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Little Pole Fire ES & BAR
Region: Northern
ID: 7697
Project Status: Current
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Project Details
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Need for Project
Pre-Fire Conditions Vegetation on the landscape prior to the Little Pole fire was dominated by upland shrub (99.37%), upland woodland (0.34%). Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush covered approximately 96.28% of the lands within the fire area. Also identified: Great Basin Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Shrubland (1.21%), Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe (1.06 %), Great Basin Pinyon-Juniper Woodland (0.63 %) with Great Basin and Intermountain Ruderal Shrubland and Other totaling the remaining 0.48%.
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.
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Objectives
The fire occurred within crucial year-long range for deer and pronghorn and is within Priority Habitat Management Area (PHMA) for Greater Sage-grouse. There are known leks very near and east of the fire. Other sensitive species potentially affected include kit fox, burrowing owl, ferruginous hawk, golden eagle, pinyon jay, monarch butterfly, and western bumble bee. The integrity of the Raft River drainage could be at risk, due to loss of riparian vegetation or impacts from the fire effects including surrounding native trees, shrubs and perennial vegetation, all of which could contribute to an accelerated eroding landscape. Soil loss or movement downstream is of primary concern. Wind erosion is moderate and water erosion is potentially high if there are future instances of rapid runoff.
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.
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Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?)
Drill seeding as well as an aerial seeding treatment is needed to stabilize soils, promote infiltration, and mitigate the potential for flash flooding threats. Without seeding treatments, the potential for increased density and overall presence of cheatgrass, which was located in near proximity, could increase in this burned area if left untreated and the invasion of several noxious weed species would also be a concern. Noxious weed spraying and Monitoring are included.
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.
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Relation to Management Plans
These ESR treatments are consistent with the Box Elder Resource Management Plan (1986), the Salt Lake Field Office Fire Management Plan Amendment (1998)-Alternative 2: Integrated Fire/Resources, the 2022 Salt Lake Field Office Invasive Species Management Plan (DOI-BLM-UT-W010-2018-0010-EA), and the 2010 West Desert District Normal Year Fire Rehabilitation Plan (WDD NFRP) (DOI-BLM-UT-W000-2010-0001-EA).
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.
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Fire/Fuels
The natural caused fire started July 31, 2025 and was declared contained August 5, 2025. Most of the acreage burned between the afternoon of July 31th and early hours of August 1st. The fire started on BLM lands barely east of USFS, just north and south of private lands. High winds drove the fire north and east, carrying the fire near the Raft River drainage. The fire ran north from the point of origin (T14N R16W Section 23), propelled by strong south-easterly winds causing running, spotting, torching and creeping.
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.
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Water Quality/Quantity
Fire impacts watershed health by removing accumulated material and vegetation that provides protection to the mineral soil and holds sediment on hillslopes. Fire also alters infiltration by exposing soil to raindrop impact and enhancing hydrophobic soil conditions. Exposed hillslopes have increased raindrop impact, increased runoff with more power due to long uninterrupted flow paths and less surface roughness (due to removal of vegetation, litter, duff and coarse woody debris). Natural recovery of the vegetation will take several years; a flashflood/debris flow during the post-fire recovery phase would potentially result in significant negative impacts to the landscape and access roads surrounding the greater Raft River drainage area.
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.
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Compliance
The WDD NFRP supports: âªThe use of various methods to plant seed into the soil, including the aerial seeding treatments included in this ESR plan. When established, these seedings prevent cheatgrass invasion, provide a protection from soil erosion, protect the burn area from large-scale invasion of non-native noxious and invasive weeds, and provide forage and nectar resources for wildlife. âªThe WDD NFRP and SLFO Invasive Species Management Plan also supports the use of herbicides to combat noxious and invasive plant species.
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.
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Methods
* The burned areas would be seeded with seed mixes designed for the soils, precipitation, and other ecological characteristics of proposed seeding sites. It is estimated that approximately 350 acres would be drill seeded and approximately 108 acres would be aerially seeded to establish perennial cover to hold the soil and help slow the invasion of noxious and other pervasive weeds, especially cheatgrass. * Conduct a cadastral survey to identify, avoid disturbing and establish Public Land Survey System corners/lines. * Conduct a Class III Cultural Resources Inventory to identify archaeological sites within the burn area for avoidance from proposed ground-disturbing activities. * Repair or replace an estimated 1.5 miles of burned pasture and allotment boundary fences to keep livestock off the treatment area until seeded vegetation is able to get established. * Enter into a nonuse agreement to protect the seeded area of the fire, as cattle grazing permittees on the Yost Pastures Allotments will be required to keep their livestock off the reseeded area for a minimum of two full growing seasons to allow new seedlings to become established. * Treatment effectiveness monitoring for three growing seasons following the fire to determine success of emergency stabilization treatments. * Inventory for and treat any noxious weeds that may invade
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.
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Monitoring
The Little Pole Fire ESR treatments would be monitored using Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) methodology for the first three years following the fire. The first year (2026) is covered under S13-Monitoring, and continued monitoring in the second and third years (2027 and 2028) are addressed under R13-Monitoring. The specific methodology of the monitoring can be found under the monitoring section for each individual treatment. Monitoring methods were designed to measure the effectiveness of treatments and results for each treatment that was implemented. Monitoring will attempt to measure the intended on-the-ground results for which the ESR team designed treatments.
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.
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Partners
UDNR - DWR Habitat Restoration Biologist(s)
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.
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Future Management
Given the sizeable costs involved in ESR projects, it is important to monitor and evaluate the response from that investment. It is also helpful to show success or failure of different treatment methodologies in different plant communities and soils to improve our knowledge for future treatment activities. Monitoring is a big part of adaptive management as lessons are learned from experience over time. Through monitoring, we can improve our techniques and treatment prescriptions in the future. As a specific example, monitoring the results from the seed mix within the proposed seeding area will yield valuable information to land managers on the success/failure of different seeded species in establishing and competing with cheatgrass.
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.
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Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources
The overall probability for success of the proposed treatments is sufficiently high to result in an acceptable level of risk. Indications are that the proposed Little Pole Fire treatments have a favorable chance of success, given that the project wins early support and can be carried out in the proper timeframe this fall. The SLFO has experience using similar seeding applications and research has shown these treatments have the best efficacy to prevent/ameliorate overland flow for the first year following the fire.
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.
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