The Mill Creek Watershed includes Mill and Pack creeks, and provides domestic and irrigation water to areas of Grand County including the City of Moab. It is a perennial stream with its headwaters in the La Sal Mountains on USFS lands, flowing through BLM-managed areas in Mill Creek Canyon before entering the City of Moab and finally flowing into the Colorado River via the Matheson Wetlands. The riparian corridors have areas of dense woody invasive species, mostly Russian olive with some areas dominated by tamarisk, as well as areas of elm and tree of heaven. Over the past 40 years invasive tree species have expanded their extent along these creeks. In addition to building dangerous levels of fire fuels the dense woody vegetation along the creek bottom focuses high water flows into the channel rather than allowing it to spread, and has resulted in significant downcutting and channelzation. This altered regime reduces the riparian vegetation thanks to a lowered water table, as well as results in loss of soil and water. Fire fuels management and riparian health are improved by the removal of woody material from the creek bottoms due in part to improved habitat structure in these critical areas. In the last 5 years there has been an increase of invasive ravenna grass along both Mill and Pack creeks. Ravenna grass can grow up to 12 feet tall and like tamarisk and Russian olive, can act as a ladder fuel where an otherwise native ecosystem would be more open. It also tends to form dense stands along the banks which can further trap flood flows in the channel, causing downcutting. Ravenna has been spreading quickly throughout Mill and Pack creeks in town and upstream into the canyons above town and needs to be treated soon to prevent its establishment as a permanent new addition to the invasives in Mill and Pack Creeks. Active management of riparian vegetation in visible downstream areas of the creeks as well as the Cinema Courts Fire in 2018, have inspired landowners along both creek corridors to step up efforts to better manage the riparian areas in the short and long term. The Cinema Court Fire began in a previously cleared area and became a dangerous conflagration when fire reached previously untreated riparian area full of Russian olive along Pack Creek. The fire destroyed 8 homes and several outbuildings, and has led to greater landowner interest in active management of the riparian areas; the first step in that process is removing invasive trees. A community meeting held in October of 2018 brought over 50 land owners to talk with the City, County, FFSL, Moab Valley Fire Department and other professionals. Feedback from that meeting tells us that landowners are interested in working on large scale mitigation projects but they need assistance with technical information, coordination between neighbors and with labor for some of the initial removal work. In addition, it has become clear over the seven months since the fire that fire fuels mitigation efforts need coordination between entities and land owners. It is an ideal time to build on the interest and concern raised by the fire to engage the City, County, MVFD, FFSL and land owners to build the foundations for longer term efforts to improve the riparian corridor along 8 miles of creek bottom in Moab. This project maintains and expands upon past efforts improving the primary wildlife links from the La Sal Mountains to the Colorado River along riparian corridors through the populated sections of the Moab. These corridors are an important link for larger mammals and birds, between the river and wetland areas and the mountains. The USFWS recognizes this area as potential habitat for Southwest Willow Flycatcher, Mexican Spotted Owl and Yellow Bill Cuckoo. The Moab BLM office completed section 7 consultation with USFWS who concurred that project would benefit these species by including seasonal avoidance measures and by restoring the riparian vegetation community to greater than 85% native species composition within 90% of the riparian areas. 319 NPS funds have been approved for revegetation efforts in critical areas for increasing shade over the creek for state FY 2019 through 2021. This funding is exclusively for revegetation efforts. This WRI project will link to this NPS project and meet two critical needs unmet by NPS funding: removal/treatment of new saplings and resprouts throughout the project area especially in high priority active revegetation sites, and removal of olive stands on parcels where past treatments have been successfully maintained and the last olives can be effectively removed. This will ensure that active revegetation work will have greater success and will also continue to ensure that these areas stay free of invasive Russian olive populations.

