Juniper have encroached on the mountain shrub community that provides critical winter range for deer, elk and moose and habitat for sage-grouse. There is a robust mahogany component in the area but they have very little to no recruitment. By removing junipers there will be an increase in grasses and forbs along with water and the space left by the junipers will hopefully promote mahogany recruitment. Also, nearly 5.7 miles of unauthorized routes were identified in the project area using aerial imageries. These unauthorized routes include 18 access points. The unauthorized routes increase motorized access, fragment greater sage-grouse habitat, year-long crucial elk and crucial summer mule deer habitat, increase the spread of noxious weeds and invasive plants, reduce vegetation and site productivity, and increase erosion. Telemetry Studies show elk usually stay more than 800 m from roads, therefore unauthorized routes truncate potential elk habitat. Research shows that mule deer also avoid ATV activities by seeking dense cover. This could result in reduced foraging opportunities and a subsequent reduction in opportunities to put on fat reserve during summer that are needed for winter survival. Decommissioning unauthorized routes would further enhance those restored habitats for mule deer, elk and sage-grouse use.

To remove junipers through a lop and scatter treatment on 1713 acres thus providing increased forage for deer, elk, moose and cattle. An increase in the above ground water flow in the area and new habitat for sage grouse. Decommissioning unauthorized routes would further enhance those restored habitats for mule deer, elk and sage-grouse use.

Threats of implementing this project is that spotted knapweed may expand onto project site since it has been found nearby. The knapweed will be treated if needed though. Not doing the project will result in continued expansion of the junipers resulting in a loss of more understory, water resources and an overall increase in the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Unauthorized routs increase road density through time. They usually start out small and with repeated use can grow for miles. If these routs are not closed, the outcome will be additional road mileage and increased road density further reducing sage-grouse, mule deer and elk use in these important habitats. The unauthorized routes increase motorized access to and fragment important sage-grouse, year long elk habitat and crucial mule deer summer habitats, increase the spread of noxious weeds and invasive plants, reduce vegetation and site productivity, and increase erosion. Dyers woad and spotted knapweed present.

