Project Details

Plainly stated this project is needed for a diversity of reasons  In addition to biological needs listed below, many social, financial, and cultural aspects play into the need for this project.  It is a high use recreational landscape and highly visited, it is adjacent to a National Park and is the beginning of one of the most visited spots in the national park system, local economies and culture are tied to both the recreational aspects of this landscape and the agricultural values of the landscape, and the risk of development is high here.  Below are some highlights as to why the need to fund this project important.

MAPPED CRITICAL AND CRUCIAL MULE DEER HABITATS
Big Game use this area as critical migration and stopover habitat as documented by collar data by the UDWR (see map in photo section) through the Migration Initiative.  Additionally, the area is listed in the Utah Migration Initiative Plan as important.  Large numbers of mule deer pass through this area in the early fall and spring as mule deer and elk transition from winter to summer range.  Often mule deer will give birth in this area increasing the need for nutritious forage for lactating females and their offspring. Improving range conditions will improve body condition for big game.  This unit is one of the premier general season deer hunting units in Utah and provides ample hunting opportunity to the public.  The Zion unit is also home to a population of elk that provide one of the few over the counter any-bull general season hunting opportunities for elk in the state.  Improving and maintaining habitat condition in the Zion unit is important to sustaining wildlife viewing and hunting opportunities that benefit the public. By doing so, we are also maintaining and enhancing economic stability in surrounding rural communities.  Many of these rural incomes rely on wildlife and wildlife habitat as a source of income.

This project area is identified as "priority for restoration of crucial mule deer habitat" under the Utah Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan (Utah Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan, 2019-2024).  "Crucial" is defined as "habitat necessary to sustain the areas mule deer herd".  Allowing the area to remain in phase 2 and 3 pinyon and juniper encroachment means less quality habitat to meet mule deer objectives.  This project will specifically meet the objective of "working 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".  The Zion Unit Mule Deer Management Plan specifically states to "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" (Zion Mule Deer Management Plan, 2015).   The area has also been identified in the UTAH ACTION PLAN For Implementation of Department of the Interior Secretarial Order #3362 as being important big game migration and stopover habitat.  This project will help meet the objective of "targeted habitat treatment projects in deer winter ranges and stopover areas that could be used to bolster deer populations" (UTAH ACTION PLAN For Implementation of Department of the Interior Secretarial Order #3362, 2020).

The Zion Unit Elk Management plan identifies a need for "restoration efforts on summer ranges to improve forest health and address watershed productivity. Private landowners, livestock permittees, federal and state land management agencies and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources are encouraged to continue to work together to conduct landscape scale treatments" (Elk Management Plan Zion Unit, 2016).  This project will help address the need and assist wildlife managers in achieving the goals to "manage for a population of elk capable of providing a broad range of recreational opportunities including hunting and viewing and maintain healthy elk populations at biologically and socially sustainable levels while continuing with the any bull harvest strategy" (Elk Management Plan Zion Unit, 2016).

Working on this project jointly with the Utah Division of Wildlife, private landowners, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and USFWS will contribute to sustaining a robust mule deer and elk population that greatly adds value to the area's identity and economy.

NON-GAME WILDLIFE
Non-game species including California Condor have been documented in this area by Hawk Watch and local livestock producers, and according to the UDWR Heritage Database this is area is consistent with winter habitat.  According to Bird Life International "condors will travel up 160 miles in search of carrion".  Condors will benefit from the visual open space to scavenge and the expected increase in prey species in these areas.

IMPROVED GRAZING PRACTICES AND LOCAL ECONOMIES
We need to work with landowners in this area on all landownership types.  Much of the area is in a climax veg state and ripe for a wildfire. last summer a good chunk of the property to the south  burned the fire that ensued was much more expensive than this proactive project.    Improving and diversify the ecological states in the uplands provides livestock and landowners some options.  This helps landowners and local economies.  As previously stated, the hunting opportunities also are closely tied to economic benefits.

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.

Cost Prohibitive Ecological Threshold discussion

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 very high 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 costliest activities land management agencies undertake every year and depletes much of land management agency budgets.  Additionally, fire scar rehabilitation is one of the most costly land restoration activities conservation practitioners can undertake.  Given the high threat of fire in this watershed, implementing conservation practices as part of this project will prevent fire suppression and restoration activities that may become cost prohibitive across the entire landscape.  The time to do this project is now, while we can be proactive rather than being reactive after a severe wildfire burns through. We are tiptoeing the line between proactive and reactive here.

