Vegetation: The need for this project in this area at this time is to reduce existing vegetation density, live fuel loads/fuel continuity and ladder fuels within the project area to reduce wildfire risk and diversify vegetation structure. The proposed treatments would improve habitat quality and productivity for big game and other wildlife and livestock by creating mosaics of vegetation composition and age class structures, and increasing forage production. The Gambel oak and pinyon-juniper zone in the La Sals is becoming degraded due to increasing pinyon and juniper density, and dense aging oakbrush stands. In areas where trees have become dominant, they have out-competed understory species for light, moisture, and nutrients. This eventually results in a loss of many understory species and sagebrush openings. The lack of understory species will deplete the native seedbank, increase soil erosion, and increase non-native weed invasion. When the oak becomes overgrown it is inaccessible for livestock and wildlife to utilize as forage. Excessive fuel build up can result in catastrophic wildfires, which further degrades the habitat. Removing pinyon/juniper and mulching oak brush will improve site conditions. It will ensure the seedbank maintains desirable species, reduces the chances of catastrophic wildfires, and decrease the risk of weed invasion. Forest stands on these private lands extend onto neighboring USFS, BLM, and SITLA lands. Public benefits from forests will be enhanced through this project by reducing the risk of wildfire destroying watersheds, ensuring public safety, and improving wildlife habitat. As seen in many areas of the Intermountain West, pure aspen forest stands on this private property are currently dying off at an alarming rate, with an increase in dieback visible each year. Little to no aspen regeneration is present is some areas. The typical lush forb understory of aspen stands is no longer present in these dying stands. Possibly impacted by drought, SAD (Sudden Aspen Decline), overbrowsing by ungulates, or perhaps just due to a lack of disturbance, this aspen resource will soon be eliminated and converted to sagebrush range land. This project is needed to encourage aspen regeneration and to improve wildlife habitat before this resource is lost forever. Wildlife: The La Sals deer herd is at approximately 50% below the population objective for the area. These population declines can be attributed in part to habitat quality and quantity on both summer, transition and winter ranges. High quality mule deer summer and transition range on the La Sals is found in the oak zone. With the lack of disturbance in the oak brush community, pinyon/juniper trees are encroaching and the oak is over grown, which can impact wildlife that use this habitat type and reduce the amount of forage for deer during important times of the year. The carrying capacity for mule deer and other wildlife species has been reduced. Removing trees in a mosaic pattern will improve forage conditions, because pinyon-juniper trees do provide valuable thermal and hiding cover for deer. Removing some pinyon and juniper trees will improve the quantity and quality of habitat in the area. This would provide valuable forage for mule deer with hiding and thermal cover in close proximity. This should aid in both overall deer health as well as fawn production.

1) Promote a healthy understory of grasses, forbs and shrubs to provide quality habitat for wildlife and range species. 2) Reduce the encroachment of pinyon/juniper trees and bring the oak brush to a level that can be utilized, but leave patches of trees and older oak stands for wildlife corridors and cover. 3) Reduce the density of pinyon/juniper trees and older stands of oak brush as a hazardous fuels treatment to protect habitat at risk from a forest stand replacing catastrophic wildfire event. 4) Conserve & protect watersheds by maintaining a functioning network of resilient forests; return forest structure to a balanced, healthy and historic level. Encourage the survival of more fire resistant ponderosa pine and aspen. 5) Reduce overland flows of water from rain/snow events where there are heavy pinyon/juniper stands, allowing water to be infiltrated into the soils and slowly released back into the system. 6) After mechanical treatments have occurred it has been shown that 2 to 3 years post treatment there is a decrease in bare ground on the site. This increase was from grasses, forbs and litter left on site from mechanical treatment (Miller et al. 2014). 7) Increase in available forage for livestock, wildlife and pollinators. 8) Help bring this plant community back into a more natural state with a variety of age classes of oak. 9) Maintain and improve ecological site description as described in the NRCS Ecological Site Description, 39-41% Shrubs, 4-6% forbs and 29-31% grasses. 10) Encourage and maintain aspen forests (healthy aspen forests have increased understory forage production and diversity).