Utah's Sage-grouse strategic Management plan: Goal: Protect, maintain, enhance, and restore greater sage-grouse populations, habitats, and the ecosystems that sustain them. Reestablish, augment, and facilitate sustainable populations of greater sage-grouse in suitable habitats to improve statewide population continuity and distribution. Objective B-2: Enhance and restore current and potential sage-grouse habitats and the ecosystems that sustain them. Objective C-2: Identify and secure funding for habitat enhancement, research, monitoring, and maintenance. A. Vegetation management. 1. Manage seasonal sage-grouse habitats in a manner appropriate to the site conditions, and based on habitat assessment or local expert knowledge and observed ecological condition. and 4. Manage for late summer brood-rearing habitat that includes a variety of succulent vegetation adjacent to sagebrush escape and loafing cover. Create or enhance riparian/wet meadow habitat in areas where late brood-rearing habitat is lacking. Strive to manage sagebrush habitats with 10-25% canopy cover. Forest Plan of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest Forest wide Goals: 3-Biodiversity & Viability, Goal 3d, Goal 3f., Goal 3g. Goal 3o., The project is consistent with the following Forest Plan Ojective: 3.d. Increase grass and forb production and plant species and age class diversity in sagebrush and pinyon/juniper by treating approximately 2,000 acres average annually1 for a 10-year total of 20,000 acres. Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan: Statewide goal A, Strategy r.Properly manage elk populations to minimize competition with mule deer on crucial mule deer range. Habitat Management Goal B: Habitat Objective 1. Maintain elk habitat throughout the state by identifying and protecting existing crucial elk habitat and mitigating for losses due to human impacts. Strategies A. and B. Habitat Objective 2:Improve the quality and quantity of forage and cover on 250,000 acres of elk habitat with emphasis on calving habitat and upper elevation elk winter range by the end of this plan. Strategies c, d e, h. and j. Habitat Objective 2: Reduce adverse impacts to elk herds and elk habitat. Strategies: A. Road Management a) Seek to maintain less than 2 miles of roads per square mile within crucial elk habitat. b) Work cooperatively with UDOT, county, state, and federal agencies to limit the impacts of roads on elk. Recreation Objective 1: Maintain a diversity of elk hunting opportunities. Strategies d) Assist state and federal agencies with the development of travel management plans. Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer: Habitat Goal and Habitat Objective 1, Strategies a, and b. Habitat Objective 2 and strategies, B, C, D, E, F and H. Habitat Objective 1: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. d. Minimize impacts and recommend mitigation for losses of crucial habitat due to human impacts. j. Support the establishment of multi-agency OHV travel plans developed on a county or federal land management plan level and ongoing efforts to reduce illegal OHV use to prevent resource damage and protect crucial mule deer habitat. k. Where appropriate, work with county, federal and state land management agencies to adopt seasonal motorized route closures to minimize human disturbance in existing crucial mule deer habitats. l. Work with county, state, and federal agencies to limit the negative effects of roads by reclaiming unused roads, properly planning new roads, and installing fencing and highway passage structures where roads disrupt normal mule deer migration patterns. Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019. e. Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah. f. Seek opportunities through the Watershed Restoration Initiative to improve aspen communities that provide crucial summer habitat for mule deer. DEER HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN, Deer Herd Unit # 2 (Cache) Meets habitat goals and objecitives for this plan. * Logan, Green, Providence and Blacksmith Fork Canyons. Projects should be focused on removal of encroaching juniper, and reestablishing understory with winter browse species as well as species of plants that can be used in the spring by wintering deer. ELK HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Elk Herd Unit # 2 Cache: Habitat objective: Maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements throughout the unit on winter range to achieve population management objectives. Pay special attention to WMA's and areas were holding elk could alleviate pressure on private landowners experiencing damage by wintering elk.Work with private and federal agencies to maintain and protect critical and existing winter range from future losses. UTAH MOOSE STATEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLAN C. Habitat - The primary limiting factor for moose in Utah and across their range is the availability of suitable habitat. - Moose have done well in drier habitats in northern Utah which are dominated by mountain mahogany, Gambel oak, serviceberry, quaking aspen, and burned over coniferous forests A. Habitat Degradation or Loss. - The single biggest influence on moose populations in Utah is the quantity and quality of available habitat. Habitat can be degraded, fragmented, or lost to a variety of causes including human development and plant succession B. Habitat Management Goal: Assure sufficient habitat is available to sustain healthy and productive moose populations. Strategies -- A,D,E Logan Ranger District Travel Management Plan implementation; Wasatch-Cache Forest Plan; Forestwide Goal 3-Biodiversity & Viability Provide for sustained diversity of species at the genetic, populations, community and ecosystem levels. Maintain communities within their historic range of variation that sustains habitats for viable populations of species. Restore or maintain hydrologic functions. Reduce potential for uncharacteristic high-intensity wildfires, and insect epidemics. 3m. Provide for connectivity of continuous large patches of forested habitat for interior forest-dependent and wide-ranging species (such as lynx, wolverine and migratory birds). 3o. Provide adequate habitat components for sustainable big game populations coordinated with State wildlife management agencies, private lands and other resource needs and priorities. 3s. Greatly reduce known infestations of noxious weeds and rigorously prevent their introduction and/or spread. Forestwide Goal 5-Road/Trail and Access Management Provide a road and trail system that is safe, responsive to public and agency needs and desires, affordable and efficiently managed. Provide an access system that minimizes negative ecological effects and is in balance with available funding. Focus on achieving an integrated transportation system that serves multiple functions and is consistent with desired future conditions for a given area. 5d. Manage trails to provide desired recreation opportunities for recreation users and to meet Forest Service standards. Guidelines for Biodiversity and Viability: (G26) Protect key big game calving, fawning and lambing habitat and provide security in summer concentration areas. Greater Sage-grouse ROD, Greater sage-grouse Utah Plan Amendment (FS 2015). GRSG-GRSGH-GL-032-(UT) In priority and general habitat management areas, sagebrush focal areas, and Anthro Mountain, native plant species should be used when possible to maintain, restore, or enhance desired conditions (Table GRSG-GEN-DC3) in Utah. (Amendment #13, September 2015) GRSG-RT-GL-071-Guideline (UT);GRSG-RT-GL-076-Guideline (WY) In priority and general GRSG habitat management areas, sagebrush focal areas, and Anthro Mountain, when decommissioning roads and unauthorized routes, restoration activity should be designed to move habitat towards desired conditions. (Amendment #13 September 16, 2015). State of Utah's new Greater Sage-Grouse Management Plan (2009) --M2 Maintain/protect large contiguous intact sagebrush communities that contain seasonal habitat needs of sage-grouse populations within the state. Logan Ranger District Travel Management Plan implementation; Wasatch-Cache Forest Plan; Forestwide Goal 3-Biodiversity & Viability Provide for sustained diversity of species at the genetic, populations, community and ecosystem levels. Maintain communities within their historic range of variation that sustains habitats for viable populations of species. Restore or maintain hydrologic functions. Reduce potential for uncharacteristic high-intensity wildfires, and insect epidemics. 3m. Provide for connectivity of continuous large patches of forested habitat for interior forest-dependent and wide-ranging species (such as lynx, wolverine and migratory birds). 3o. Provide adequate habitat components for sustainable big game populations coordinated with State wildlife management agencies, private lands and other resource needs and priorities. 3s. Greatly reduce known infestations of noxious weeds and rigorously prevent their introduction and/or spread. Forestwide Goal 5-Road/Trail and Access Management Provide a road and trail system that is safe, responsive to public and agency needs and desires, affordable and efficiently managed. Provide an access system that minimizes negative ecological effects and is in balance with available funding. Focus on achieving an integrated transportation system that serves multiple functions and is consistent with desired future conditions for a given area. 5d. Manage trails to provide desired recreation opportunities for recreation users and to meet Forest Service standards. Guidelines for Biodiversity and Viability: (G26) Protect key big game calving, fawning and lambing habitat and provide security in summer concentration areas. Greater Sage-grouse ROD, Greater sage-grouse Utah Plan Amendment (FS 2015). GRSG-GRSGH-GL-032-(UT) In priority and general habitat management areas, sagebrush focal areas, and Anthro Mountain, native plant species should be used when possible to maintain, restore, or enhance desired conditions (Table GRSG-GEN-DC3) in Utah. (Amendment #13, September 2015) GRSG-RT-GL-071-Guideline (UT);GRSG-RT-GL-076-Guideline (WY) In priority and general GRSG habitat management areas, sagebrush focal areas, and Anthro Mountain, when decommissioning roads and unauthorized routes, restoration activity should be designed to move habitat towards desired conditions. (Amendment #13 September 16, 2015). State of Utah's new Greater Sage-Grouse Management Plan (2009) --M2 Maintain/protect large contiguous intact sagebrush communities that contain seasonal habitat needs of sage-grouse populations within the state.

