Project Details

The Yellow Lake Fire burned over 33,000 acres across the Duchesne Ridge in fall of 2024. Impacting forest land in both the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley National Forests. Headwaters of both the Provo River and the Duchesne river have been affected by varying degrees of severity.

Soapstone Basin was one of the most heavily impacted areas from the fire, suffering severe degradation. Soapstone Creek is a direct early tributary to the Provo River, known for being a popular fishery supporting brook trout, brown trout and tiger trout. Being only an hour from Salt Lake City, it has historically offered an accessible and productive spot for anglers to target sportfish. Farther downstream, Soapstone Creek flows north to join the Upper Provo River, home to Bonneville cutthroat trout, which currently only occupy around 35% of their historical native range. The Provo River is one of Utah's prized Blue Ribbon fisheries.

The severity of which Soapstone Creek was affected by the wildfire varies across our proposed project reach. In areas where vegetation was completely lost, soil is exposed and ash remains loose on the surface. In the most affected areas, tributaries to Soapstone Creek are running directly overland over loose soil as the stream morphology was completely altered during the fire. The widespread loss of vegetation has led to unstable, eroding banks. The increased run off over bare soil will continue to exacerbate erosion of the banks, accelerating sedimentation of the creek on site and downstream.

If sedimentation goes unchecked and continues downstream, it can result in reduced success of spawning efforts by trout, a decline in aquatic insects that form a large part of trout diets, decreased dissolved oxygen and an increase in water temperature.
Soapstone Basin is critical summer habitat for mule deer and revegetation is necessary for not only soil stabilization but to reestablish native grasses, forbs and shrubs to maintain available diet for mule deer and elk, habitat for upland game birds and to prevent invasive species taking a hold.

In response, TU, UDWR, USFS are planning a series of large scale mitigation efforts across the effected landscape, prioritizing watershed restoration through erosion control, soil stabilization and water quality improvements, with far reaching effects into native vegetation improvement, fire resilience, improved grazing and increased wildlife habitat.
 flows.

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.

The main objective of this project is to rehabilitate the most severely impacted section of the Yellow Lake Fire burn scar to improve the landscape with fire resilient vegetation, stabilize soil through seeding and planting, prevent debris flows through use of straw wattles, reduce erosion of sensitive headwaters through LTPB restoration methods and improve habitat for multiple Utah SGCNs, game species and sport fish.

1)	Stabilize soil: reestablish perennial grasses, forbs and shrubs in burn area to prevent noxious weed invasion, provide habitat and forage for multiple animal species and maintain soil stability.   Aerial seeding of grasses and forbs would be conducted during the late fall months of 2026 or spring 2027, when precipitation could be expected to ensure seed propagation and survival.

2)	Reduce erosion, incision and head cutting: implement LTPBR techniques in-stream throughout affected streams including Soapstone, Wolf Creek, and the Little West Fork.

3)	Improve and stabilize water quality: plant willow, install straw wattles, along streams to stabilize the banks, reintroduce vegetation to places completely stripped of it during the fire, lower stream temperatures and provide habitat and forage

4)	Promote breeding ponds for Columbia spotted frogs, found within soapstone Basin, downstream of the burn scar

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.

The risks of not doing any restoration work in this area within the next year include: invasion of noxious weed species, and little to no grasses, forbs and shrub recruitment, the loss of forage and habitat for economically important game species and sport fish, continual degradation of critical headwaters to two important watersheds and a reduced resiliency to future wildfires.
The need for soils to stabilize is critical within the next year. Perennial grass, forb and shrub species that will become established from our reseeding efforts will benefit wildlife across both forests.
As mentioned, debris flows and sheet erosion also pose a risk to critical infrastructure.   
The BRAT model suggests Soapstone Creek, Wolf Creek and Little West Fork Duchesne all have the capacity to hold high numbers of BDAs, showing the system will benefit from LTPBR techniques such as BDAs.
The Wildlife Migration Initiative identifies the project area as crucial summer habitat for mule deer. Low- Medium use for migrations (Wasatch East).
Please review photos attached to see the severity of the burn.
The most heavily impacted areas within the burn scar continue to degrade with severe headcutting, sedimentation and erosion in sensitive headwaters without immediate intervention.

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.

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.

SOIL STABILIZATION
In the most severely burned areas of the creek we will focus on soil stabilization by seeding with native grasses and forbs, helping re-establish vegetation that will take root and establish ground cover, improving soil health and reducing erosion, decreasing sediment entering the creek. Seeding with native species will reduce the risk of invasive species taking hold, supporting long-term ecological resilience in the area.

BANK STABILIIZATION
To tackle the bank de-stabilization that follows wildfires, we will cut and stake willows along the banks of Soapstone Creek that have been stripped of vegetation. Willows are a fast-rooting riparian species, and planting directly on the banks of the creek will speed up the revegetation process, anchoring the banks, reducing erosion and, with time, will also aid in keeping water temperatures lower by creating shade over the channel.

EROSION AND HEADCUTTING
Certain points along the creek within our proposed project area would benefit from in-stream restoration methods. The combined effects of the sweeping loss of vegetation, bank instability and sedimentation can be helped by Building Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs). BDAs mimic natural beaver dams and work to slow water, reducing erosion, encouraging sediment deposition and raising the water table, helping with vegetation regrowth.

PLANTING
This project is designed to use natural methods to encourage rapid restoration along Soapstone Creek, benefitting not only the trout downstream but local to site wildlife including beaver, Columbia spotted frog and pollinators.

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.