More Fire Discussion Threshold/Threat/Risk

Fire is a BIG threat if left untreated due the dense stand of pinyon and juniper.  The area is ripe for a large intense wildfire NOW.  Continuing to do treatments will decrease the threat.  High intensity fire also threatens older age class ponderosa pine forest and private structures in the area.  With the current fuel loads and the hundreds of acres of continuous fuel loading in the North Fork drainage and neighboring drainages, a fire would quickly become catastrophic and threat hundreds of thousands of dollars in private structures, including homes, threaten the livestock industry of Southwest Utah, devastate multiple watersheds, mainly the Virgin river, and they have lasting negative effects on wildlife and fish that depend on clean water and healthy enact riparian areas.

Social Threshold/Threat Risk Discussion

Development threats are at an all-time high in this area.  This area has extremely high visitation for outdoor recreation.  One of the most visited hikes in all the National Park Service lands begins nearby.  Plainly stated, development is an immediate threat to the ecology of this landscape.   Helping ag producers remain profitable here is important to reduce the risk of landowners selling of grazing lands for development.  Additionally, the high recreational visitation to this area provides local rural communities economic opportunities.  A catastrophic wildfire will impact communities economically.

Critical Big Game Habitat

This project will directly and indirectly positively affect high interest game.  Mule deer and elk are found in the project area.  Mule deer could use this area for a staging area in their migration, as has been seen on other projects on the Parowan Front allowing them to be in better condition as they enter the winter range and allows the deer to spend less time on sensitive winter ranges.  Elk will use this area from the fall to spring if weather does not force them to lower elevations. In consultation with the wildlife biologist over this unit, he would prefer that the elk and mule deer remain in these areas longer, because it would give managers a chance to manage them, rather when they enter Zion National Park and management is not an option.  See in the "Need for Project" section the critical importance of this area to big game.  This area is necessary for sustainable big game populations.
This is part of Deserts Bighorn Sheep Habitat too.  This area could serve as bighorn habitat once the forage is available for there.  The seedings next the cliffy edge would be a great place for bighorns to utilize.

Important For the Birds Too

As previously stated, because this area has been identified as a critical migration corridor for mule deer habitat, we feel that the need for project and importance should be elevated because of the overall impact of the habitat to these species of wildlife.  Another ecological qualifier for elevating this project is that the project falls within an identified Bird Habitat Conservation Area (BHCA) as previously discussed.  The project will also address multiple conservation needs for several bird species not reflected in the species section of this proposal.

