On National Forest lands on the La Sal Mountains there has been a widespread decline in the aspen community type. Loss of aspen has impacts on wildlife habitat quality, forest and watershed health, and the potential for landscape-scale catastrophic wildfire. In the ponderosa pine forest on Elk Ridge, many stands are overly dense with heavy fuel loads. Prescribed fire is a tool used successfully by the Manti-La Sal National Forest in both forest types to regenerate aspen, improve the structure and diversity of the forest on a landscape scale and move towards a historic disturbance/fire regime. The current proposal is a bundle of 3 prescribed fire projects on the Moab/Monticello District of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. While prescribed fire is a valuable tool, successful implementation depends on favorable weather and fuel moisture conditions. These factors make it difficult to count on implementation for a specific project area in a given year. Therefore, this proposal includes 3 projects together with the intent that 1 or more will be within prescription in FY19 so that we can continue to restore important habitat and watersheds across the Forest on an annual basis. The proposal includes: The Lackey Basin Aspen Restoration project is a prescribed burn in aspen/mixed conifer forest on the South Mountain area on the south side of the La Sal Mountain range. Approximately half of the area was treated with funding from WRI project #2620. North Elk Ridge Forest Health Project includes several types of treatment (including aspen regeneration fencing in WRI projects #3004 and 3773). The current proposal would address health of the ponderosa pine forest component by prescribed burning in previously thinned areas to reduce fuel loading and improve herbaceous/shrub understory production. The Mormon Pasture Mountain Wildlife Habitat Improvement project also has several phases and previous funding through WRI (projects #3003 and 3774). Mechanical pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine thinning have been accomplished in the area. This proposal covers prescribed burning within the thinned ponderosa pine stand. These areas are also included in project #4103 from FY18, but have not been completed so far in fall 2017. Burning is planned for spring 2018, but depending on what is accomplished, there will be acres remaining to treat that can be accomplished in FY19.

Accomplish prescribed burning on the Moab/Monticello District. So far in 2018, the projects in this proposal have not been treated, and this proposal will carry those areas not burned into FY19. The Lackey Basin aspen restoration Rx (800 acres) remains the priority to treat. If it is not burned in spring 2018, it will be attempted again in FY19. As a stand-replacing fire in aspen/mixed conifer forest to stimulate aspen regeneration, it is more difficult to get into prescription than the ponderosa pine burns. Therefore if Lackey Basin is not available to burn during FY19, the proposal includes treatment in the North Elk Ridge and Mormon Pasture Mountain projects as backup projects. There are 8400 acres available for prescribed understory fire treatment on North Elk Ridge and 200 acres at Mormon Pasture Mountain. The project areas are within WRI Conservation Focus Areas due to their importance to watersheds and as wildlife habitats.

The Deer Creek-La Sal Creek watershed on South Mountain was identified by Manti-La Sal National Forest staff as a high priority for vegetation treatment projects during the Region 4 watershed assessment process. These watersheds are classified as Fire Regime III (infrequent surface/mixed regimes) rated to be in Condition Class 2 (moderate departure from the natural range of variability of vegetation characteristics, fuel composition, fire frequency, severity and pattern and other associated disturbances). Without disturbance, we are losing more of the aspen component of the forest every year. Prescribed fire in stands where the conifers are replacing the aspen will remove that competition and encourage sprouting of aspen. Stand-replacing fire, even when done under prescribed conditions, does have risks, but the project area was chosen for its natural barriers and the treatments completed in Lackey Basin phase I and II have reduced the risk of escaped fire. The ponderosa pine stands in the North Elk Ridge and Mormon Pasture Mountain project areas are Fire Regime I (frequent surface/mixed regime) in Condition Class 2 and 3 (high departure). There is a risk of losing key ecosystem components (e.g. native species, large legacy trees, negative impacts to soil) to landscape-scale wildfire if the forest is kept in the present condition. The Manti-La Sal National Forest conducts ponderosa pine prescribed burning on an annual basis, and the potential risk or adverse effects from these treatments are very low.

1) Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1986) The 3 projects have been reviewed for compliance with the Forest Plan, and meet specific direction in the Plan to manage aspen and ponderosa pine, and improve wildlife habitat.  Manage aspen with commercial or noncommercial treatments to maintain or increase the percent of the Forest in the aspen type (III-2)  Provide an optimum cover:forage ratio for deer and elk habitat (III-19)  Maintain/improve habitat and habitat diversity for populations of existing wildlife species (III-22)  Manage aspen at the ecological stage that provides high herbaceous yield and cover (III-65)  Provide for timber stand improvement, reforestation and wildlife habitat improvement (III-25) 2) Conservation Strategy and Agreement for the Management of Northern Goshawk Habitat in Utah (1998) The project areas provide nesting habitat for northern goshawks. Surveys have been conducted following Forest Plan protocols. There are no active territories within the areas proposed for treatment in this phase of the project.  Under a proactive approach, manage for diverse forest cover types with strong representation of early seral tree species 3) La Sal and San Juan Deer Herd Unit Management Plans (2015) The projects meet habitat management objectives in the DWR deer herd management plans. * Continue to improve, protect, and restore summer and winter range habitats critical to deer, such as aspen * Habitat projects that promote aspen and forb communities as well as a diverse age structure of the forest are recommended  Cooperate with land management agencies in carrying out habitat improvements such as ...controlled burns  Specifically in the San Juan Plan, proposed and recommended habitat project locations for summer range are: North Elk Ridge, Maverick Point and Mormon Pasture Mountain. 4) Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer (2014) The statewide mule deer plan specifies management objectives for important ranges including restoration of aspen communities to early seral stages. These projects are all in crucial deer summer (fawning) range.  Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on ... ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into aspen habitats.  Seek opportunities through WRI to improve aspen communities that provide crucial summer habitat  Manage portions of aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages 5) La Sal and San Juan, Elk Ridge Elk Herd Unit Management Plans (2016) The projects meet objectives for management of elk summer ranges, and have been developed cooperatively with DWR.  Summer Range - Maintain and improve summer forage availability on the La Sal Mountains through aspen regeneration and oakbrush thinning projects 6) Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan (2015) The projects meet several objectives in the statewide Elk Management Plan, which emphasizes the importance of aspen habitats to elk.  Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve elk habitat with emphasis on calving habitat and winter ranges  Seek opportunities to improve aspen communities on summer ranges which provides crucial calving habitat  Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early succession stages through the use of controlled burning and logging. Controlled burning should only be used in areas where there are minimal invasive weed and/or safety concerns. 7) Utah Black Bear Management Plan (2011)  Seek to prevent the loss of occupied and suitable unoccupied bear habitat and to improve existing bear habitat through 2023  Target areas for habitat improvement projects that would benefit bears and other wildlife associated with aspen and hard and soft mast-producing communities 8) Utah Partners in Flight Avian Conservation Strategy (2002)  For Lewis's woodpecker, encourage prescribed burns to open the understory of ponderosa pine and mixed conifer habitats  For three-toed woodpecker, aspen should be maintained throughout the landscape to provide nesting sites 9) Wildlife Action Plan (2015) Prescribed fire in the proposed treatment areas would reduce threats from unplanned wildfire, and continue the process of restoring historic fire regimes in these areas.  Lewis's woodpecker - Reduce threat from inappropriate fire frequency and severity  Apply more fire in habitats/locations where fire was historically more frequent or intense  Reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings  Band-tailed pigeon have been documented in the project areas (Utah Natural Heritage database), and would benefit from treatments that increase shrub diversity and productivity (acorns, berries) over the long-term (Keppie and Braun 2000) 10) USFS R4 Focus Watershed Assessment (2010) The projects meet the following objectives from the Forests watershed assessment:  Use prescribed burning of aspen as a restoration opportunity in the Deer Creek-La Sal watershed  Treat vegetation to reduce fire hazard in the Stevens Canyon-North Cottonwood priority watershed

