1. There is a need to rehabilitate sage-grouse and ungulate habitat that was impacted by the Brian Head fire. 2. There is a need to restore watershed function and protect water quality threatened by increased erosion due to the fire. 3. There is a need to remove encroaching vegetation within the vicinity of the Panguitch Municipal Watershed for recruitment of native forbs, shrubs and grasses to benefit wildlife and stabilize soils, and restore function to the system. Prior to the Brianhead fire WRI had funded NEPA for this portion of the project area under project 3957 but was unable to be completed before the fire. The Brianhead fire began on June 17, 2017. Over the course of approximately the next month it burned approximately 71,672 acres (63,648 USFS, 749 BLM, 761 State, and 6,514 Private). Burn severity of the fire included 28,215 acres of low/unburned, 31,819 acres of moderate, and 11,639 of high severity. In addition there are 54,275 acres rated with a high hazard for soil erosion and 27,549 acres with soil characterized as hydrophobic. Hydrophobic soil conditions are common within moderate and high burn severity areas and contribute greatly to increased run-off and erosion. The area burned by the BrianHead Fire is wide-ranging and can be broadly characterized by spruce-fir (Engelmann spruce and sub-alpine fir), mixed conifer (Douglas-fir, white fir, ponderosa pine), mixed conifer/aspen, aspen, pockets of ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper, mountain mahogany, oakbrush, mountain big sagebrush, silver sagebrush, black sagebrush, grass and forb-dominated montane meadows, and riparian communities. Additionally large acreages of this fire have impacted many important wildlife habitats. Of note the fire burned 4,514 acres mapped as crucial deer habitat, 54,953 acres mapped as substantial deer habitat, 21,870 acres mapped as crucial elk habitat, 37,302 acres mapped as substantial elk habitat, 7076 acres mapped as sage grouse habitat, and 42,323 acres mapped as turkey habitat.

Continue the rehabilitation work that was started in 2017 to stabilize resources affected by the Brian Head Fire. 1. On approximately 2,080 acres north of Panguitch lake apply a low elevation grass/forb mix (attached) using fixed-wing aircraft followed by chaining. This seeding treatment would benefit deer, elk and Greater sage-grouse. 2. Decommission and re-route approximately 5.55 miles of trail and 3.36 miles of road that are currently being washed out and eroded due to decreased effective canopy cover and increased runnoff. Rerouting these trails and roads would move these pathways to more hydrologically sustainable locations and in many instances out of wet areas. 3. Within the Delong Creek and Indian Hollow sub-watersheds, remove encroaching white fir, Douglas fir, mountain-mahogany, pinyon pine and juniper through mastication, cutting, piling and burning on approximately 262 acres. These treatments will improve habitat for deer and elk in the area through release of native grasses, forbs and shrubs. This would also improve ground cover and soil retention in the vicinity the Panguitch municipal watershed.

1. Wildlife - There is a risk of losing important Greater sage-grouse Habitat in the area, with special emphasis on nesting and brood rearing habitat that were present in the Panguitch Area prior to the fire. Without effective ground cover from grasses and forbs, ungulates including elk, deer and livestock will not be able to use this area for foraging until the ecosystem regenerates naturally. However, it is likely that the area will experience an increase of non-desirable invasive species such as cheatgrass. To protect against this an area-specific seed mix was jointly developed between the Dixie National Forest and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. 2. Water Quality - Decreased effective canopy and ground cover has caused a significant increase in overland runoff and erosion. This has accelerated damage to trails and roads within the burned area which funnel runoff and sedimentation through exposed and incised pathways. If these runoff channels persist, there is an increased threat to water quality within the vicinity of Red Creek, Bunker Creek and headwaters of Ipsom Creek and Castle Creek. 3. Habitat for elk, deer and other wildlife was modified in the fire. Within the Panguitch municipal watershed, wildlife are currently concentrating their use on un-burned springs and other wet areas . Removal of encroaching vegetation within this area would allow for the release of forbs and grasses and wildlife would be able to spread out their use on additional areas. There is currently a risk to water quality for domestic and agricultural uses.

