UTTR - Kochia Green Fire Breaks - FY17
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Project ID: 3900
Status: Completed
Fiscal Year: 2017
Submitted By:
860
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Project Manager: Jace Taylor
PM Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
PM Office: Utah Field Office
Lead: Brigham Young University
WRI Region: Northern
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Description:
The Air Force has installed a network of scrapes as fire breaks. This project will buffer those scrapes with forage kochia as an enhancement to those existing fire breaks.
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Location:
Utah Test and Training Range, north of I-80 in Box Elder County, west and east of the Lakeside Mountains (Sally Mountain, Death Ridge) within the HAG/GAT and TTU safety zones.
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Project Need
Need For Project:
This site is currently dominated by invasive species which are prone to spreading fires caused by nearby military operations. Thousands of acres on the UTTR have been burned at an unnatural frequency due to these fires. We need to replace the invasive species that are assisting the spread of fire with a more fire resistant species such as forage kochia.
The forage kochia would also increase the forage value of the site as it is a known wintering ground for pronghorn.
Objectives:
Limit the spread of fires that are started on or adjacent to active military targets and testing areas.
Prevent fires from reaching high quality habitat for wildlife.
Improve winter forage value of site by replacing cheatgrass with forage kochia.
Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?):
Fire may cross the County Road into the project area, however the series of fire breaks that a fire will have to cross to access this area greatly diminishes fire potential.
Low spring moisture could keep some plants from germinating.
Relation To Management Plan:
Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan
UTTR Wildfire Management Plan
Fire / Fuels:
Green strip to prevent fire spread.
Water Quality/Quantity:
No impact to water quality or quantity.
Compliance:
2 PMArchaeology, Cleared through Air Force 813 Process, Af Archaeologist in summer 2014, Jan 5 2015 / 6 NEPA, NEPA will be completed using the AF 332 and 813 Process, Jan 5 2015
Methods:
Spike harrow and broadcast seed.
Monitoring:
We will visually assess the establishment of the kochia at this site and as
Partners:
Brigham Young University
Hill Air Force Base
Future Management:
As fires continue to burn in this area, when we feel that the green firebreak was regressed to the point that it is insufficient in preventing the spread of fire we will reseed this site with more forage kochia.
Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources:
This project are is free from any livestock grazing and will stay wildlife habitat.
| Budget | WRI/DWR | Other | Budget Total | In-Kind | Grand Total |
| $16,000.00 | $0.00 | $16,000.00 | $9,500.00 | $25,500.00 |
| Item | Description | WRI | Other | In-Kind | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Services (permanent employee) | BYU Labor-in-kind | $0.00 | $0.00 | $4,000.00 | 2017 |
| Seed (GBRC) | Seed | $16,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2017 |
| Equipment and/or Seed Transport | Air Force Tractors and Fuel | $0.00 | $0.00 | $5,000.00 | 2017 |
| Other | Monitoring for successful establishment in following summer. | $0.00 | $0.00 | $500.00 | 2017 |
| Funding | WRI/DWR | Other | Funding Total | In-Kind | Grand Total |
| $15,260.70 | $0.00 | $15,260.70 | $9,500.00 | $24,760.70 |
| Source | Phase | Description | Amount | Other | In-Kind | Year |
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| Brigham Young University (BYU) | NC930 | $15,260.70 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2017 | |
| Brigham Young University (BYU) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $9,500.00 | 2017 |
Species
| Species | "N" Rank | HIG/F Rank | ||||
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| Black-tailed Jackrabbit | ||||||
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| Bobcat | ||||||
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| Burrowing Owl | N4 | |||||
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| Dark Kangaroo Mouse | N4 | |||||
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| Dark Kangaroo Mouse | N4 | |||||
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| Ferruginous Hawk | N4 | |||||
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| Ferruginous Hawk | N4 | |||||
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| Golden Eagle | N5 | |||||
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| Golden Eagle | N5 | |||||
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| Mule Deer | R1 | |||||
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| Pronghorn | R3 | |||||
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Habitats
| Habitat | ||||
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| Desert Grassland | ||||
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| Desert Grassland | ||||
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| Lowland Sagebrush | ||||
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| Lowland Sagebrush | ||||
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Project Comments
| Comment | 09/25/2017 | Type: 2 | Commenter: Alison Whittaker |
| Please enter any missing expenses on the Finance page, update final features and fill out the Completion Form ASAP. Completion reports were due August 31st. If you have any questions about this don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks. | |||
Completion
Start Date:
12/01/2016
End Date:
03/31/2017
FY Implemented:
2017
Final Methods:
In the winter of 2016-2017 we first treated the soil with a spike harrow before snow fell to agitate the soil and prepare it to receive seeds. Then, when there was approximately 0-1" of snow on the soil, we broadcast seeded our seed mix and followed this with a land imprinter to press the seeds into the soil.
Project Narrative:
BYU and HAFB combined to decrease the risk of catastrophic fire by increasing the amount of fire-resistant vegetation near a perpetual fire source. This area poses great risk of fire due to the military operations that are performed nearby and has repeatedly been the source of fires that have damaged large tracts of nearby habitat. We hope that by continually increasing the amount of fire-resistant vegetation (kochias), we will decrease the likelihood that more catastrophic fires will spread.
Future Management:
As fires re-occur at this site, we will continue to seed green firebreaks to prevent cheatgrass invasion and the prevent the spread of future fires.
Map Features
| ID | Feature Category | Action | Treatement/Type |
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| 5457 | Terrestrial Treatment Area | Harrow | > 15 ft. (1-way) |
| 5457 | Terrestrial Treatment Area | Land imprinter | Land imprinter |
| 5457 | Terrestrial Treatment Area | Seeding (primary) | Ground (mechanical application) |
Project Map