This project focuses on pinyon/juniper removal and oak disturbance as a means to maintain diverse, healthy mountain brush habitats. The herbaceous understory and sagebrush openings are at risk of being lost due to the increasing density of pinyon and juniper trees, overly dense oakbrush and subsequent wildfire. With such a overgrown and dense understory, wildfire may also reach the canopy of the ponderosa pine trees, leading to a catastrophic landscape level wildfire. The summer/transition range has been declining due to a lack of disturbance, fire suppression and over-utilization by wildlife and livestock. As the conditions in these areas decline so does herd health for wildlife and livestock in the area. A Conservation Assessment of the Colorado Plateau Ecoregion prepared by The Nature Conservancy in 2002 identified Beaver Creek as a Conservation Target, an important area to manage for conservation to retain native biological diversity and ecosystem function. It had a High ranking for Biodiversity Values, and a moderate ranking (includes the whole watershed) for fire regime alteration. The Assessment does not provide management direction, but highlights the importance of the area and serves to focus future planning efforts. Project activities will improve and maintain diversity and improve ecosystem functions in the area. The majority of the area is ranked as well-suited for mechanical treatment on the NRCS Web Soil Survey. The project will help native plants found in the ecological sites described on the NRCS web soil survey to maintain and to increase vigor of shrubs described. If no treatment occurs the site will continue to lose components of the ecological site description. 39-41% Shrubs, 4-6% forbs and 29-31% grasses. Any further delay in completing the aspen portion of this project would result in further loss of the aspen resource in this watershed. Aspen forests would likely cross an ecological threshold and be lost, transitioning to a range/ brush environment. Risks of not completing the aspen treatments include: (a) continued decrease in quality of wildlife habitat and forage, (b) a loss of aspen as a valuable watershed component, and (c) increased risk of wildfire (aspen is more resilient to wildfire than decadent sagebrush rangelands, woodlands or conifers). If the aspen resource continues to lose acreage on an annual basis, this could have a detrimental impact on the watershed downstream. Any further delays in implementation could result in further loss of reserves in the aspen root systems, therefore future treatments would be unsuccessful at stimulating aspen regeneration.

State and County Resource Management Plans: State of Utah Resource Management Plan Wildlife *Conserve, improve, and restore 500,000 acres of mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. *Protect existing wildlife habitat and improve 500,000 acres of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state by 2025. *Produce and maintain the desired vegetation for wildlife and domestic livestock forage on public and private lands. Livestock and Grazing *Improve vegetative health on public and private lands through range improvements, prescribed fire, vegetation treatments, and active management of invasive plants and noxious weeds. *Actively remove pinyon-juniper encroachment in other ecological sites due to its substantial consumption of water and its detrimental effect on sagebrush, other vegetation, and wildlife Noxious Weeds *Establish immediate revegetation or rehabilitation after treatment. The state of Utah supports prevention as one of the best methods of managing noxious weeds. T&E Species *Work with stakeholders and partners to continue to implement recommendations from the Utah Wildlife Action Plan 2015--2025 to conserve sensitive species and their habitat. *Restore 75,000 acres of critical habitat for sensitive species each year through the Watershed Restoration Initiative and by partnering with other government and nongovernmental entities. Grand County Resource Management Plan Land Use *Land Restoration (Public Lands Policy 7.) Encourages public land-management agencies to restore damaged areas. Forest Management *Support federal agencies in vegetative management treatments in forested cover types that provide for a full range of seral stages, by forested cover type, which achieve a mosaic of habitat conditions and diversity. Each seral stage should contain a strong representation of early seral tree species. Recruitment and sustainability of early seral tree species in the landscape is needed to maintain ecosystem resilience to disturbance. *Support the removal conifers as determined appropriate, and manage land to promote the establishment of aspen cover and attendant grass, brush and forbs. Wildlife *The County supports wildlife management that seeks an optimal balance between wildlife populations and human needs. Water Quality and Hydrology *Grand County supports maintaining in-stream flows to establish the proper functioning condition of streams and maintain their biological integrity. 