Utah's Wildlife Action Plan (WAP): The WAP identifies the following key habitats that may be addressed through project planning in the Brian Head Fire Rehabilitation Project: Riverine, Mountain sagebrush and Aspen-Conifer. The WAP lists Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity a high level threat for BCT and Aspen-Conifer Ecosystems with the following as potential conservation actions. 2.3.14 Conduct upland vegetation treatments to restore characteristic upland vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings. 2.3.15 Conduct riparian vegetation treatments to restore characteristic riparian vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings. 2.3.17 Apply or allow more fire in habitats/locations where fire was historically more frequent or intense. This project will design riparian and upland treatments to restore characteristic vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings with the end goal to be able to allow natural ignitions to be managed for resource benefits in the future. The WAP lists Problematic Plant Species -- Native Upland as a Very High level threat to Mountain sagebrush communities with the following as potential conservation actions. Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the Uncharacteristic and surpluses of older age class, including: Dixie/chain harrow, brush mowing or other treatments that reduce the older age class and stimulate the younger/mid age classes; herbicide or mechanical treatment of non-native invasive species such smooth brome; single tree mulching/cutting of invading conifer. Post fire all of these types of treatments are being considered in our restoration efforts and we are trying to apply the best restoration practices to the landscape. A post fire evaluation of the conifer succession into mountain sagebrush communities allows us to design treatments to restore earlier seral stages within these plant communities. The WAP identifies that Improper grazing is a High Threat for Riverine habitats and BCT and recommends: 2.1.2 Adjust grazing practices -- per the grazing principles of timing, duration, and intensity -- to improve conditions of habitat, water and wildlife. An objective of the treatments would be to ease pressure on key emergent and riverine habitats where livestock use is causing damage. Upland treatments within the Panguitch Municipal Watershed, should further release grass and forbs and provide additional forage throughout this area, and spread out the use of wild and domestic ungulates. Dixie National Forest Land Resource Management Plan (as amended)- Goal 14 -- Improve the quantity and quality of aquatic habitats through direct habitat improvement and increased coordination with other land use programs (page IV-5). Goal 15 -- Maintain or enhance the terrestrial habitat for all wildlife species presently on the Forest (page IV-5). Goal 17 -- Managed Classified Species habitat to maintain or enhance their status through direct habitat improvement and agency cooperation (Page IV-6). This project has the potential to benefit conservation populations of BCT. BCT are an Intermountain Region Sensitive species and is managed under Conservation Agreement and Strategy that both DWR and the Forest Service are signatories or involved partners. Goal 32 -- Design and implement practices on the ground that will reestablish acceptable soil, hydrologic and vegetative conditions that are sufficient to secure and maintain favorable water flow (Page IV-9). 10B IV-156 Municipal Watershed: Forest Plan Management emphasis is to protect or improve the quality and quantity of municipal water supplies 9A IV-135 Riparian Area Management: Forest Plan Goals of management are to provide healthy, self-perpetuating plant communities, meet water quality standards, provide habitats for viable populations of wildlife and fish, and provide stable stream channels. 