The 2018 Black Mountain Fire resulted in a direct loss of valuable shrubs, grasses and forbs on 4,797 acres of occupied greater sage-grouse brood rearing habitat.

The overall vegetation objective of the plan is to establish desirable vegetation in order to: * Provide for human life and safety by stabilizing soils within the Black Mountain Fire and eliminate the potential for dust formation and flash flooding along Minersville HWY (SR130) and along the Maple Springs Road. * Stabilize and begin re-establishment of important sage grouse brood rearing habitat, Utah Prairie Dog Habitat, and mule deer crucial winter habitat. * Minimize the production and composition of invasive, non-native species, especially cheatgrass. * Minimize soil erosion. * Prevent the introduction and spread of noxious weeds. * Minimize the potential size and severity of future wildfires. * Repair facilities (fences, water developments, etc.) to pre-fire conditions.

Some of the risks this project will help to mitigate include: -Safety hazard due to excessive flooding and debris on main roads, (SR 180) -Loss of habitat for Greater Sage-grouse, Mule Deer, Utah Prairie Dog, and other species -Introduction of invasive species and/or noxious weeds -Threat of re-burning if appropriate vegetation is not able to compete with invasives such as cheat grass -Loss of AUMs -Loss of biodiversity

The proposed project is subject to the Cedar Beaver Garfield Antimony Resource Management Plan approved October 1st, 1986. The Proposed Action is in conformance with the LUP, even though it is not specifically provided for, because it is clearly consistent with the following LUP decisions (objectives, Terms, and Conditions): * Wildlife RMP objective D.1. states, "manage wildlife habitat to favor a diversity of game and nongame species." * Rangeland Decision B.1. Initiate management prescriptions affecting season of use, grazing systems and grazing use levels through formal grazing agreements, decisions or allotment management plans. Identified allotment objectives include in part: o Balance authorized use with production, o Ensure physiological plant needs are met, o Reduce area in poor condition by improving key species, o Improve habitat by improving quality of key species. * Soil/water/air RMP objective E.1. states in part to "Avoid the deterioration of or improve watershed conditions on all other Federal lands. * USDI BLM. Utah Land Use Plan Amendment for Fire and Fuels Management. (UT-USO-04-01). September 2005. * USDI BLM. Biological Assessment for the Proposed Utah Land Use Plan Amendment for Fire and Fuels Management. March 2005. * Standards and Guidelines for Healthy Rangelands and Grazing Management (BLM-UT-GI-98-007-1020). * USDI BLM WO IM No 2013-043. Greater Sage-grouse Interim Management Policies and Procedures. December 2011. * USDI USFWS. Utah Prairie Dog Final Revised Recovery Plan. March 2012. * Utah Prairie Dog Recovery Implementation Team. Population Structure for Utah Prairie Dog Recovery. Final Draft March 2013. * Iron County. 2013. Iron County Greater Sage-grouse Resource Management Plan. Draft. * USDI BLM. 2015 Utah Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment. DOI_BLM-UT-9100_2013-003-EIS. * Frey, S. N., S. G. Lupis, C. Reid, T. A. Black, T. A. Messmer, and D. Mitchell. 2007. Southwest Desert Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Local Conservation Plan. Utah's Community Based Conservation Program. Unpublished Report. Logan, Utah.

Fire history data for the north slopes of the Black Mountains indicates that fires are becoming larger and burning with more intensity. This is primarily due to an increase in the amount of cheatgrass and, in some cases, dead and dying vegetation (increased dry fuels) in the plant community. The seed mixes proposed would generally be sufficient to create vegetation conditions, which would create a low intensity ground fire in the event the fire area reburns in the future. Under normal burning conditions, a fire in such a vegetation community could be fought relatively safely and kept relatively small, using traditional ground forces such as hand and engine crews.

Soil retention structures (small earthen dams) would be important to construct on small tributary drainages to control the flow of off-site water. These are easily created with a push of the dozer blade in strategic locations. Retention structures should be installed as early as possible, but no later than during the chaining operation. Further, retention structures should not be constructed in major drainages without proper design as such structures have proven to be ineffective. Additional special measures to reduce wind and water erosion, such as hydro mulching, matting, etc. in conjunction with re-seeding may also be implemented in problem areas. Coordination would be done with cooperators with knowledge of erosion reduction techniques, such as NRCS.

In accordance with the Standards for Rangeland Health, rangelands that have been burned, reseeded, or otherwise treated to alter the vegetative composition would be closed to livestock grazing as follows: (1) burned rangelands, whether by wildfire or prescribed burning, will be un-grazed for a minimum of one complete growing season following the burn; and (2) rangelands that have been re-seeded or otherwise chemically or mechanically treated will be un-grazed for a minimum of two complete growing seasons.

The entire burned area will be aerially seeded. A selected portion will be seeded with a Utah Prairie Dog seed mix and the rest will be seeded with a general sage grouse mix. Areas that meet criteria for chaining will be chained following the seeding. Erosion control structures will be constructed as needed. Existing fences will be replaced.

Establish a monitoring component that looks at sage-grouse habitat parameters in making a determination that habitat restoration objectives are being met. Monitoring and appropriate treatments of invasive noxious weeds would be completed in accordance with approved BLM policy. Noxious weed control would be in accordance with the Noxious Weed Control Environmental Assessment (UT-044-96-15) or other current NEPA, including appropriate mitigation and conservation measures as developed on a case-by-case basis would be followed.

The BLM Cedar City Field Office will be working with Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative to complete this project.

A mandatory 2 year minimum rest period will be initiated for the portions of the allotments that were burned. Temporary fencing and rest rotation will be used to exclude livestock from the area until appropriate re-vegetation has occurred.

Five domestic livestock permittees were impacted by the Black Mountain Fire, with a temporary loss of 3,265 total AUMS on the two affected allotments. In the long term, this project will likely have an overall positive impact on domestic livestock grazing because of added forage value following seeding.

07/05/2018

03/21/2019

2019

The entire Fire was aerially seeded and then areas of with allowable slope were chained with D-8 dozers and an Ely chain.

Fire was aerial seeded December 13-14, 2018 Two D-8 dozers were rented through the state contract by the Division of Wildlife resources. The Operators were provided by the BLM. Chaining was started November 8, 2018 and due to snow and freezing tempratures we elected to postpone chaining January 8,2018 until desirable conditions. Chaining was resumed March 4, 2019 and completed March 21, 2019. Fences were replaced in August 2019 and vegetation monitoring was completed within the fire perimeter in July 2019.

Mandatory two growing season rest from grazing will be enforced and then normal grazing rotations will be resumed.