Project Details

Sulphur Spring is a property of significant size used for sheep grazing located near the growing town of Mountain Green, Utah, within the Rich BSU. The property's large swaths of uninterrupted sagebrush combined with mesic wetlands throughout make it prime habitat for many sagebrush-obligate species including sage grouse, large ungulates, and pollinators. It is also an important open space that provides watershed protection for Cottonwood Creek, a tributary of Weber River.
The property consists of valley bottom and steep rangeland, with well-drained rocky soils that primarily support sagebrush on southerly aspects and aspen/maple/oak/conifer forests on northerly aspects and higher elevation. The south facing slopes of the property are mostly sagebrush steppe while the northern facing slopes are rangeland providing habitat and food for birds, small mammals, bears, mule deer, moose, and Rocky Mountain elk. 
Two of the most critical species using the property are the Greater sage grouse and the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse. Large stands of uninterrupted sagebrush steppe with interspersed riparian areas create an ideal habitat  for these highly mobile species, providing protection from predators and easy access to forbs for food. Given the high mobility of these birds, protecting Sulphur Spring will benefit the same population that utilizes the rest of the Rich BSU.  Mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, and moose use all elevations of the property throughout the year. Higher elevation areas are dominated by maple/oak forests that are heavily utilized for browsing in the spring, summer, and fall of the year, while the lower sagebrush steppes that dominate the rest of the property is critical winter range for these animals. The property also provides a safe migration corridor from the Cottonwood Creek drainage to the Ogden Valley in the north. Large predators including mountain lions and bears also use the property for hunting and foraging. 
The healthy, intact sagebrush also allows for an abundance of wildflowers that support pollinators. Wild pollinators are abundant throughout the growing season, and the landowners lease the land to a producer who hatches mason bees on the property that are utilized as commercial pollinators.
Cottonwood Creek, a tributary of the Weber River, runs through the property. The Sulphur Spring property contains small wetlands and is covered by natural vegetation on both sides of the stream that filters runoff before it enters the streambanks. In addition to removing the possibility of residential development, the conservation easement will prohibit the conversion of this natural vegetation into cropland or grasses -- an additional layer of protection will limit soil disturbance and ensure the property's continued watershed protection services.
The property is under significant threat of conversion to residential housing. It is in an area that is under increasing pressure from development as population growth that is among the fastest in the US and pushes out from the urban Wasatch Front into rural areas. The land's proximity to a rapidly growing town makes it a prime candidate for rezoning that would allow for higher building density; and proximity to two ski areas has put the area at further risk as developers seek large properties to build luxury ski homes for second-home buyers. Local landowners have received numerous requests from developers who want to buy the land.
Compared to other units throughout the state, the Rich BSU is under the highest threat of conversion to residential housing given its proximity to the Wasatch Front. Habitat fragmentation and disturbance from housing construction poses the greatest risk to sage grouse populations within the unit, whereas other units are under threat primarily from resource development.
seek large properties to build luxury ski homes for second-home buyers. Local landowners have received numerous requests from developers who want to buy the land.

Compared to other units throughout the state, the Rich BSU is under the highest threat of conversion to residential housing given its proximity to the Wasatch Front. Habitat fragmentation and disturbance from housing construction poses the greatest risk to sage grouse populations within the unit, whereas other units are under threat primarily from resource development.

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: 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.

USDA-NRCS Sage Grouse Initiative 2.0 (SGI) - The SGI recognizes the protection of large ranching operations as essential to reaching its goals to protect Greater sage grouse habitat. Development of Summit County's large sagebrush landscapes poses a significant threat to the area's Sage Grouse populations. Greater sage grouse uses the Sulphur Spring property, and sage grouse populations and multiple known breeding and brooding grounds have been observed on the property.

Utah Wildlife Action Plan - The Utah Wildlife Action Plan is a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources-led plan that aims to manage native wildlife species and their habitats to prevent the need for listings under the Endangered Species Act. In addition to the Greater sage grouse, whose protection is ranked as a high priority by the plan, two avian species identified by the plan as priorities for conservation funding and action in Utah -- the Golden Eagle and the Bald Eagle -- use the property. The plan also aims to increase cooperative partnerships between multiple stakeholders and specifically identifies agricultural producers as important stakeholders to collaborate with in the development of conservation actions that are flexible enough to allow for "management innovations" while respecting agricultural landowners' livelihoods.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources -- Conservation Plan for Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse - The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is one of seven subspecies of the sharp-tailed grouse. Its population is declining, and they only inhabit 4% of their historic range in Utah, so the Utah DWR created this conservation plan to increase their numbers. Specifically, for Morgan County, it calls out development near the Snow Basin ski resort as a threat, especially in the Cottonwood Creek drainage where the Sulphur Spring property is. The plan lists conservation easements as a strategy to preserve large-scale sagebrush steppe habitat that is critical for their survival, as well as reseeding areas that have been converted to annual grasses for cattle browsing. Placing an easement on Sulphur Spring where the sage brush is still healthy compared to neighbors would meet the goals of this conservation plan.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources - Wildlife Action Plan - The Utah Wildlife Action Plan is a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) lead plan that aims "to manage native wildlife species and their habitats, sufficient to prevent the need for additional listings under the Endangered Species Act." In order to develop a strategy, a ranking system was created and applied to the species and habitats of Utah to identify priorities for conservation funding and actions. One of the highly ranked species is the Greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), which is ranked as "vulnerable" on the state-level. Sizeable federal and state efforts have been put forth to prevent the listing of the sage grouse and as habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to their population, preservation of lands such as the Sulphur Spring property is essential to preventing the species from becoming listed. The same can be said about the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus), which is dependent on similar habitats and is listed as "imperiled" for Utah. The Plan aims to increase cooperative partnerships between multiple stakeholders to meet their needs while protecting important wildlife habitat and waters. It specifically identifies agricultural producers as important stakeholders to collaborate with in the development of conservation actions that are flexible enough to allow for "management innovations" while respecting the livelihood of agricultural landowners. ALE-supported conservation easements work with the private landowner to preserve the agricultural heritage and capacity of the land while creating effective conservation plans that support sustainable land use practices and enhance wildlife 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.

If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.

Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.

Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.

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.