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.  Utah Mule Deer Statewide Plan (12/5/2019-12/5/2024)
"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."
"Work with local, state and federal land management agencies and ranchers to properly manage livestock to enhance crucial mule deer ranges."
"Minimize impacts and recommend mitigation for losses of crucial habitat due to human impacts."
"Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah."
"Support existing and explore additional incentive programs for landowners that will increase tolerance, enhance habitat, and promote deer populations on private lands such as the CWMU, landowner permit, Walk-In Access programs, etc."
 This project falls in the Crucial Mule Deer Habitat Priorities.
2.  Deer Herd Unit Management Plan, Deer Herd # 29, Zion
"A major proportion of both summer and winter habitat for deer on this unit is on private land. Therefore, it is paramount to work with private landowners to maintain both summer and winter habitat. Currently, there is one CWMU of 13,000 acres (Mt. Carmel - Zion) in the Muddy Creek drainage on the east portion of this unit. Other landowners have expressed interest in a CWMU and they may be organized in the future."
"Reduce expansion of Pinion-Juniper woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by Pinion-Juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects like lop & scatter, bullhog, and chaining."
 "Work toward long-term habitat protection and preservation through agreements with land management agencies and local governments, the use of conservation easements, etc. on private lands and working toward blocking up UDWR properties through land exchanges with willing partners."
3.  Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan
*"Continue to provide incentive programs for landowners that will encourage elk populations on private land such as the CWMU, Landowner Association, and Walk In Access programs."
* "Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat.'
* "Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration.
i) Identify habitat projects on summer ranges (aspen communities) to improve calving habitat.
ii) Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early succession stages through the use controlled burning and logging. Controlled burning should only be used in areas with minimal invasive weed and/or safety concerns."
4.  Utah Statewide Bighorn Sheep Management Plan
"Improve or maintain existing water sources and develop new water sources as needed to improve distribution and abundance of bighorn sheep."
5. Zion National Park, Virgin River Comprehensive Management Plan/Environmental Assessment
"To protect and enhance free flow and water quantity, promoting the river's ability to shape the geologic landscape by reducing impediments to free flow, improving hydrological function, and ensuring flows that are largely natural."
"To protect and enhance river-related natural resources and ecological processes. The natural function of riparian areas, wetlands, and floodplains of the Virgin River and its tributaries would be maintained and restored; restoration activities would strive to return habitat to natural levels of complexity and diversity; water quality would be maintained at the highest possible levels; and achievement of this goal would benefit fish, wildlife, ecological processes, geologic values, and recreation."
6.  Zion National Park General Management Plan
"Maintain the resources, including plant and animal communities, at healthy and viable levels consistent with natural processes."
7.  USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Strategic Plan
"Project addresses habitat threats for a priority species within a PFW priority area (Plateau Focus Area) for restoration work."
8. Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy
"Reduce fire risk by managing and removing invasive species."
9.  Intermountain West Joint Venture Habitat Conservation Strategy
"Support existing public-private partnerships to implement sagebrush habitat conservation, at regional, state, and local scales."
"Remove encroaching conifers to functionally restore sagebrush habitat."
10.  Utah Wildlife Action Plan
"lowland sagebrush is a key habitat identified in the WAP."
"WAP identifies inappropriate fire frequency as a threat to lowland sagebrush habitat.  This project will reduce future fire risk and act as a fire buffer to adjacent higher risk areas."
11. State of Utah Resource Management Plan
"Actively remove pinyon-juniper encroachment other ecological sites due to its substantial consumption of water its detrimental effects on sagebrush, other vegetation, and wildlife."
"Conserve, improve, and restore 500,000 acres of mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges."
"Work with landowners, federal government and private organizations to conserve valuable wildlife habitat and winter range along urban interface."
"Develop mechanisms and policies to incentivize private landowners throughout Utah to conserve valuable wildlife habitat throughout Utah."
12. Southwest Working Third 5-year Review-2012 for California Condor
"The recovery strategy for the California condor is to focus on:  maintaining habitat for condor recovery and to provide foraging habitat"
13.  SECRETARIAL ORDER NO. 3362: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Subject: Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big-Game Winter Range and Migration
Corridors
Sec. 1 Purpose. This Order directs appropriate bureaus within the Department of the Interior
(Department) to work in close partnership with the states of Arizona, California, Colorado,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming to enhance
and improve the quality of big-game winter range and migration corridor habitat on Federal
lands under the management jurisdiction of this Department in a way that recognizes state
authority to conserve and manage big-game species and respects private property rights.
Through scientific endeavors and land management actions, wildlife such as Rocky Mountain
Elk (elk), Mule Deer (deer), Pronghorn Antelope (pronghorn), and a host of other species will
benefit. Additionally, this Order seeks to expand opportunities for big-game hunting by
improving priority habitats to assist states in their efforts to increase and maintain sustainable big game populations across western states.
14.  UTAH ACTION PLAN For Implementation of Department of the Interior Secretarial Order #3362 as being important big game migration and stopover habitat.  This project will help meet the objective of "targeted habitat treatment projects in deer winter ranges and stopover areas that could be used to bolster deer populations" (UTAH ACTION PLAN For Implementation of Department of the Interior Secretarial Order #3362, 2020).

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.

As previously stated, the area is ripe for a high severity fire impacting people and sensitive habitats and wildlife (see also ecological threats).  Below are some details.

This project will decrease the risk of high severity wildfire by reducing fuel loading and promoting the growth of understory vegetation, which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience.   As demonstrated by fire is this area in 2010ish, treatments like these can break up the continuity of fuels and act as fuel breaks.  This project would do the same if a fire ignited nearby where fuel loading is heavy in phase 3 pinyon and juniper invaded sites.

The current fire regime condition class is moderate (2) to high (3) and would be reduced to medium (2) to low (1) immediately after treatment depending on the specific site. The habitat type has been identified in the 2015-2025 Utah Wildlife Action Plan that lowland sagebrush is a key habitat and the threats associated with this key habitat are inappropriate fire frequency and intensity. This project will help to achieve this goal.  Reducing the threat of wildfire is important because of the critical nature of this habitat to mule deer and elk.

