Vegetation: A healthy sagebrush community should consist of a diverse plant community and a variety of wildlife. The sagebrush habitat along the east Manti is becoming degraded due to encroaching pinyon and juniper. Areas where trees have become dominant have outcompeted understory vegetation species for light, moisture, and nutrients. The lack of understory species will deplete the native seedbank, increase soil erosion, and increase non-native weed invasion. Excessive coarse 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 alternate diverse species can improve the degraded sagebrush communities. Seeding and tree removal will ensure the seedbank maintains desirable species, decrease the risk of weed invasion, and reduce the chances of catastrophic wildfires Wildlife: This project will improve habitat for the Manti/Central Utah Mountains deer herd. This deer herd is 30% below the population objective for the area. The population is limited by winter range with portions of the critical range in poor condition due to recent drought and range utilization. Pinyon-juniper woodlands dominate the vegetation cover within the deer winter range and encroachment of these species into sagebrush communities has decreased available forage for wildlife. This project will treat the encroaching p/j in a mosaic pattern. This project design will maintain hiding and thermal cover for deer while improving the quantity and quality of forage in the area. The additional forage created by this project should aid in over-winter survival as well as fawn production.

1) Promote a healthy understory of grasses, forbs, and shrubs to provide quality forage for wildlife and range species. 1a. 12-20% preferred browse, 20% or less shrub decadency, 10%+ young shrub population 1b. 8-15% perennial grasses, 5% perennial forb, less than 5% annual grass cover 2) Reduce the encroachment of pinyon/juniper trees in sagebrush meadows, but leave patches of trees for wildlife corridors. 2a. Provide hiding and thermal cover within 700 ft of foraging location. 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 bare ground and reduce overland flows of water from rain/snow events where there is heavy pinyon/juniper stands which will allow water to be infiltrated into the soils and slowly released back into the system. 6) Increase available forage for livestock for wildlife. 6a. Average range production of 750 pounds/acre 7) Help bring this plant community back into a more natural state with a variety of age classes of plant communities.

This project focuses on pinyon/ juniper removal as a means to maintain healthy sagebrush habitat. Alterations to lowland sagebrush habitat include invasion by non-native annual grass, encroachment of pinyon/juniper and understory depletion. This project will address these threats. Removal of pinyon/juniper decreases the coarse fuels on the site which can result in high severity wildfire due to the ability of coarse fuels to burn for an extended time. Fires also lead to an increase in cheatgrass and loss of native species. This project will also be seeded which will reduce soil erosion and promote the growth of understory vegetation; both are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience.

