations."

Actions: "Protection of natural water quality..."

Actions: "Protection of the availability and the quality (non-toxic) of prey, i.e., arthropods (mostly flying insects, especially moths and beetles)."

This project seeks to enhance riparian areas, which could provide enhanced insect habitat and forage resources for bats. BDAs could protect natural water quality, and create pools for drinking and foraging use by bats.

Utah Upland Game Management Plan

Habitat Improvement and Management Goal: "Preserve and enhance available habitat for upland game species."

This habitat is under direct threat from urbanization, weed invasion, and  downcutting/channelization. Improving Tickville Gulch would provide quail with improved forage and cover resources (grasses, forbs, shrubs, insect habitat), preserving and enhancing available habitat.

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.

Riparian and bottomland vegetation zones can serve as natural, self-sustaining firebreaks. Weeds and upland vegetation have encroached into areas of Tickville Gulch, making them more susceptible to damage from wildfire. The Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (WRAP) describes most stretches of the gulch as having high wildfire hazard potential, and a few areas as having moderate or low risk. High risk areas tend to be invaded by weeds or upland vegetation, while low risk areas tend to support wetland and riparian vegetation. BDAs could help to raise the water table, favoring the establishment of fire-resistant vegetation in degraded stretches. Seeding and vegetative plantings could also favor this transition, making the gulch more resistant and resilient to fires. Additionally, the gulch is an area of high recreational use, which elevates the risk of ignitions, and is surrounded by homes, which elevates the potential damages in the case of extreme wildfire. Fortifying this system against severe wildfire would benefit watershed health as well as human safety.

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.

Water quality and quantity in the gulch have suffered due to erosion and collapses of native plant communities. Soils have become destabilized by heavy recreational use and seasonal flooding, which has caused excessive sediment transport. Slowing water down and establishing riparian vegetation could mitigate this issue by stabilizing soils and reducing sediment loading. Riparian vegetation could also reduce the risk of severe wildfire, protecting water quality in the future. Channelization and downcutting have likely reduced the water storage capacity within the gulch. Water rushes through narrow channels more quickly than across wider floodplains, which decreases the amount and duration of water availability in the system. By installing BDAs, water velocity can be reduced, encouraging soil water storage and sediment deposition, which allows hydric vegetation to expand and the stream bottom to elevate over time. These processes can be supplemented with seeding and vegetative plantings to speed up the process and increase the likelihood of success. Since these restoration practices are process based, they will have cumulative benefits over time.

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.

This is the first of a multiphase project. This phase focuses on the lower reach of Tickville Gulch and includes the following practices.

BDAs: Install 20 BDAs in strategic locations throughout the lower reach of the gulch. BDAs will be installed by pounding 2" diameter sharpened wooden posts into the ground 2' apart using a gas powered post-pounder, then weaving native material between the posts to slow down water and capture sediment. BDAs will be repaired and maintained in following years as needed.

Gabion Structures: Several rock and concrete gabion structures were installed in 2022, and were damaged during the spring of 2023. These structures will be repaired by purchasing new materials and carrying out repairs as needed. New structures will also be built in strategic locations along the gulch.

Seeding: Drill seed native and beneficial plant species in areas where the terrain allows. Seed and equipment will come from both GBRC and Eagle Mountain City. Eagle Mountain City will carry out much of the labor, contracting out jobs as needed.

Veg Plantings: Willow cuttings will be harvested from local populations and planted into suitable areas along the stream. Eagle Mountain will harvest, propagate, and plant willow cuttings. Cottonwoods may also be planted, and will be harvested and propagated, or purchased by Eagle Mountain City.

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.

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.