6A Livestock Grazing: The area is managed for livestock grazing. Intensive grazing management systems are favored over extensive systems. Range condition is maintained through use of forage improvement practices. Investment in structural and nonstructural range improvements to increase forage utilization is moderate to high. If conflicts occur between livestock and wildlife in areas of critical wildlife habitat they will be resolved in favor of wildlife. 1 General Direction: Maintain Structural diversity of vegetation on management areas that are dominated by forested ecosystems. Manage aspen for retention wherever it occurs. UTAH MULE DEER STATEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLAN This project is designed to help meet Habitat Objective 2 - to improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer habitat (p. 19). Specifically the strategies to Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats improve aspen communities that provide crucial summer/winter habitat by increasing regeneration and reducing conifer encroachment, improve aspen communities that provide crucial summer habitat for mule deer and manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest. Specifically this project addresses the winter range for mule deer and has specific reseeding efforts that help to restore these critical areas. UTAH ELK STATEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLAN This project is designed to help meet to meet Habitat Objective 1 - Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. Specifically the proposed treatment will contribute toward increasing forage production by treating elk habitat, and will be conducted on summer ranges (aspen communities) to improve calving habitat and will manage portions of forests in early succession stages through logging. Range-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Bonneville cutthroat trout (Lentsch et al. 2000): As outlined in the Project Need, Water Quality and Quantity and Threats and Risks sections the planning for treatments proposed here will support the following objectives and actions from the BCT CAS: Maintain or restore water quality to a degree that provides for stable and productive riparian and aquatic ecosystems; Maintain or restore stream channel integrity, channel processes, and the sediment regime (including the elements of timing, volume, and character of sediment input and transport) under which the riparian and aquatic ecosystems developed; Panguitch Lake Mule Deer WMU plan -This plan mentions lack of winter range as a limiting factor in reaching mgmt goals for mule deer. Panguitch Lake Elk WMU plan -This plan calls for increasing in forage through habitat projects. Utah Greater Sage Grouse Management Plan -This project specifically addresses the following from the State plan : Primary Issues: -Loss of sage-grouse habitat (quality and quantity) within Utah Management Issues M3) Rehabilitate or restore large contiguous intact sagebrush communities within the state. b) Restore degraded sagebrush habitats through appropriate treatment methods which will retain sagebrush while incorporating native and non-native perennial grasses and forbs. c) When conducting any habitat improvement/enhancement project, make sure to monitor, evaluate, and document the sage-grouse response as well as the other species response to habitat treatment projects. -This project helps support ecosystem restoration demonstrations and principles identified in the Upper Sevier Watershed Plan. The Sage Grouse Record of Decision, Utah Plan amendment - GRSG-GRSGH-O-026-Objective - Every 10 years for the next 50 years, improve greater sage-grouse habitat by removing invading conifers and other undesirable species based on the number of acres shown in table 2. (DNF- mechanical 13,000, prescribed fire 1,000 and grass restoration 7,000 acres.)