Previous removal of invasive trees along Mill and Pack creek has proven to be effective with proper follow up. This project seeks to coordinate primary treatment of woody invasives along both of these creeks as well as limited follow-up work to reach a level of low intensity management that both public organizations and private landowners can manage into the future. The overall objectives are as follows: (1) Coordinate with the numerous landowners along Mill and Pack creeks to begin primary treatments of woody invasives to create 8 new significant firebreaks totaling at least 20 acres and expand 4 others. (2) Provide information and training to landowners with property along Mill and Pack creeks about the treatment of Russian olive, tamarisk, ravenna and other invasives so that they can continue management in the future. (3) Implement follow up treatments to as many previously cleared sites with saplings, resprouts or annual weeds as possible in both Mill and Pack Creeks, totaling approximately 60 acres. Ensure follow up meetings with land owners about the successes and failures of the removal and revegetation efforts. (4) Meet with at least 50 land owners in neighborhood assessment meetings as well as one on one to provide technical assistance with project planning and effective techniques for olive removal. Through this process identify locations for work in 2020 and beyond, working towards a defensible and manageable creek bottom with a healthy riparian plant community by 2028. (5) Actively revegetate impacted sites where needed using container stock and seeding with locally sourced native plant materials. (6) Treat and remove ravenna grass along the creek corridors in town. (7) Continue efforts to evaluate the efficacy of various removal and revegetation treatments through monitoring the vegetation response of the areas treated.

The primary threats to Mill Creek Watershed include increased invasive woody and non-woody plant concentrations, decreased riparian diversity and native plant densities, increasing fire fuels densities and distributions, as well as loss of interest and momentum in riparian management after the Cinema Court Fire. It has been 7 months since the Cinema Court Fire that burned 8 houses and a number of other buildings. Interest in managing the growing fire hazard in the creeks was very high right after the fire. A number of meetings were organized by Rim to Rim Restoration, the City of Moab, Grand County, the Moab Valley Fire Department, FFSL, among others to coordinate landowners and figure out needs and funding. In order to keep the forward momentum and interest in riparian management larger scale removal needs to start happening to continue to capture community interest. If we lose this community push for riparian management, we risk: (1) Increasing risk of fires leading to the possible loss of large overstory cottonwoods, homes, and buildings. (2) Loss of riparian habitat and reduced native plant diversity and regeneration due to dominance of large woody invasive species. (3) Expansion of Russian olive seed sources throughout the valley, into the recently cleared areas of the Matheson Wetlands and the Colorado River corridor. (4) Expansion of ravenna grass along riparian corridors. If we do not keep its population in check now it may become very difficult to impossible to manage in a few years when its population is likely to be significantly larger.