The treatments in this proposal would reduce fuel loads and the continuity of vegetative crown and ladder fuels, serving to modify fire behavior, reduce fire intensity and therefore reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and damage to natural and cultural resources. In addition, these treatments would build resistance to climate-related stressors (drought, wildfire, insects and disease) and increase the adaptive capacity of the ecosystem. The treatments will encourage a mosaic of vegetative conditions (species, age, density), help restore fire occurrence to historic intervals and intensity, and promote improved health of forest stands. The treatments would not directly impact WUI areas or communities at risk, but the Lackey Basin/South Mountain area and La Sal Creek are an important watershed for the community of La Sal. Reducing the risk of unplanned wildfire in this area is beneficial to residents, irrigators and recreationists. The project area is 2 miles from private land. The project areas on North Elk Ridge are more remote, although the Forest Service Guard Station at Gooseberry is in the middle of the project area, and there is a private inholding with structures adjacent to the Mormon Pasture Mountain project area. All of the areas are important wildlife habitat for big game, bears and migratory birds.

The project areas are in priority watersheds identified for treatment in the Forest Watershed Assessment. The overall purpose of the Lackey Basin project in the La Sal Creek watershed is to move aspen forests to a more healthy condition -- meaning all characteristics of the aspen ecosystem, while dynamic, mimic historic conditions and are resilient or able to sustain natural disturbances. Aspen forests are also considered a benefit to watershed conditions compared to conifer forest, with studies in Utah documenting higher snow water equivalents and greater potential water yield (Burke and Kasahara 2011, LaMalfa and Ryle 2008). These treatments also have the objective of reintroducing fire to the ponderosa pine forest in the area, moving towards more natural conditions and reducing the risk of unplanned, severe wildfire in the aspen, aspen/mixed conifer, and ponderosa pine stands in the project areas. While high severity wildfire has adverse effects to soil such as water repellency and increased erosion, low severity fires themselves have little effect on hydrologic functions but may result in increases in streamflow from the watershed (Neary et al 2005). Treatments in the Stevens Canyon/North Cottonwood watershed would reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and thereby reduce the risk of adverse effects to soils, including hydrophobicity (a problem to water infiltration especially on sandy soils as in the North Elk Ridge and Mormon Pasture Mountain project areas) and erosion. An improved herbaceous understory post-treatment reduces the potential for run-off and soil loss.

All three projects comply with direction in the Manti-La Sal Forest Plan, and have been through the NEPA process. All have had archaeological clearance and SHPO concurrence. The Lackey Basin Aspen Restoration Project Decision Memo was completed Nov 19, 2012. The North Elk Ridge Forest Health Project EA and Decision Notice/FONSI was completed Nov 18, 2014. The Mormon Pasture Mountain Wildlife Habitat Improvement Project Decision Memo was signed February 23, 2016.

First priority for the funding would be to complete the aspen/mixed conifer prescribed burning in the Lackey Basin project. This treatment is a prescribed fire vegetation regeneration and fuel reduction treatment. The treatment consists of prescribed burning (aerial ignition using a helitorch or other appropriate ignition system) within the 1500 acres remaining to be treated, resulting in 20-50% of the area effectively burned. A mixed severity (moderate to high intensity) prescribed fire will be used to kill aspen ramets and encroaching conifer competition to stimulate root suckering and regenerate aspen in a mosaic within the project area. Only areas of aspen with overtopping or dense understory conifer trees that provide adequate fuel for spread of fire and potential to stimulate aspen suckering will be ignited. These ignition areas should generally occur on slope areas that are 30 percent or greater. This combined with the extent of treatment in the project area should discourage and disperse ungulate browsing allowing adequate numbers of suckers to survive and restock effectively burned areas. Treatment will generally avoid direct ignition of clones that are free of conifer encroachment, are on slopes < 30%, or are in riparian/wetland buffer areas. Fire may spread into these areas naturally, but this spread will not be directly encouraged. Burning of gentle slope (< 30%) could encourage browsing by livestock and wild ungulates. A late spring/summer burn is the expected timing for implementation in aspen regeneration prescribed burn areas. If conditions are not suitable during FY18, the funding would be used to conduct prescribed burning in the Mormon Pasture Mountain and North Elk Ridge project areas. The areas ready for prescribed burning have already been thinned, and there are 8390 acres available for burning on North Elk Ridge and 186 acres at Mormon Pasture Mountain. This burning would be conducted by Forest Service crews on the ground, and ignition with drip torches. These treatments are generally conducted in the spring, but can also occur in the fall if proper conditions exist.