The Panguitch Municipal watershed has been aggressively managed for wildfire exclusion for the last 100 years or so. Prior to the Brian head wildfire the watershed could be classified as Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) 2 (moderate departure from the natural regime of vegetation characteristics) or 3 (high departure from the natural regime of vegetation characteristics). The Brian head wildfire burned most of the watershed and reset the FRCC back to 1 (within the natural range of variability of vegetation characteristics). The unburned areas of the water shed are still in FRCC of 2 or 3 and need to be treated. These areas are dominated by P-J encroachment and are primed for high intensity wildfire under the right fuel and weather conditions. Treating these areas would bring them back to an FRCC of 1 and reduce the risk of the negative effects of a high intensity wildfire burning and damaging the rest of the watershed. Nearly 262 acres would receive treatment and the site would be less vulnerable to wildfire. The method of treatment would be dictated by the slope (steeper or rocky slopes would be hand lop and pile and less steep slopes would be masticated - see map for where the different treatment methods will be) .

Erosion and sedimentation is currently occurring in several areas impacted by the fire. Funding is requested for the decommissioning of portions of the Sidney Peaks Trail, the Dark Hollow Trail, the Left Fork Bunker Creek Trail and the Right Fork Bunker Creek Trail. These trails are currently capturing and rerouting runoff, getting washed out, and either increasing sediment contribution into streams or eroding the trail to where maintenance and upkeep is not sustainable. Additionally, segments of FS Roads 079, 076, 275 and 2057 are capturing increased runoff and channeling sediment into streams. This increases the sedimentation and turbidity of these streams and decreases their utility for fish and amphibians. Additionally, most of these streams being impacted by the trails and roads drain into Panguitch Lake and Red Creek Reservoir which are both listed by the State of Utah and EPA as water quality impaired due in part to elevated nutrients such as phosphorus. Elevated nutrient levels ultimately is leading to lower oxygen levels and stress on the aquatic organisms in the lakes. Any reduction in sediment from the fire scar (which typically has nutrients with it) to the streams will help decrease nutrient loading to these lakes which are both important fisheries to surrounding communities and the counties in which they reside. This will help with the intent of WRI project 4364 which is also aimed at improving the water quality of Panguitch Lake but by reducing anoxic and nutrient rich water already in the lake rather than decreasing loading coming in. The Panguitch Municipal Watershed is a drinking water source for the town of Panguitch. If habitat could be expanded in this area, wildlife use may be spread out across the landscape and water quality could be further safeguarded from bacterial contamination. Additionally, the fuels work being proposed in this project will lead to improved riparian vegetation conditions (where the removal of conifers from the riparian area occurs) and a lower risk of high severity fire and associated flooding in some of those unburned portions of the watershed that can damage the drinking water conveyance system. Both improving the riparian vegetation to species that better stabilize the stream channel and reduction in the risk of high severity fire and large flooding will improve BCT habitat in this watershed.

NEPA compliance for this project is pending. The project was added to the Schedule of Proposed Actions in December 2017. A scoping notice and notice of opportunity to comment was delivered to a mailing list of interested parties. The scoping period for the project closes on 1/18/18. Some of the actions are allowable under categorical exclusion authorities and it is anticipated that a decision will be signed for seeding, trail decommissioning and wildlife rehabilitation in March. Road decommissioning is part of an Environmental Assessment analysis that would be completed in May of 2018.

1. Seeding will be accomplished by aerial application followed by chaining using the attached seed mix. Chaining will occur where beneficial for sage-grouse on up to 2,080 acres north of Panguitch Lake (in Pine Hollow and Williams Hollow). 2. Trail decommissioning will be accomplished using a ACE field crew or similar youth conservation corps. The trail would be decommissioned using shovels saws and hand-held equipment and/or a mini-excavator. Brush and fill would be placed in the trail at strategic locations to collect soil and debris and naturally bring the trail up to grade over time.Road decommissioning would be done by FS engineers using an excavator to rip the road prism and recountour/reseed and re-establish native conditions. 3.Wildlife habitat improvement in the Panguitch municipal watershed would be accomplished using Forest Service fire crew and contractors to cut encroaching trees, pile them and burn on slopes greater than 30 percent. On slopes below 30 percent masticators will be used to chip up the standing trees and leave a mulch in place.

-FS will be monitoring the area for noxious weeds, in conjunction with it's established program. Additionally, the FS has a Bonneville cutthroat trout station just upstream of and riparian vegetation trend and partial multiple indicator monitoring sites just upstream and downstream of the treatments proposed along Indian Hollow. These sites will all be revisited in the future to help determine health and trend. -UDWR will be monitoring wildlife responses as part of annual classification surveys as well as continuing to monitor both elk and deer already fitted with GPS collars in the area. -Water quality will continue to be monitored as part of the municipal watershed requirements. -Decommissioned segments of roads and trails would be monitored for effectiveness in reducing channelization and in restoring ground cover.

Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Division of Environmental Quality, Fire Fuels and State Lands, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Iron County, Garfield County, City of Panguitch, Private Landowners. For the first phase of the Brian Head Fire Rehabilitation, many meetings were held and coordination occurred with all of these partners. In particular, UDWR, UDFFSL, and the FS were able to coordinate thousands of acres of emergency seeding and mulching and additional wildlife and livestock benefit seeding on NFS and private lands. Continued efforts with partners will occur in the future for needed rehabilitation work.