The objectives and need for this project are reflected in many other management plans that have been created in this region. Other organizations are doing similar work towards managing Russian olive and other woody invasive species along other riparian corridors in this area. (1) Spanish and Castle Valley Watershed Management Plan This recently drafted plan has been developed through the collaboration of over 10 local organizations and government entities including Moab City, Grand County, Grand Conservation District, BLM, USFS, Grand Valley Water and Sewer Service Agency, Utah DEQ, NRCS, and the Moab Irrigation Company. This project helps meet some of the identified needs in the plan including native plant re-establishment. (2) Grand County General Plan includes the vision and goal of preserving wetland and riparian habitats by improving the condition of the land along Mill and Pack Creeks. The County has added Russian olive to its Noxious Weed List. (3) The City of Moab General Plan includes protecting vegetated areas near stream banks and hillsides, and to restrict development within identified riparian zones and critical wildlife habitat areas to preserve natural values. The City's designated Flood Control Zone is the primary area where the project focuses work and are protected from development. (4) The Moab Field Office (MFO) Programmatic Invasive Species Management Plan (PISMP) is an integrated pest management approach to eradicate, contain, control and prevent targeted weeds within the MFO. The desired goal is to contain or control the spread of invasive species and eradicate species that pose the greatest threat to the biological diversity within the MFO, and prevent any new weeds from becoming established by utilizing a wide range of treatment options (i.e. mechanical, manual, herbicide, etc.). (5) The Moab and Spanish Valley CWPP was adopted in 2008. In this plan the landowners of Moab and Spanish Valley designated the land adjacent to Mill and Pack Creeks as crucial areas for hazardous fuels removal. The CWPP identifies the creek corridors as habitat for deer, bear, mountain lion, bob cat, grouse, quail, wild turkey, and migrating birds among others. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the invasive removal performed by this project has improved the riparian habitat. (6) Mill Creek TMDL Mill Creek has an approved TMDL for temperature and TDS. The desired goal for this work is to meet water quality standards for the designated beneficial uses through improving riparian conditions to decrease solar exposure, and decrease erosion through wind and water in recently cleared locations (within the last 10 years). (7) Grand Conservation District Resource Assessment identifies natural and social resources present in Grand County and details specific areas of concern as identified by the Conservation District with input from local area agencies and entities. Soil erosion and noxious weeds are two areas outlined in the resource assessment. The assessment cites a need to improve stream and creek banks and riparian areas by removing invasive species and revegetating with native plants. (8) The Southeast Utah Riparian Partnership's (SEURP) Colorado River Woody Invasive Species Management Plan was developed through a collaboration of many local partners including RiversEdge West, Grand County Council, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Dept. of Transportation, The Nature Conservancy, BLM and the NPS. The plan's main objective is to reduce non-native plant species through mechanical, cultural and biological means within 80% of high priority side streams and canyons by 2020. The Mill Creek Watershed is identified as a high priority area in this plan. (9) Moab BLM Resource Management Plan (RMP) prioritizes management of riparian vegetation and emphasizes the control of noxious weeds, prevention of the spread of invasive species, and restoration of vegetated areas. Both Mill Creek and Pack Creek flow through BLM lands up creek of the project areas. Management of these areas in town will reduce the seed source for invasive plant species and thus will reduce the spread of them upstream into BLM lands via birds and other vectors. (10) The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan identifies the removal of exotic plants and replacing with equal or higher value plant species as important for the recovery of this bird species. This project would help achieve these objectives by manually removing Russian olive and other woody invasives and planting locally-sourced native plant species along Mill and Pack creeks. (11) U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Utah Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Strategic Plan: This project falls within a priority area, priority habitat (riparian), and addresses threats to priority species (SWFL and YBCU). (12) Pursuant to the Utah Noxious Weed Act, Section 7, to every person who owns or controls lands in Grand County, Utah, that noxious weeds standing, being, or growing on such land shall be controlled and the spread of same prevented by effective cutting, tillage, cropping, pasturing, or treating with chemicals or other methods, or combination methods, or combination thereof, approved by the County Weed Supervisor, as often as may be required to prevent the weed from blooming and maturing seeds, or spreading by root, root stalks or other means. Listed species include, tamarisk, and Russian olive. All of the individual polygons listed under this proposal targets tamarisk and/or Russian olive for treatment and/or removal. (13) Middle Colorado River Watershed Cooperative Weed Management Area Cooperative Agreement's partnering organizations working along the Colorado River work towards the CWMA's goal "to promote an integrated weed management program throughout the MCRW-CWMA that includes public relations, education and training in the non-native invasive weed arena as well as inventory, monitoring, controlling and preventing the spread of non-native invasive weeds, sharing of resources, and designing other desirable resource protection measures relative to weed management." This project is especially relevant to this goal because of the public relations and education work that needs to happen under this project. Much of the previous work on Mill and Pack creek has focused on City land, whereas much of this proposals work occurs on untreated private land. This means that a much greater level of outreach will occur under this project that has not happened under previous projects.

