Historically there was more water on the Manti Meadows WMA property that filled several ponds for the benefit of wildlife. This water has dried up and so we are going to do some additional work to increase flow of water on the property. This water is essential to provide the value for waterfowl and other wildlife of this property. We will also drill seed desired vegetation into areas that we sprayed with Plateau last year to kill the cheatgrass. This is needed to help provide more food and cover for upland game birds and other wildlife. Lastly, we will plant more trees, shrubs, and wetland vegetation to improve the habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.

1. Restore water to property that has been lost. 2. Increase ability to water livestock on property by having water and distributing it across the property. 3. Increase available habitat for upland game birds. 4. Increase available habitat for waterfowl. 5. Improve habitat for WAP and other high interest game species.

Currently there is little water reaching the property that historically occurred. This loss of water has made the property lose its value for wildlife and ability to graze livestock effectively. If we do not do this project we will continue to lose the value of this property. Undesired weeds such as cheatgrass and undesired shrubs such as greasewood have filled the property where water once occurred. Negative impacts can occur to wildlife that are unable to use this property now that needed habitat has been lost. As well as loss of opportunity for grazing which will result in lost income for the division and lessees.

The Wildlife Action Plan One of the main key habitats that we would be increasing would be open water. Our plan is to improve ponds where many species of wildlife can benefit. The water at this property has been impacted by usage and drought which is one of the very high threats identified in the Wildlife Action Plan. By improving wells we will be addressing this issue by bring water back to this area that has been lost likely from usage up stream. 2. The WAP identifies several species that will be benefited by this project. -Northern Leopard Frogs, addressing threat of habitat loss from piped irrigation. -Columbia Spotted Frog, addressing threat from habitat loss from water usage - Little Brown Myotis, addressing threat from water loss to livestock watering. We will have open water ponds and troughs that are open and allow drinking and feeding for bats. Mule Deer Management Plan- The spatial distribution of mule deer populations is often positively associated with availability of water in arid regions of western North America (Hervert and Krausman 1986, Boroski and Mossman 1996). This project will help to increase the availability of water and help to distribute mule deer across the landscape. Among the UDWR's directors office priorities are to increase waterfowl and pheasant hunting opportunity in the state. This project will increase the available habitat for waterfowl and pheasants and help to reach these priorities. North American Waterfowl Management Plan Habitat Objectives- 1. Acquired areas should be managed to improve habitat Quality, minimize risk of disease and increase carrying capacity of overwintering sites. 2. Agricultural and industrial practices that impact migration and wintering areas should be examined and alternative practices developed that benefit waterfowl and complement other land uses. 3.Private landowners should be encouraged to continue their important contribution of maintaining habitat for migrating and wintering ducks.

Increasing the water on this property will allow us to create fire breaks with water and wetland vegetation that is less likely to burn. Last year we sprayed Plateau herbicide to kill the cheatgrass and reduce that fire threat. This year we will plant perrennial grasses that will fill that niche and prevent cheatgrass from coming back.The spread of cheatgrass drastically increase the fire risk to the property and neighboring property owners. There are several buildings within in close proximity to the property that could be lost from fire. By planting perennial grasses that stay greener into the summer to replace cheatgrass we will help reduce the fire risk as well.

This project will help bring more water to the surface and allow it to be utilized by vegetation, wildlife , and livestock. One of the main objectives of this project is to increase the water quantity and should be considered when comparing it to other projects that increasing water quantity and quality is a secondary objective. The salinity in the remaining water on the property is likely higher due to the reduction in water that we have seen over the years. There are only a couple of seeps and springs that are very low that remain. Improving wells and springs will increase the amount of water available for use as well as help dilute the mineral content in the little water that exists, thus improving the quality as well.

All necessary cultural clearances will be conducted prior to work being done. All water rights and other permits required will be taken care of prior to project implementation as well. We have inspected the property with Eric Andersen, UDWR water rights specialist, and he has said that we will be able to work under existing water rights that we own for the property.

We will dig out an existing spring heads that have dried up to try and get water flowing again into ponds and to flood fields to grow more wetland and upland vegetation. We will dig down about 20' and add a perforated pipe 4" sewer pipe and surround it with gravel. We will use the heavy equipment crew to dig these wells and dig ditches to direct the water where we want it to go. We will have them dig a series of small ponds to create a prairie pothole type area. We will purchase wetland sod mats and plant these along the banks of newly constructed ponds. We will plant more trees and shrub seedlings ton increase wildlife habitat. We will drill seed perrennial seed mix with a rangeland drill in the uplands to increase food and habitat for upland game birds like pheasants and quail.

The UDWR has full time employees who manage the Manti meadows property and will ensure that water systems are working properly and continue to maximize benefit for wildlfie and livestock. Photo points will be established before implementation of the project.

The UDWR is the landowner of the property. This project will benefit those who in the future will lease grazing rights on the property. We will work with sportsman groups like Ducks Unlimited to help with implementation of the project. We have not extended the project beyond the WMA because adjacent land is agricultural and cannot be worked on.

The property will continue to be managed to maximize the benefit for wildlife and livestock. These water and vegetation improvements will be maintained with wildlife management area maintenance budgets and personnel as needed.

Domestic livestock will have water available for their use. Water will be more distributed across the property and allow for more effective grazing. Water will also be used to irrigate field which will increase the available forage for livestock. By removing cheatgrass and replacing it with perennial grasses it will increase the amount of available forage. This will increase recreational opportunities on the property by improving waterfowl and upland game hunting.

07/01/2019

06/29/2020

2020

We fixed about 3 miles of the fence around the property to ensure that we don't get trespass grazing. We scalped rows on about 1.5 acres and then planted grass plugs. We planted 1,500 grass plugs in November of 2019 and we planted another 1,500 grass plugs in February of 2020. The grass plugs that were planted in the Spring seemed to do very well as for the onse planted in the Fall they mostly died. We then also drill seeded with the baby rangeland drill that same 1.5 acre area. We drill seeded another 4 acres. We built two more shallow wells and at first the water did not come up but we dug trenches below surface level about 3 ' and the water began to flow heavily from the one and a little from the other. We will probably still install a pump at the one spring. We installed a culvert to get water flowing from one side of the road to the other where the ponds are located. Lastly, we fixed the dike on one of the ponds to reduce the amount of water leaking.

Historically there was more water on the Manti Meadows WMA property that filled several ponds for the benefit of wildlife. This water has dried up and so we have been working to find creative ways to increase the amount of surface water on the property. This water is essential to provide the value for waterfowl and other wildlife of this property. We also drill seeded desired vegetation into areas that we sprayed with Plateau last year to kill the cheatgrass. We planted grass plugs and shrub seedlings into scalped rows to see if we could get desired vegetation established.This is needed to help provide more food and cover for upland game birds and other wildlife.

We will continue to monitor the success of increasing water and install pumps and trenches as needed. We will do future herbicide applications to continue to fight back the cheatgrass. We will monitor how our seeding and plantings do to decide how to do future plantings in the future. We will continue to monitor fences and ensure that trespass grazing doesn't occur.