As part of project development, we established aspen regeneration transects in the Lackey Basin project area and collected pre-treatment data. We also have 5 years of migratory bird breeding season point-count surveys (2010-2014). The area has been extensively surveyed for northern goshawks, and surveys will continue in relation to this and other projects in the area. The Decision Memo authorizing the project has a detailed Monitoring Plan, which includes implementation monitoring and effectiveness monitoring with silvicultural stocking surveys, aspen regeneration transects (trees/acre and level of browsing) and photo points. Other monitoring includes soil assessments at 1-2 years post-treatment and annual weed monitoring on roads and trails in the project area. The bird point-count transect will also be re-read post-treatment. On North Elk Ridge and Mormon Pasture Mountain, there would be implementation and effectiveness monitoring associated with prescribed burning/fuels treatment. This type of monitoring involves photo points pre- and post-treatment. An inspection and implementation report has been produced for the Mormon Pasture Mountain project phase I and entered into the WRI database. There are Abert's squirrel density plots in the North Elk Ridge project area which are read annually by Forest Service personnel.

There is significant interest in these projects from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and local sportsman groups. DWR has been a key partner in the North Elk Ridge project, utilizing targeted late season cow elk hunts in the area. The Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI) has already contributed to the first phases of these projects. The affected livestock permittees have also been engaged in the successful implementation of the first phases of these projects.

At Lackey Basin, the treatment units are infrequently grazed by permitted cattle due to slope steepness and distance to water. It is not anticipated that changes to livestock grazing management will be needed, but monitoring will inform post-treatment management. Options available for grazing management include changes in length, timing or season of use, number of livestock, placement of salt and nutritional supplements, temporary electric fence or rest as outlined in the Lackey Basin Aspen Restoration Project Decision Memo and Monitoring Plan. The area is within the South Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area, so no road construction or motorized use will occur. The area will continue to be managed under the Forest Plan for its wildlife, recreation and watershed values, using adaptive management related to livestock and big game. At North Elk Ridge, the project area is in non-use status relative to livestock grazing, which will be continued for several more years. The aspen restoration treatments (fencing, cutting, prescribed fire) which have begun will continue, as will additional ponderosa pine thinning and underburning in the 17,740 acre project area. The North Elk Ridge Forest Health Project Decision Notice authorizes one maintenance underburn following initial treatments at a 5-10 year interval to maintain fuels at low levels and restore historic fire regimes. No changes in current management are expected at the Mormon Pasture Mountain project. The area is grazed by livestock on a deferred rotation basis. Once the stand at the base of the mountain is treated in this phase, and serves as a fire break for the larger prescribed burn on Mormon Pasture Mountain proper, the third phase will be conducted on 1915 acres. Seeding is not necessary for any of these treatments, as adequate understories and few invasive weeds are present in these vegetation types and elevations.

The prescribed fire treatments will improve herbaceous forage production in the understory of the aspen/mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests. Although most areas are currently lightly used by livestock, they are within open allotments and have the potential to support additional use or be used as a grass bank. At Lackey Basin, use by livestock will be discouraged until aspen sprouts are tall enough to withstand grazing (6 ft tall and 2" DBH).

07/01/2018

06/19/2019

2019

No prescribed burn acres were completed for this project in FY19. There were no burn window within prescription available for Lackey Basin, North Elks, or Mormon Pasture Mountain projects. We experienced an exceptionally dry summer and fall last year with multiple fires on the Manti-La Sal National Forest. This Spring/Summer has been exceptionally wet and still have snow on them to date.

Availability to prescribe burn this project was limited due to the lack of windows to accomplish safely. No funds were utilized for this project.

La Sal/Abajo Prescribed RX FY20 #4882 was requested and awarded to complete these projects.