The National Fire Plan *Designed to manage the potential impacts of wildland fire to communities and ecosystems and to reduce therisk of catastrophic wildland fire *The NFP focuses on strategies for improving fire preparedness, restoring and rehabilitating burned areas, reducing hazardous fuels, assisting communities, and identifying research needs BLM National Policy Guidance on Wildlife and Fisheries Management *Provides direction to restore, maintain and improve wildlife habitat conditions on public lands through the implementation of activity plans Emery County General Plan *9.4 Fire Management, Protection and Prevention- Agencies should work diligently to reduce the threat of wildfire on public lands. *9.5 Forestry and Forest Products- Agencies should adopt policies that prevent forest fires through thinning stand densities as well as construction and maintenance of fuel breaks and other vegetation management. *9.7 Invasive Species Management and Pest Management- the County encourages Agencies to protect public lands bordering private lands from noxious weeds. *9.13.2 Water Quality and Quantity-Maintain current level of water quality and quantity, Support additional watershed protection measures. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer 2014-2019 Section VI Statewide management goals and objectives. This plan will address 1: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range. 2. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that are being taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats. 3. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early succession stages. 4. Work with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize mule deer habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration. 5. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that are being taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats. 6. Continue to identify, map, and characterize crucial mule deer habitats throughout the state, and identify threats and limiting factors to each habitat. 7. Work with land management agencies and private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning and wintering areas. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Elk 2015-2022 1) Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. 2) Reduce adverse impacts to elk herds and elk habitat. 3) Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. 4) Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration. 5) Identify habitat projects on summer ranges (aspen communities) to improve calving habitat. 6) Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early succession stages. DEER HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Deer Herd Unit # 16 Manti October 2015 A) Maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements to support and maintain herd population management objectives. B) Work with private landowners and, federal, state, local and tribal governments to maintain and protect critical and existing ranges from future losses and degradation. C) Provide improved habitat security and escapement opportunities for deer. Habitat Management Strategies; A) Work cooperatively to utilize grazing, prescribed burning and other recognized vegetative manipulation techniques to enhance deer forage quantity and quality. A)Protect, maintain, and/or improve deer habitat through direct range improvements to support and maintain herd population management objectives. B)Work with private landowners and federal, state, and local governments to maintain and protect critical and existing ranges from future losses and degradation through grazing management and OHV and Travel Plan modifications. C)Work with federal, private, and state partners to improve crucial deer habitats through the WRI process. Elk Herd Unit Management Plan Elk Herd Unit #16 Manti *Improve forage and cover values on elk summer ranges. Practices will include prescribed fire, selective logging, and mechanical treatments that promote a diverse age structure in aspen communities. Over 300 acres per year will be targeted. * Remove pinyon-juniper encroachment into winter range sagebrush parks and summer range mountain brush communities. Over 500 acres per year will be targeted using primarily mechanical treatments. Habitat * Promote sustainable livestock grazing practices that minimize negative impacts to plant health and diversity, especially on summer ranges and on SITLA and DWR lands where DWR holds the grazing permit or controls livestock grazing. * Develop new and protect/improve existing water sources for wildlife and livestock to improve distribution and minimize over-utilization in proximity to water sources. * Remove coniferous and juniper tree encroachment into winter range, sagebrush park lands, and summer range aspen forest and mountain browse communities. Approximately 1,500 acres per year will be targeted. * Open the closed canopy pinion--juniper forest lands at mid elevation zones to enhance perennial understory vegetative maintenance. Approximately 1,500 acres per year will be targeted utilizing mechanical and prescribed fire technology. * Enhance riparian system and canyon bottom vegetative communities through continued agricultural practices, prescriptive grazing and mechanical or chemical treatments. * Explore ways to improve Wyoming sagebrush community condition and perennial vegetative health. * Improve existing canyon bottom riparian communities by treating greasewood and overmature sagebrush through chemical, mechanical, and other methods, and minimize impacts on croplands in these habitats. Utah Wildlife Action Plan Lowland Sagebrush is a Key Habitat in the 2015-2025 Plan One of the threats identified to lowland sagebrush is inappropriate fire frequency and intensity Recommendations to Improve condition are: 1)Promoting policies and management that allow fire to return to a more natural regime. 2)Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the Uncharacteristic class, including cutting/ mulching/chaining of invading pinyon and juniper trees, herbicide or mechanical treatment of nonnative invasive species such as cheatgrass and secondary perennial weed species, and rehabilitation of burned areas following wildfire. 3) Promoting management that includes seeding a diversity of grasses, forbs and shrubs that will lead to increased resiliency and resistance in the plant community. Price BLM Resource Management Plan Oct 2008 *FIRE-6 The general DWFC is to have ecosystems that are at a low risk of losing key ecosystem components following wildfire and that function within their historical ecological range. In terms of FRCC, the DWFC outside the WUI will be to trend to a lower FRCC using the least intrusive method possible. When possible, wildland fire use is the preferred method of treatment to move toward FRCC 1; when conditions do not allow wildland fire use, prescribed fire and then nonfire fuel treatments will be considered. Inside the WUI, the general DWFC is to have less potential for values to be threatened by wildland fire, usually through some modification of fuels. *GRA-4 Provide for the development and maintenance of range improvement projects and livestock facilities on a case-by-case basis. Construct range improvement projects to BLM specifications. Document access routes for the range improvements in the individual project files. *VEG-1 Allow vegetation manipulation with restrictions to achieve the desired vegetation condition. Treat areas determined to need vegetation reestablishment using methods such as introductions, transplants, augmentation, reestablishments, and restocking with attention to diversity and habitat. These areas will be treated with a variety of plant species that are desirable for wildlife habitat, livestock, watershed management, and other resource values while maintaining vegetation species diversity (Map R- 4). *VEG-3 Use the Utah Partners for Conservation and Development, local greater sage-grouse working groups, and other interested governmental and non-governmental organizations to identify sagebrush habitat locations and amounts that should undergo restoration and/or rehabilitation. *VEG-4 Promote the use of native plant species that are desirable for wildlife, livestock, watershed management, and other resource values while maintaining vegetation species diversity. *VEG-11 Vegetation manipulations (i.e., mechanical, biological, manual, prescribed fire, or chemical) will be prescribed on a case-by-case basis to achieve and/or maintain Standards for Rangeland Health. *WL-10 Emphasize the use of mechanical, chemical, and biological methods, as well as fire and livestock grazing, to achieve the desired plant community for fish and wildlife habitats. *WL-11 Maintain sustainable forage levels for livestock and wildlife. Utah's Wild Turkey Management Plan Objectives 1. The plans objective is to maintain and improve wild turkey populations. One of the strategies identified to reach this objective is to do habitat projects. This project will help to achieve this objective. 2. The plan also identifies as an objective increasing habitat quantity and quality for turkeys by 40,000 acres statewide by 2020. This project will help to achieve this by increase herbaceous foraging habitat for turkeys. 3. Another objective in the turkey management plan is to increase hunting opportunity. 4. Enhance appreciation for wild turkeys in Utah. This project will help to allow easier access to turkeys by the public and greater opportunity to observe these animals. This will help to achieve this objective.