1. The project is consistent with the Standards and Guidelines of the Manti-La Sal Forest Land and Resource Management Plan of 1986, as amended. *Minimize hazards from wildfire - reduce fuel loading, stand and crown/canopy density, and resultant fire hazard to vegetation, the public, private property, and firefighters (LRMP III-5). *Maintain/improve habitat capability through direct treatment of vegetation (LRMP III-23). *Provide habitat needs for deer and elk (LRMP III-19), especially improving the cover:forage ratio. *The Utah Fire Amendment has a goal to reduce hazard fuels. The full range of fuel reduction methods is authorized, consistent with forest and management area emphasis and direction. *Certain vegetative types are to be managed such that varying successional stages will be present to provide for a high level of vegetative diversity and productivity (III-2). Pinyon-juniper stands on gentle slopes and on lands with good soils will be treated periodically to maintain early successional stages (III-8). Intensive management practices would maintain structural diversity within the woody species in at least 25 percent of the area covered by the Gambel oak and mountain shrub type. In some cases, the Gambel oak would be encouraged to successionally develop as an open savannah or in a high seral stage (III-9). 2. National Fire Plan *Designed to manage the potential impacts of wildland fire to communities and ecosystems and to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildland fire. *The NFP focuses on strategies for improving fire preparedness, restoring and rehabilitating burned areas, reducing hazardous fuels, assisting communities, and identifying research needs. 3. Grand County Master Plan *Public Lands Policy 2- Grand County will work to protect watersheds. Public agencies are encouraged to adopt policies that enhance or restore watersheds for Moab. *Public Lands Policy 11- Grand County contains a number of damage areas and the County encourages public land agencies to restore these lands. *Sensitive Lands Policy 1- Sensitive lands are defined as watersheds; seen areas of elevated benches, mesas, ridges and slopes; and significant geological, biological and archeological sites. *Implementation Actions- Encourage responsible re-vegetation, preservation of existing native plant communities and control of noxious weeds. 4. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer 2014-2019 *Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range. *Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that are being taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats. *Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages. Convert habitats back to young, vigorous shrub-dominated communities. *Work with land management agencies and private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning and wintering areas. 5. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Elk 2015-2022 *Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. *Reduce adverse impacts to elk herds and elk habitat. *Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. *Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration. *Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early succession stages. 6. DEER HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Deer Herd Unit # 13 La Sal October 2015 *Protect, maintain, and/or improve deer habitat through direct range improvements to support and maintain herd population management objectives. *Work with federal, private, and state partners to improve crucial deer habitats through the WRI process. 7. Elk Herd Unit Management Plan Elk Herd Unit #13 La Sal *Support habitat improvement projects that increase forage for big game and livestock. Improve forage and cover values on elk summer ranges. * Remove pinyon-juniper encroachment into winter range sagebrush parks and summer range mountain brush communities. Over 500 acres per year will be targeted using primarily mechanical treatments. 8. Utah Wildlife Action Plan Gambel Oak and mountain sagebrush are Key Habitat in the 2015-2025 Plan Recommendations to improve condition include: 1)Promoting policies and management that allow fire to return to a more natural regime. 2)Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the uncharacteristic class, including cutting mulching of invading pinyon and juniper trees, and herbicide or mechanical treatment. 3)single tree mulching/cutting invading conifer in the mountain sagebrush type. 9. MLNF Watershed Assessment 2011 Moderate priority watershed for treatment 10. Willow Basin Community Fire Plan (2010) Goal B. Community will work with county, state and federal fire officials to decrease fuels on adjacent public lands to reduce wildfire intensity and impact in and around the community. 