A fire would also threaten nearby infrastructure.  Because of the area's popularity for recreation, many structures surround the area.  A fire would also have economic impacts to surrounding communities who rely on tourism to sustain their economies.  Catastrophic wildfire would reduce recreation for several years and impact economies.

Completing this project and reducing the risk of fire will help to protect important sagebrush steppe and mountain brush habitat that is critical for priority species including, but not limited to, mule deer and elk.

This project will also help to protect the springs and wetlands.  If a high severity fire were to move through the area water soil infiltration would decrease, erosion will increase, and the potential for water to get into the aquifer will decrease and spring flows may decrease.

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.

Reducing the amount of pinyon/juniper has the potential to increase and prolong stream flows, while reducing erosion caused by bare soil, not a guarantee as some will claim but has the potential.  Given the multiple phases and large amounts of acreage completed over the years, we feel if any project has the "potential" this one does. 
The species planted will help stabilize the soil and reduce erosion. Kormas et al. found that drainage's dominated with juniper experience "snow water equivalent peaks higher, snow melts out earlier, and more water is lost to evapotranspiration in catchments when compared to sagebrush steppe vegetation".
 
research by Young, et. al. (2013) also showed a relationship between tree removal and soil climates and wet days on these sites, which while providing more available moisture for desired vegetation could also provide moisture for weeds. Numerous studies have shown that increased infiltration rates and less overland flow improve both water quality and quantity.
Reducing pinyon and juniper trees, according to the available research should increase snow pack, and time that snow pack is on the ground, increase spring flows, and increase soil moisture.  It is expected that similar results will happen in this area after the treatment takes place.

One of the nearby water sources that could benefit from this project is the north creek which originates from at cascade falls and goes into the Virgin. last summer the kolob fire burnt the property adjacent to this land unit. being able to treat and keep ash and fire sediment out of the stream is a big goal for this project. Dalton wash is another major wash that this project would benefit

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 treatment will include aerial seeding, mastication, chaining (smooth), Drill seeding, fence construction and grazing management.

Aerial seeding will be done with a diversified mix of grasses and forbs before mastication in the fall.  Due to the nature of the terrain the option to use fixed wing or helicopter will be determined by the contractor.   Seed will be obtained from the Great Basin Research Center (GBRC).  Seed mix used on past phases has proven to be successful and a similar mix will be used.

Mastication will be completed with at least three (preferably multiple) tracked or wheeled, hydraulically or PTO driven mechanical mulching/shredder. Bullhog shall be capable of mulching/shredding live trees up to twenty-six (26) inches in diameter at twelve inches above ground level measured on the uphill side, per state contract.
in an area of a previous fire we will use a smooth chain to after arial seeding to incorporate seed and break up tree skeletons. The chain will be rented from the GBRC.

Drill seeding will be done with rangeland drills from the GBRC.  These areas were historically fields that were dryland farmed. The seed mix will include native grasses and forbs, introduced forbs for pollinators and wildlife, and browse to help restore the area to seral state.

A top pole wildlife friendly fence will be constructed to replace an old fence that the landowner will remove per his NRCS contract.  This fence will allow for livestock management, while allowing for wildlife to move throughout the property with reduce chances of fence entanglement.

Grazing management will be no grazing for 2 growing seasons in treated areas, grazing will be monitored, and grazing agreements will be signed prior commencement to the project.

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.

Cattle are grazed on the private lands.  Increasing the forage will allow for better management and decrease the threat of over utilization.  Wildlife is abundant in the area and of high interest to public and private stakeholders in the area.  Wildlife viewing and hunting takes place on the property. 
The project site and surrounding area is an extremely important asset to the state of Utah for tourism.

The area has one of the larger deer herds in the state with approximately 15,000 animals.  This unit is one of the premier general season deer hunting units in Utah and provides ample hunting opportunity to the public.  The Zion unit is also home to a population of elk that provide one of the few over the counter any-bull general season hunting opportunities for elk in the state.  Improving and maintaining habitat condition in the Zion unit is important to sustaining wildlife viewing and hunting opportunities that benefit the public.  By doing so, we are also maintaining and enhancing economic stability in surrounding rural communities.  Many of these rural incomes rely on wildlife and wildlife habitat as a source of income.

This area is a very high use area for non- consumptive (by the way we are all consumptive, I hate that phrase) recreational users (campers, hikers, photographers, birders, etc...).  Managing for a diversity of vegetational states protects and enhances the viewscape.

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.