This proposal seeks to abate the threat of fire and level of intensity by creating several fire breaks on private lands along vulnerable stretches of Mill and Pack Creeks. These fire breaks are designed to break up contiguous fuel loading and protect ecological and human values along these riparian corridors. According to UWRAP (Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal), there are high and very high levels of fire risk along a large portion of these riparian corridors, which means there is a high likelihood of loss or harm in the event of a fire. This was proven to be true in the 2018 Cinema Court fire, in which 8 homes were lost in mere hours along Pack Creek. The community has since voiced desire for fire protection going forward, and Pack Creek will be prioritized for fire resiliency. In Mill and Pack Creeks in the Moab valley, nonnative woody species (Russian olive and tamarisk) have largely replaced fire-resilient natives such as willows, squawbush/sumac, and cottonwoods. Ravenna grass, a nonnative and fast growing ornamental bunch-grass, has also been outcompeting natives along these creeks. Contiguous loading of these species serves as a serious wildfire threat for the riparian area. Russian olive, tamarisk and Ravenna have created a dense understory of growth below native cottonwood trees. They all produce large quantities of volatile fuels that allow fire to spread vertically and reach native canopy cover, creating devastating crown fires in the cottonwoods. The current fuel loading also exacerbates the speed and intensity with which fire moves horizontally. Furthermore, fire spread and intensity are more extreme when there is an extended drought in the area or a buildup of dead and senescent material in the tamarisk crowns, as is currently the case. Removal efforts are expected to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire as volatile fuel loads are reduced in some of the more choked sections of the creeks. Fire along these creeks, exacerbated by contiguous fuel loading of these species, threatens human lives, wildlife habitat, soil fertility and production, native vegetation, recreation sites, infrastructure, and buildings in and around the city of Moab. Removal of this fuel in a series of fuel breaks will help slow or stop any fires that do occur before they become catastrophic. It will also allow better creek access for fire personnel in the event of a fire. This will not only improve firefighter safety, it will also assist in further protection of the homes and structures built adjacent to the creek. Additionally, removing the invasive vegetation will promote the establishment of under-story native vegetation and will reduce soil erosion, which is critical to maintaining riparian ecosystem resilience. Certain project sites will be revegetated using appropriate seed stock. Establishment of native vegetation will encourage propagation of historical conditions, and these plants are naturally less likely to carry fire along the creek. Work in 2019/2020 will kick off a longer process engaging land owners along the creeks in Moab to work towards a fire defensible healthy riparian habitat by 2028. To start 8 new fire breaks located near hydrants and at critical locations along the creeks based on adjacent residential densities will be cut. Each fire break will be between ½ and 2 acres in size depending on fuel density, over story composition and residential densities nearby. In addition, 4 fuel breaks that have already been started by land owners will be completed or expanded. These new clearings will total 20 acres. In addition, over 60 acres where past clearing has been done will be evaluated for follow up work and land owners contacted with suggestions and over 20 acres of high priority areas will be visited with land owners and plans for future work outlined. All projects on private property will require a signed permission for entry that will also include commitments by land owners to maintain the work completed and expand upon it in future. In addition, land owners will be required to assist with the work done either through hands on labor or by providing funds towards this work.

One of the greatest threats to Mill and Pack Creeks, and thereby the surrounding community as well as the Colorado river, is the invasion and spread of woody invasive plant species, principally Russian olive and tamarisk. Russian olive and tamarisk channelize streams and rivers, increase wildfire hazard, provide poor habitat for wildlife, limit human use of water ways, and spread beyond the riparian floodplain, ultimately replacing native xeric vegetation and reducing water in the creek. Russian olive and tamarisk actively alter the natural flooding dynamics and water temperatures of the creeks. The trees constrain the channel, changing flooding dynamics, reducing native riparian tree and shrub regeneration, and altering water temperature and chemistry. They channelize the creek, trapping sediment, increasing erosion, and changing habitat for existing native and protected plant and animal species. Other invasive exotics targeted in this project, such as Ravenna grass, also pose a threat to the riparian communities. Despite extensive interagency control efforts for years, they are quickly outcompeting natives and are abundant in portions of the watershed. Ravenna grass uses much more water than its native competitors. It also chokes out the plants that usually shade streams, which alters stream temperatures and affects the ability of fish to survive. These changes, combined with the extreme drought common to the Moab area, greatly impact the species that rely on these riparian areas to survive. This project also has the potential to increase water quantity. By removing dense stands of invasive plant species from the riparian corridor and replanting with a native plant community there will be more water available in the creek itself which is often dry in the warmer months. With a more open native riparian plant community there will be better floodplain connectivity and increased groundwater infiltration. 319 NPS funds have been approved for revegetation efforts in critical areas for increasing shade over the creek for state FY 2019 through 2021. This funding is exclusively for revegetation efforts. This WRI project will link to this NPS project and meet two critical needs unmet by NPS funding: removal/treatment of new saplings and resprouts throughout the project area especially in high priority active revegetation sites, and removal of olive stands on parcels where past treatments have been successfully maintained and the last olives can be effectively removed. This will ensure that active revegetation work will have greater success and will also continue to ensure that these areas stay free of invasive Russian olive populations.