This project will decrease the risk of high severity wildfire by reducing fuel loading, reducing soil erosion, and promoting the growth of understory vegetation, which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience. Fuels in the current state pose a hazard to fire personnel, the private citizens, structures and infrastructure. The area is in an active gas field and any fire that starts in the area could be a risk to the community and infrastructure in the area. The current fire regime condition class is moderate (2), and would be reduced to low (1) immediately after treatment. The lowland sagebrush habitat type has been identified in the 2015-2025 Utah Wildlife Action Plan as a key habitat and the threats associated with this key habitat include inappropriate fire frequency and intensity. This project will help to reduce this threat by reducing coarse fuels, and reducing the chance of fine fuel build up from non-native annual grass invasion. The removal of trees would create a break in the tree canopy where firefighters could begin to manage the fire. According to the Utah DNR Wildfire Risk Portal (Cat. Fire Map) the area is at low risk, low threat and low effect. Treatment in this area could reduce the potential for fires by creating a gap in the tree canopy allowing for a potential place to begin fire management.

Areas with limited understory vegetation and the bare soil inter-spaces 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 protecting the water quality throughout the watershed. Pinyon and Juniper intercept 10-20% of precipitation according to Horman et al. 1999. Removing p/j should allow for more precipitation to contact the soil and increase biomass on the ground. A recent publication by Roundy et al. 2014 showed that phase 3 juniper removal can increase available moisture for more than 3 weeks in the spring. And removing juniper from phase 1 and 2 stands can increase water from 6-20 days respectively. Because juniper are prolific water users they readily out compete understory species which eventually die off. Results of the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative study in Nevada (Desatoya Mt.) found that by removing (lop and scatter) P/J (130 trees/acre) there is the potential to increase water recharge yields 4% on wet years. On wet years this will increase recharge, but does not increase stream flow. Wet meadows and upland plants benefit by utilizing the increased soil moisture, providing for better resiliency during drought years. This provides for an increase in water quantity for herbaceous plants on sites where p/j is removed.

The Environmental Assessment for the area has been completed for the BLM portion of the project. Archaeological clearances will need to be completed before any ground disturbing activities being. Work will be collaborated with SITLA on reseeding the previously treated are and if an additional RIP form is needed it will be completed before work begins.

Mechanical treatments will utilize a bullhog or mechanical shredder for masticating the juniper and pinyon trees in areas with little to no understory. The area will be aerial seeded with grasses, forbs, and shrubs prior to mechanical treatment so micro-sites for seed establishment are created. The area that was previously chained will be aerial seeded and a chain harrow will be used to improve soil contact with seeded species.