This will reduce the fuel load as the scattered juniper trees break down and decrease the risk of a crown fire. Unauthorized route can increase the risk of human caused fire due to driving on unmaintained roads.

By removing junipers there will be an increase in available water. There are springs in the project area. A small one acre area surrounding a pond on the nearby Curtis Creek area was cleared of junipers and the pond has refilled after being dry for years.

Arc clearance not needed. NEPA has been completed. Logan Ranger District Travel Management Plan implementation Ogden Ranger District Travel Management Plan implementation

To hire a contractor to lop and scatter juniper trees. Crews will be instructed not to cut mahogany. The Logan Ranger District proposes to close current access points to routes through installing barrier rocks and buck-and-rail fencing where appropriate. A minimum of the first 100 feet of illegal routes will also be ripped and rehabed using a SWECO Trail Dozer and/or a Mini Excavator. Areas ripped will then be reseeded using a native grass and forb seed mix approved by the zone's botanist. In areas with steep grades, erosion cloth will be used to stabilize soils.

The work will be monitored and approved by FS biologist. Spotted Knapweed has been observed in the area and the treatments sites will be monitored closely and followed up with a chemical treatment plan if needed.

This is the fourth phase of combined DWR and FS lop and scatter project in the Hardware Ranch Area.

Even after three years treatment there are several thousand acres of similar habitat in this area of the Hardware Ranch that we would like to treat in the future.

Will increase forage production and water availability in the areas of treatment. Cattle are run through the South Cache Grazing Association. Curtis Ridge area is in the Red Wells-Rock Creek Allotment.

08/01/2019

09/01/2020

2021

A contractor was hired to lop and scatter juniper trees. Crews were instructed not to cut mahogany. FS seasonal employees worked on decommissioning about 5.7 miles of unauthorized routes near Hardware Ranch. Unauthorized routes were closed by installing barrier rocks and buck-and-rail fencing where appropriate. A minimum of the first 100 feet of unauthorized routes were also ripped and rehabed using a SWECO Trail Dozer and/or a Mini Excavator. A total of 14 signs on the Pig Hole Springs road, a combination of "restoration area" signs, "motorized route ends" signs, and route markers/guide signs were installed. A gate and wood fence were installed at Baxter Sawmill road to enforce seasonal closure for protecting big game wintering habitat. Areas ripped were then reseeded using a native grass and forb seed mix approved by the zone's botanist.

Juniper have encroached on the mountain shrub community that provides critical winter range for deer, elk and moose and habitat for sage-grouse. There is a robust mahogany component in the area but they have very little to no recruitment. By removing junipers we hope to see increase in grasses and forbs along with water, and the space left by the junipers will hopefully promote mahogany recruitment. We originally planned for 1,290 acres of juniper lop and scatter. However, the contractor's bid was low and nearly $100,000 funding was left for extra lop and scatter work. Additional areas of 1,977 acres of treatments were added later. A total of 3,267 acres was lop and scattered. Nearly 5.7 miles of unauthorized routes were identified in the project area using aerial imageries. These unauthorized routes include 18 access points. The unauthorized routes increase motorized access, fragment greater sage-grouse habitat, year-long crucial elk and crucial summer mule deer habitat, increase the spread of noxious weeds and invasive plants, reduce vegetation and site productivity, and increase erosion. Decommissioning unauthorized routes would further enhance those restored habitats for mule deer, elk and sage-grouse use. FS seasonal employees worked on decommissioning about 5.7 miles of unauthorized routes near Hardware Ranch. Unauthorized routes were closed by installing barrier rocks and buck-and-rail fencing where appropriate. A minimum of the first 100 feet of unauthorized routes were also ripped and rehabed using a SWECO Trail Dozer and/or a Mini Excavator. A total of 14 signs on the Pig Hole Springs road, a combination of "restoration area" signs, "motorized route ends" signs, and route markers/guide signs were installed. A gate and wood fence were installed at Baxter Sawmill road to enforce seasonal closure for protecting big game wintering habitat. Areas ripped were then reseeded using a native grass and forb seed mix approved by the zone's botanist.

Removal of more juniper trees are needed in the area. Project area will be maintained by clipping small junipers.