There has been an archeological clearance for most of Mill and Pack creeks for the NPS 319 funds. There will be no earth disturbance to occur over the duration of this project.

Despite the high density of Russian olive and other invasive trees present along most of Mill and Pack creeks, gradual removal of olive, tamarisk and elm has resulted in the natural regeneration of native plants including golden currant, willow, woods rose, three-lobed sumac, cottonwood, grasses and forbs. The primary guiding principal for this project is pacing removal of invasive plants at a rate that allows native plant regeneration to naturally occur. In areas where natural regeneration is not occurring, or the area is sensitive enough to require more rapid revegetation, active planting using poles and potted plants is being done. The project area covers 45 acres, and the work will be done with some acres receiving multiple treatments. The total acres of treatment activity will equal or exceed 260 acres. Treatment methods fall into four broad categories as outlined below: (1) Large Scale Removal: In areas where removal has not yet begun or treatment is still in its early stages, larger trees in densely infested areas will be cut, treated, piled, and mulched. Areas of clearing will be focused first around native trees and shrubs, and next on areas linking existing native plant stands. (2) Follow up treatments: New saplings will be pulled with weed wrenches and resprouts cut and treated with Garlon 4 (or other approved herbicides). In these areas other weed species are addressed using mechanical or chemical means as is deemed most effective. (3) Revegetation: where active regeneration is needed to restore stream banks or where passive regeneration has been less effective there will be plantings to help restore native habitat. There is currently over $39,000 allocated to revegetation on this project via NPS 319 funds. (4) Ravenna grass: seed heads will be collected to prevent further spread. Smaller plants will be dug up by hand and larger plants will be cut with a brush cutter and sprayed with glyphosate. Locations with ravenna have already been mapped to make this process quicker. Utah Conservation Corps, which has been invaluable in previous invasive species removal projects will be doing a majority of the work. In addition, there will be a number of volunteer days with groups such as The Synergy Company, Team Rubicon, landowners, as well as other groups to help with the removal effort. In-kind and/or financial donations from partners working on this project will be expected: (1) The City of Moab is expected to provide financial assistance to pay for three to five additional weeks of UCC crew work as well as direct financial support to RRR for planning and coordination. (2) MVFD will provide sawyer time during removal efforts as well as coordination with private landowners. (3) Grand County School District will assist with maintaining the areas cleared on district land. (4) Land owners will be signing an agreement to maintain work done along cleared areas and will also be asked to provide funds and/or an in-kind match. Rim to Rim has met with the City of Moab, Moab Valley Fire Department, the Sheriff's Office of Emergency Management and others to strategize removal efforts. We have gathered landowner input and are working to organize landowner working groups so that they can direct removal efforts in their own neighborhoods. We have created how to guides and handouts about effective removal techniques landowners. These elements are working towards this project being the start of more engaged and active riparian area managmenet beyond primary invasive species removal. Our hope is that we will be able to give individual landowners the solutions and skills they need to continue work beyond initial removal work and to ensure fire safe creeks. We want the Cinema Court Fire to be the only fire to destroy homes near the creeks in Moab, not the first.

Rim to Rim has been running vegetation transects at 14 locations on Mill and Pack creeks since 2007, with the most recent data collected in 2016. A comprehensive report is in process and will be completed by mid 2019 highlighting the results of over 10 years of invasive removal work and follow up active regeneration in areas where passive native plant regeneration has not occurred. These transects will continued to be monitored throughout the project period and the results will influence decisions made about management along Mill and Pack creeks. Repeat photos will be taken before and after treatments and project areas will be revisited in order to determine the effectiveness of treatments and to assess the need for follow-up treatments. Quantitative monitoring will continue at the 14 sites included in Rim to Rim's current monitoring program.

