Lower elevation portions of the Pole Creek fire below 6,000 feet will benefit from seeding. Cheatgrass and noxious weeds are also a problem in the area and seeding additional perennial grasses and forbs will help control these problem plants and improve wildlife habitat. Soil on the burned area is easily eroded. Seeding and chaining will help control erosion and excessive runoff from the burned area.

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 desirable shrubs to a density of 500 plants/acre by the end of the 3rd growing season. Prevent serious headcuts and down cutting of gullies on the treatment area. Prevent debris flows from reaching the Spanish fork river adjacent to highway 6.

There is a risk of cheatgrass increasing in density and cover as well as expanding into other areas on the WMA without additional seeding. There is a risk of erosion without establishing perennial grasses and forbs. Noxious weeds are prevelent on the WMA and establishing perennial grasses and forbs will provide increased competition with noxious weeds.

1. The pinyon-juniper and big sagebrush areas lie within the sagebrush steppe type which is one of the key habitats identified in the WAP. 2. The proposed projects will address some of the habitat management strategies outlined in the deer and elk management plans for herd units 16 A and B (Central Mountains, Manti and Nebo) including: Continue to improve and restore sagebrush steppe habitats critical to deer according to DWRs Habitat Initiative. Maintain habitat quantity and quality at a level adequate to support the stated population objectives while at the same time not resulting in an overall downward trend in range condition and watershed quality. Work cooperatively with land management agencies and private landowners to plan and implement improvement projects for the purpose of enhancing wildlife habitat and range resources in general. 3. The project also helps fulfill the state mule deer management plan section IV Habitat Goal: Conserve and improve mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. 4. The proposed projects 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. Constituency Goal: Achieve broad-based support for Division programs and budgets by demonstrating the value of wildlife to all citizens of Utah. 5. WMA management plan to reach their potential as critical big game winter range, browse communities need to be enhanced and improved. The Division will employ a variety of methods to achieve this including prescribed grazing, prescribed burning, reseeding and seedling transplants, and mechanical treatments. Priority areas will include sagebrush-steppe and mountain browse communities. 6. The project will also help meet the goals and objectives of the Spanish Fork River Coordinated Resource Management plan including: To reduce sediment coming from uplands by over 5,000 tons/year by applying BMPs on 16,000 acres of rangelands.

By planting perennial grasses it will help prevent cheatgrass from spreading and increasing fire risk in the future.

Project will improve water quality by reducing erosion.

We will only be seeding with ATVs in areas that have been previously cleared for seeding in the past.

Aerial seed treatment polygons. Seed bitterbrush and four wing saltbush with ATV drill seeders.

Establish photo points to monitor seeding establishment.

USFS, UDWR, FFSL, and private landowners.

The Spencer Fork and Lakefork WMA portions of this project will continue to be managed for big game winter and transitional range. Forest Service portions of the project will be managed by the Spanish Fork Ranger District. Private property areas will also be rested from grazing for at least 2 growing seasons.

Project will provide more livestock forage to establish faster than if no seeding was done. Livesock grazing will have to be eliminated from the burned areas for at least 2 growing seasons.

11/14/2018

02/28/2019

2019

We flew forb and grass seed on 31,481 acres of burned areas on the Pole Creek and Bald Mountain fires. We also seeded 3,106 of these same acres with a secondary seeding of shrub seed. See seed mixes on seed page. We did the first seeding in November of 2018. We did not have sagebrush seed available at the first seeding so we did a secondary seeding in January. Once this was complete we had some members of local communities like Payson City, Elkridge, Woodland Hills, and Covered Bridge and the Payson Grazing Association request that we do some more seeding. We had a good price on our seed and flights and were able to do some more seeding in February of 2019.

Cheatgrass and noxious weeds are a problem in the area and seeding additional perennial grasses and forbs will help control these problem plants and improve wildlife habitat. Soil on the burned area is easily eroded. Seeding and chaining will help control erosion and excessive runoff from the burned area. We seeded 31,481 acres of lower elevation sites that were at greatest risk of cheatgrass and higher elevation sites that were at highest risk of erosion.

We will conitnue to work with local governments to identify areas of concern for erosion and flooding and do additional seeding if needed. We will also work with the aquatics section to do projects to help stream ecosystems, that have been damaged by the fire, recover more quickly.