Stream channel morphology and functioning has been negatively impacted due to the fire and exacerbated post fire runoff and erosion. Doing some of the needed channel work for in-stream habitat and channel stability improvement would be less effective while the watershed response is elevated and therefore, additional funds may be requested for riparian and stream channel treatments in future years after there has been some recovery to watershed response. Also, as monitoring of natural vegetation recovery determines areas where vegetation recovery is less than desired, future actions of planting trees, additional seeding, or fencing may occur. As well, there may be the need for more road/trail rerouting if elevated watershed response leads to road/trail failure for those roads/trails located in areas that were of marginal risk pre-fire. NEPA compliance is currently being worked on for most of these possible future actions, and additional NEPA will be initiated for other needs if they arise. Additionally, a Large Scale Event Recovery (LaSER) proposal was submitted by the Dixie National Forest to the Washington Office asking for more funding to help with additional work needed to correct or improve conditions of resources damaged by the fire and post fire threats. Much of this proposal has to do with fencing and other range improvements that were damaged by or now needed because of the fire (see attached document).

Due to the fire, some areas within this project will experience a conversion from a late successional aspen mixed conifer community to an early successional community where aspen and the associated understory is dominant. This may yield tremendous increases in forage availability if the appropriate species regenerate the area. However, due to the density of some of the timber stands and the intensity of the fire in those areas it is difficult to predict the time frame and the amount of forage that will be available in the future. Once the burn area has gone through a full growing season, the Forest service will be able to evaluate and better determine time frames and predicted quantities. Nonetheless, it would be reasonable to expect that the pinyon/juniper and other conifer thinning work being proposed by this project in the Panguitch Municipal watershed will help benefit livestock by providing more forage in an allotment that has had at times difficulty meeting utilization standards.

07/17/2018

07/22/2019

2020

A contract with a hand crew was utilized for the cutting and piling work in the Panguitch Municipal Watershed on May 12, 2018. The Forest Service provided personnel and supplies for burning the piles after they were dried out sufficiently. An ACE crew was hired with the money for the trail decommissioning in Bunker Creek and a hand crew with a trail cat was utilized for the decommissioning. This work occurred throughout the summer of 2018. A contract with a heavy equipment crew was utilized for decommissioning the sections of road that were proposed for such. A track hoe was used for this work which started in October 2018 and due to snow was not completed until July 2019. The Forest Service provided personnel and seed for seeding the decommissioned portions of the road bed.

The sage grouse habitat work that was originally part of this project proposal ended up being dropped because both UDWR and FS biologists visited the site proposed for work and determined that harrow and seeding would not be likely to yield better results than what vegetation had already came back in this moderate to low burn severity area. The funding and budget for this work has been removed from the finance section. The vegetation work completed in the Panguitch Municipal watershed was successfully implemented soon after awarding the contract. Inspections showed that work was generally satisfactory. One item that was found deficient was piling to close to the stream channel. Due to the large size of the material and doing the work by hand, it was very time consuming and difficult to drag material up steeper slopes away from the stream channel. Recommendations for similar work in the future would be to allow for lop an scatter along streams that are entrenched. As mentioned in the final methods section, the trail decommissioning in Bunker Creek with the hand crew and a trail cat occurred throughout the summer of 2018. This decommissioning was successful and due to the aspen regeneration response it is likely that within a few years the old trail will not be distinguishable from the adjacent landscape. As mentioned in the final methods section, the road decommissioning work was started in the late fall of 2018 and then paused until July of 2019. The portion of FS Rd 076 that was decommissioned was finished in the fall of 2018 and was seeded. The road reroute near Mud Springs was started that fall as well but due to precipitation was halted. It was unable to be resumed due to continued storms, of which most came as snow. The snowpack was exceptionally heavy during the winter of 2018-2019 and sufficient drying of the road to be decommissioned didn't occur until July. Once dry enough the reroute was finished and the decommissioning occurred within a little more than 1 weeks time.

Additional signage explaining that it is just a reroute and access was not cut off is recommended for the decommissioned sections of road. It is anticipated that this will help with travel management compliance as users will know that access is still available on a more sustainable road.