Moab Valley Fire Department (MVFD): We have been working closely with the Moab Valley Fire Department to begin to coordinate efforts between agencies and landowners to remove invasives from Mill and Pack creeks. They have helped identify areas to remove as well as providing maps and other tools to identify important areas to remove. Utah Conservation Corps (UCC): Utah Conservation Corps has long been a partner in invasive species removal in this area. UCC has worked closely with land managers in this area and is uniquely qualified to provide consistent and efficient logistical support and project implementation on projects in the Moab area. The regional coordinator is intimately familiar with these project sites and what treatments work best in our region. Grand County: Grand County has been important in identifying removal areas with MVFD and the City of Moab. Forestry, Fire and State Lands: FFSL as well as the Moab Valley Fire Department have been a part of the working group that has begun to coordinate the gathering of landowner needs for clearing of Mill and Pack creeks. The City of Moab: The City of Moab has been key in working with MVFD and Grand County to identify important removal areas for fire safety along the creek. Team Rubicon: Team Rubicon helped with the initial removal of burned material from the Cinema Court Fire along Pack Creek and is planning to send a large volunteer crew to Moab to help with removing more woody material from Pack Creek. The Synergy Company Provided food for early community meetings, Synergy is working with RRR to build sustainable volunteer and community efforts to better manage the creek areas. Private Landowners: In addition to the above-mentioned partners open meetings have been held to gather landowners that are adjacent to either Mill or Pack creeks. These are ongoing to gauge what needs these landowners have for removal efforts and to help them reach their own neighbors to work towards removal of invasive woody biomass. Most of the creek bottom land in Moab and Spanish Valley are privately owned so these individual landowners are key to organize removal efforts.

There are a number of changes that have been occurring in Moab related to the project that will ensure that continued management will be supported by a number of organizations. (1) The City of Moab and Rim to Rim Restoration has been working on a riparian plan for Mill and Pack creeks indicating renewed interest by the City to manage riparian areas effectively. Rim to Rim is actively working with Moab's Dept of Public Works to implement and maintain clearings in City Parks and to work with landowners. (2) The National Park Service has been helping coordinate stakeholders to find ways to mitigate recreation impacts along Mill Creek Canyon through their Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program. This also includes finding ways to improve riparian areas in the canyon. This is a project that includes numerous groups indicating that the community as a whole has renewed interest in sustainably managing our waterways. (3) The Moab Valley Fire Department has a full time Wildland Urban Interface coordinator who will be active in fire mitigation efforts along the creeks and will be actively involved in all project sites, landowner outreach, and mitigation efforts. (4) Rim to Rim Restoration and Utah Conservation Corps are working together to build resources and support for landowners to be able to manage their creek side properties. This includes written materials to help landowners become more self-sustaining when it comes to invasive species removal. This project will closely involve private landowners during removal activities. Individual landowners will be walked through the planning process and techniques for proper follow up for their property. We want to ensure that once the initial work is accomplished that landowners will have the skills,tools and inspiration to maintain these areas and ideally expand them. We have documented success of active private landowner management after initial treatments on project areas throughout Moab. This project is a critical first step for many of these land owners ensure their properties are in a condition that they can manage and sustain with minimal resources for the foreseeable future. In addition to removal of invasive woody plants, funds secured through 319 programs will allow for active revegetation to be done over the course of three years from 2019 to 2021. Active revegetation will be focused on sites where passive revegetation has not occurred and annual exotic are still dominant. These areas include the Anonymous Park, 500 West, parts of the School District Property between 400 E and 300 S and between Main Street and 400 E, the Holland Property, and the Cinema Courts Fire area on Pack Creek. Planting will include seeding and at least 1000 containerized stock -- mostly upland species including Atriplex canescens, Sporobolus cryptandrus and Sporobolus airoides, as well as a wide range of riparian species where appropriate.

