The Tank hollow area is a very important winter range for mule deer in the Central Region of the DWR. Browse species in the area show extremely heavy use and projects have been completed in the area to reduce pinyon and juniper encroachment and imcrease shrubs that deer and elk use during the winter.

Establish perennial grasses to a cover value of 12% by the end of the 3rd growing season. Establish perennial forbs to a cover value of 5% by the end of the 3rd growing season. Establish mountain big sagebrush to at least 500 plants per acre by the end of the 3rd growing season.

Erosion events prior to establishment of herbaceous vegetation. Weed infestation into the fire area.

This project will help address the following goals, objectives and strategies of the mule deer and elk management plans: Statewide Deer Plan Habitat Goal: Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. Habitat Objective 1: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. Strategies c. Work with local, state and federal land management agencies via land management plans and with private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning, wintering and migration areas. Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019. Strategies d. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that have been taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats, ensuring that seed mixes contain sufficient forbs and browse species. Statewide Elk Plan B. Habitat Management Goal: Conserve and improve elk habitat throughout the state. Habitat Objective 1: Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. Strategies: C. Watershed Restoration Initiative a) Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. b) 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. Wildlife Management Unit 17 Plans Deer plan Habitat Improvement Reduce expansion of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by Pinyon-Juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects like lop & scatter, bullhog and chaining. o Future habitat work should be concentrated on the following areas. o North side of hwy 6 in the Sheep Creek drainage. Elk Plan Habitat Actions to Remove Habitat Barriers - Cooperate with USFS, BLM, & Ute Tribe to increase vegetative under story and reduce Pinyon/Juniper invasion of the sagebrush step zone to increase winter forage to reduce depredation on private property. -The proposed project will address the following goals and objectives of the Division of Wildlife Resources most recent strategic management plan: -Resource Goal: expand wildlife populations and conserve sensitive species by protecting and improving wildlife habitat. -Objective 1: protect existing wildlife habitat and improve 500,000 acres of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state. -Objective 3: conserve sensitive species to prevent them from becoming listed as threatened or endangered. -The Soldier Creek Watershed Assessment states: 1)Remove juniper to increase sagebrush habitat and forb and grass cover. -The Upper Spanish Fork Management Area as defined by the 2003 Land and Resource Management Plan for the Uinta NF has the following sub-goals of the Forest Plan: -Sub-goal 2-8: "Ecosystem resilience is maintained by providing for a full range of seral stages and age classes (by cover type) that achieve a mosaic of habitat conditions. -Sub-goal-2-23 Areas identified as being of special concern for habitat such as big game winter range, big game Management Areas are maintained and, where potential exists, improved or expanded.

Reseeding burned areas with perennial vegetation will reduce future fire risk.

Establishing perennial vegetation will help reduce erosion in the area and increase water quality in the watershed.

No ground disturbing activities planned outside of the bullhog areas already covered by NEPA.

Aerially seeding grasses, forbs and shrubs in specific areas within the fire perimeter.

Forest service personnel will monitor establishment of seeded areas post fire.

U.S. Forest service and the Division of Wildlife Resources

The area will continue to be managed by the Forest Service as per their Forest plan. The burned area will be rested from domestic grazing for at least 2 growing seasons.

When the fire area recovers, there will be more forage for domestic livestock to utilize.

11/24/2017

11/30/2017

2018

Aeriall seeded 1050 acres of the Tank Hollow fire with helicopter. Also seeded 3 dozer lines by air. Seeded one dozer line by hand with ATV and hand seeders.

The fire burned a total of 11,067 acres. The project seeded only about 1,000 acres of the lower elevation part of the fire on the west side of the burn. Contractor used helicopter and seeded the project in one day. They ran out of seed and left one dozer line unseeded. DWR seeded the unseeded dozer line by hand with ATVs a week later.

Property is USFS administered land and will continue to be managed as multiple use land.