Vegetation: A healthy sagebrush community should consist of a diverse plant community and a variety of wildlife. The sagebrush habitat on the South Bookcliffs is becoming degraded due to encroaching pinyon and juniper. Areas where trees have become dominant, they have out competed understory species for light, moisture, and nutrients. This eventually results in a loss of many understory species. The lack of understory species will deplete the native seedbank, increase soil erosion, and increases non-native weed invasion (cheatgrass). Excessive fuel build up can result in catastrophic wildfires, which further degrades the habitat and increases the likelihood of cheatgrass expansion. Removing some of the pinyon and juniper and seeding with perennial species can improve the degraded sagebrush communities. It will ensure the seedbank maintains desirable species, reduces the chances of catastrophic wildfires, and decrease the risk of weed invasion. Wildlife: The South Book Cliffs deer and elk herds are 40-50% below the population objective for the area. These population declines can be attributed in part to habitat quality and quantity on both summer and winter ranges. High quality mule deer winter range on the South Book Cliffs herd is found in a narrow belt of habitat. Stands of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata var.wyomingensis) are found at the mouths of each of the major canyons (Floy, Sego Thompson, Cottonwood, Diamond, Sager, and, Sulfur) of the South Book Cliffs. Deer use these areas throughout the winter months. These stands are in poor condition as a result drought cycles and high utilization by both deer and domestic livestock. Furthermore, existing stands are being out competed by Pinyon and Juniper (PJ) trees thus reducing the carrying capacity for mule deer and other wildlife species. Removing trees in a mosaic pattern will improve winter range condition, because pinyon-juniper trees do provide valuable thermal and hiding cover for deer. Removing some pinyon and juniper trees will improve the quantity and quality of sagebrush in the area. This would provide valuable winter range forage for mule deer with hiding and thermal cover in close proximity. This should aid in both deer over winter survival as well as fawn production. Watershed Health: Areas dominated by Pinyon-Juniper produce limited understory vegetation and the bare soil interspaces are prone to soil loss by erosion. Herbaceous vegetation is important in impeding overland flow and is effective at reducing soil erosion. Both the potential increase in herbaceous vegetation and the masticated tree material should help stabilize the soils by reducing erosion and protect the water quality throughout the watershed.

1) Promote a healthy understory of grasses, forbs and shrubs to provide quality habitat for wildlife and range species. 2) Reduce the encroachment of pinyon/juniper trees in sagebrush meadows, but leave patches of trees for wildlife corridors. 3) Reduce cheatgrass expansion by promoting perennial grass, forb, and shrub cover. 4) Reduce the density of pinyon/juniper trees as a hazardous fuels treatment to protect habitat at risk from a catastrophic wildfire event. 5) Reduce overland flows of water from rain/snow events where there is heavy pinyon/juniper stands. Allowing water to be infiltrated into the soils and slowly released back into the system.

This project focuses on pinyon/ juniper removal as a means to maintain healthy sagebrush habitat. Sagebrush habitat is at risk of being lost due to excessive pinyon and juniper, subsequent wildfire, and high potential for cheatgrass invasion. High severity wildfire could lead to an increase in cheatgrass and loss of native species. This project will decrease the risk of high severity wildfire by reducing fuel loading, reduce soil erosion, and promoting the growth of understory vegetation, which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience. The winter range/shrub community for the south bookcliffs has been declining due to cheatgrass, fire suppression and over utilization of shrubs. As the conditions in these areas declines so does herd health for wintering big game in the area.

See Attachment

1 Archaeologist, sent to contract 5/28 660 acres x 22$ = 14,520$, Jun 4 2014 / 2 PMArchaeology, Arch. survey needs to be done. Will be completed before project activities begin., Dec 17 2013 / 6 NEPA, NEPA is complete and signed, Dec 17 2013

Treatments would be implemented through a combination of mechanical and hand thinning techniques. Mechanical treatments will utilized a bullhog or mechanical shredder for masticating the juniper and pinyon trees and hand cutting would utilize chainsaws and other hand tools. Areas requiring seed will be aerial seeded with grasses, forbs, and shrubs prior to mechanical treatment so the seed can find safe sites for establishment. Mechanical treatment will be done in areas where there is little to no understory in the pinyon/juniper and seeding will need to be done before the project begins. Lop and scatter treatments will occur in areas where there is a good understory of grasses, forbs and shrubs. There will be no need for seeding and disturbance in the lop and scatter areas.

Monitoring will include both qualitative (photo plots) and quantitative vegetation monitoring transects. Studies are a density type study for forbs and grasses and 1/200 M circular plot for trees and shrubs. There are three 3X3' frames and 3 1/200 M plots/study location. The three study sites are read every three to five years at specific times during the field season and are used to track veg. trend. Pre-treatment monitoring plots will be established and then re-read post treatment around the 3rd year. Mule deer and elk counts will continue with DWR biologist. Additional transect data collection will continue so that long-range trends can be identified.

The project area falls within Floy grazing allotment. In areas where seeding will occur the BLM will work with the permittees to keep animals away from seeded areas for 2 years. Fencing will not be constructed as part of this project. The project will be evaluated after treatment to determine if any follow treatments will need to occur, particularly with additional herbicide applications are needed. The area is within the The Deer Herd Management Plan for the Bookcliffs unit 10. The herd objective is 15,000 deer with a 3 year average of 25 to 35 buck per 100 does post season. The area will continue to manged for these numbers. The Bookcliffs Elk Herd (unit 10) Management Plan states that population objective is 7,500 elk the current population estimate is at 4,000. The area will continues to be managed for increased elk numbers.

02/23/2015

03/19/2015

2015

Bullhog areas were seeded aerially with grass and forbs in the fall of 2014 before bullhog work began. 601 acres of bullhog work occurred through out the winter of 2014-2015 completed by March of 2015. A second flight of sagebrush and other seeds was flown on in January 2015. Some areas had not been treated at this time so some areas the sagebrush seed flight was masticated after the flight. 469 acres of less dense trees were lop and scattered. This was done by hand crews using chainsaws. All trees within the lop and scatter areas were treated. Trees were cut and then bucked into smaller parts so they could dry out quicker and prevent insect outbreaks. Lop and scatter areas were completed by 4/28/2015.

We were delayed from a fall treatment due to the arch. clearance and SHPO concurrence not being completed for the bullhog areas. I aerial seeded everything in January with the sagebrush mixture. Since we were so late in the year we had to do Raptor surveys. We gather a group of biologist to go look for raptor nests within the project site but we found nothing. We did the lop and scatter in March. There was discussion over whether or not arch. clearance was needed for the lop and scatter portion, in the end arch clearance was not needed. With all of the moisture of 2015 the project has many seeded species showing up.

There will be no grazing for two growing seasons. Photo, vegetation and pellet monitoring will continue for 3 years. In 5 year the project will be looked at to see if desirable forage is growing or if re-treatments are needed. DWR will continue to manage the area towards population objective for big game.