This project has the potential to increase water in both Mill and Pack creeks with the removal of dense stands of Russian olive and tamarisk. The Pack Creek waterflow is especially important because it is likely connected to the valley fill aquifer which is a major source of culinary and irrigation water for Moab and Spanish Valley. Work done along Mill and Pack creeks over the past 15 years has opened up areas that have not been visible for over 25 years -- allowing consideration of water harvesting and infiltration projects that will also improve the flood capacity of the riparian area by allowing water to spread out and soak in during large events rather than simply rush down a tight channel, downcutting and eroding as it flows. The project also has the potential to both improve and increase forage along both creeks with the removal of dense and dead stands of woody invasives. The removal of these invasives will open up the understory and will allow for increases in native grasses and forbs which are more desirable for grazing and for many native species. Invasives removal will also allow for greater access to the creek for livestock and for wildlife. There is currently no grazing along the project area. Some of the project area is located on public land owned by the City of Moab. This project has the opportunity to improve recreation areas along Mill and Pack creeks by opening more vegetation choked land to use as well as improving barren areas by planting native species through the NPS 319 funds for this project.

07/01/2019

06/30/2020

2020

Methods used matched what was expected,except that Team Rubicon did not come to Moab with a large work force in March 2020 due to Covid-19. Six of the planned fire breaks were not able to be cut in FY 2020 as they were designed to use this 100+ person labor force in multiple locations. Instead one significant 7 acre break was made along Pack Creek (where three had been planned) and several cleared areas along Mill Creek were expanded. Many of new breaks will be cut in the next year or two by MVFD, FFSL and land owners. Land owners have been contacted and are cooperating with fire fuels reduction and revegetation efforts. The Team Rubicon work was canceled approximately March 13 (project dates were expected to be late March). However, the extensive planning efforts to prepare for Team Rubicon's assistance did not go unused. FFSL and BLM's Fire and Fuels staff worked with UCC crews during the time initially scheduled for the Team Rubicon event, and managed to clear approximately 3.45 acres in the area immediately upstream of the Cinema Courts Fire. FFSL continues to be a solid partnering organization, and the BLM assistance ensured good success in these areas.

In 2019 RRR mapped the entire creek corridor (both Mill and Pack creeks) to include overstory trees, ladder fuels, weed species and other vegetation in the area mapped as "affected acres". These maps have been used in developing priority areas to work and to track progress in regenerating native plant materials in locations where non native trees have been removed. New breaks extending approximately 1 1/2 of a mile and clearing ladder and crown fuels from 7.05 acres were established in an area adjacent to over 50 homes, with over 200 homes within 1500 feet of the area. Existing breaks were expanded by approximately 3 acres in another dense residential area. In addition, all areas cleared over the past 10 years were revisited and over 200 saplings (olive, elm, tamarisk, tree of heaven and locust) were removed, and at least 100 resprouts appropriately treated. Ravenna grass in the lower parts of the watershed was contained and reduced during this work. Vegetation monitoring was completed at all 14 transect locations in June 2020. Finally, plants were installed at two locations: the Cinema Courts Fire area and in Anonymous Park.

While the potential for a large workforce to assist with fire fuels mitigation along Mill and Pack creeks through efforts of Team Rubicon are in some question while Covid-19 continues, the collaboration between MVFD, FFSL, City of Moab, Grand County, and private land owners continues to expand. In addition, RRR has partnered with a few land owners, NRCS and DWQ on a 319 project focused in the Cinema Courts area to reduce downcutting and restore connectivity of the floodplain with the creek in that area. This project should cover a full creek mile that was recently cleared of Russian olives. Land owners are interested in revegetation and bank stabilization activities in this zone and in other areas along the creeks. Future work will focus on regenerating native plant communities in cleared areas where that is not occuring. FFSL has proven to be a solid partner in this work -- both to assist with Team Rubicon and also to increase capacity through the use of their chipper and staff. The Grand Conservation District acquired a chipper through funds from the Utah Conservation Commission and Grand County. The machine is now housed by the MVFD and owned by Grand Conservation District for use to assist with fire fuels mitigation work in the area. RRR is involved in logistics for scheduling and using this added capacity in our region. Finally, the City of Moab provided funding for Rim to Rim to continue working with landowners, the City, County and School District to build more fire resiliency and regenerate native plants throughout the riparian corridor of the City. Rim to Rim continues to work with the City to continue these efforts.