Monitoring will include both qualitative (photo plots) and quantitative vegetation monitoring transects. Line intercept will be done to monitor vegetation changes.Pellet transects will be included with vegetation monitoring. Mule deer and elk counts will continue by a DWR game biologist. Monitoring will be done prior to treatment and again 3 years post-treatment. See Images/Documents for detailed methods. Rangeland forage production measurement will continue to be monitored by the BLM Range staff. Monitoring will be done according to the Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Grazing Management. Online form will be created for each sampling method, this way as soon as monitoring is completed it can be uploaded to the database from the users smartphone or internet connected device. In areas with no cell service form will be upload at the end of the day when back in cell coverage.

The first implementation phase of this project was completed on SITLA land in the fall of 2011. The project was rested for two years following treatment with the support of the livestock grazing permittee. In 2011, the Price BLM began an Environmental Assessment to further treatments on the surrounding BLM lands. Efforts to achieve projects goals were attempted through a stewardship contract but were unsuccessful. A contract will now be issued to complete the BLM portion of the project. Livestock permittees will rest seeded areas. Support and feedback for this project has been provided by the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Mule Deer Foundation.

The project area falls within an active grazing allotment. In areas where seeding will occur the BLM and SITLA will work with the permittees to rest seeded areas for 2 years. Fencing will not be constructed as part of this project. Following project completion, an evaluation will take place to determine if any follow up treatments will need to occur, particularly if any herbicide applications are needed to control invasive plant species. The portions of the project occurring on BLM lands will continue to be managed for multiple use, including grazing, hunting, wildlife watching and many other recreational activities. Wildlife management plans for the area will be followed. The Manti deer herd unit management plan will guide management of mule deer. The current herd objective is 38,000 deer with a 3 year average of 15 to 17 buck per 100 does post-season. The deer herd is under objective and improving forage through this project should help to reach population goals. The Manti Elk Herd Management Plan states that population objective is 12,000 elk. This project occurs in substantial winter habitat for elk. Wildlife management will continue to occur in this area to maintain population objective. Additional acres of treatment will continue to help livestock and wildlife that use the the winter ranges along the east Manti. As addressed in the management plan section, this project is working towards goals in the Price BLM Resource Management Plan to restore ecosystems. Mechanical treatment of fuels and seeding are authorized management actions under this plan.

This project is within an active grazing allotment. The project will be rested for 2 growing seasons post-treatment. Seeding will increase forage for livestock. Treating and seeding an area with no understory will not only increase forage but distribute grazing to reduce over utilization throughout the area. Seeding will also help diversify the plant community creating a healthier ecosystem that will benefit livestock by providing forage with the greatest nutritional benefit throughout the grazing season.

10/23/2017

11/22/2017

2018

A fixed wing plane flew the first flight of grass/forb seed on the site 10/17/2017. The bullhogs arrived on site 10/23/2017 and began work. The bullhogs worked until 11/22/2017. There were areas in the polygons where it was too rocky to treat but the contractor missed some acres. The secondary (sagebrush) seeding occurred 1/31/2018. The drill seeding portion of the project was not implemented. We determined that the original seeding from phase 1 was beginning to establish and we did not want to disturb the area again and lose what had established.

The project was very difficult to manage. The contract was awarded to a contractor that had no experience in bullhog work. They arrived with skid-steer sized bullhogs and had many issues with break-downs. The skid steers could not get the trees on the edges of the washes very effectively, many whips were left on the edges. Many whips were left in the open areas of the polygon, the contractor went back with hand tools to treat lower live limbs. Finally, they rented a full size trackhoe and the speed of the work increased. There were areas where there were many large rocks, those areas were not treated since the equipment could not get into the area. The drill seeding portion of the project was not implemented. We determined that the original seeding from phase 1 was beginning to establish and we did not want to disturb the area again and lose what had established.

The area is winter range for big game. There are depredation issues on the nearby agriculture fields, we will watch and see if this alleviates issues. There was very little precipitation on the site this winter, we will watch for the next 3-5 years to see if we need to try additional seeding efforts. Livestock will be excluded from the site for 2 growing seasons. Big game numbers will continue to be managed for population objective.