11. Utah's Wild Turkey Management Plan *The plans objective is to maintain and improve wild turkey populations. One of the strategies identified to reach this objective is to do habitat projects. This project will help to achieve this objective. *The plan also identifies as an objective increasing habitat quantity and quality for turkeys by 40,000 acres statewide by 2020. This project will help to achieve this by increase herbaceous foraging habitat for turkeys. *Another objective in the turkey management plan is to increase hunting opportunity. This project will help to accomplish this because the project is located on SITLA administered lands where hunters have access. *Enhance appreciation for wild turkeys in Utah. This project will help to allow easier access to turkeys by the public and greater opportunity to observe these animals. This will help to achieve this objective. 12. This project is on private lands known as JB Ranch, and meets several objectives in the JB Ranch Forest Stewardship Plan: (a) Manage timber on the property to provide for the sustainability and enhancement of forest resources. Encourage regeneration of desirable species, such as ponderosa pine and aspen. (b) Reduce vulnerability to large scale fires by reducing hazardous fuel loading on property, and by reducing ladder fuels within forest stands. (c) Maintain and enhance wildlife habitat and use, particularly for large game. 13. Project falls within the La Sal Priority Area in the State of Utah's Forest Action Plan, which recognizes private forestlands as watershed connectivity zones throughout larger tracts of public forests. This project meets several objectives of the Plan, including: (a) Stewardship Forestry: Identifying & targeting private forest landowners located in Priority Area Regions for assistance with stewardship; using the forest industry to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems; Include non-federal landowners in landscape-level, ecosystem-based planning where appropriate. (b) Wildland Fire: Mitigation of hazardous fuels. (c) Developing projects that promote healthy forests & reduce catastrophic wildfire, thereby maintaining forests as carbon sinks and not carbon sources. Promoting the use of woody biomass as a renewable, carbon friendly energy source. Developing funding mechanisms to achieve these goals. 14. The project supports the Utah Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) by (a) including private lands in habitat improvement for key species, (b) increasing coordination with state and local government, NGOs and private landowners, and (c) restoring degraded habitat.

This phase of the project falls on private lands and SITLA, with Forest Service and BLM lands to the north and west. The area is mapped as moderate risk and threat by the Utah DNR Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (Cat. Fire Map). It is adjacent to the Willow Basin communities at risk (FFSL), which has an overall score of 11, with the potential for adverse impacts to buildings and other infrastructure, such as key communication systems (Willow Basin communication site/radio towers) and utility lines if wildfire occurred. This proposal will reduce the continuity of vegetative crown and ladder fuels, serving to modify fire behavior, reduce fire intensity and severity and therefore reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and damage to natural and cultural resources while restoring the fire regime condition class (FRCC) to low throughout the treated areas. It will also provide fire fighters the opportunity to suppress fires under conditions that allow for fire fighter safety and protection of life, property and improvements. This improved condition class and reduced fire risk will benefit public lands and improvements by aiding in protection from fires (natural and man-caused) which spread from private lands, dispersed recreation areas, and other areas of the National Forest. National policy directs the Forest Service and FFSL State & Private Forestry programs to consider whether climate change is affecting forest health, and where applicable, implement adaptation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of landscapes to expected climate change effects. This includes building resistance to climate-related stressors (drought, wildfire, insects, and disease) and increasing ecosystem resilience by minimizing the severity of climate change impacts, reducing vulnerability, and/or increasing the adaptive capacity of elements of the ecosystem. Increased resistance of ponderosa pine, sagebrush, and mountain brush vegetation types in the project area to climate-related stressors (drought, wildfire, insects, and disease) would result from encouraging a mosaic of vegetative conditions (species, age, and density) and treatments that mimic natural fire effects in areas where the use of fire is limited. The 2015-2025 Utah Wildlife Action Plan identified Gambel oak as a key habitat. A threat associated with this habitat is inappropriate fire frequency and intensity. This project will help to achieve the goal of mitigating this threat.

Activities implemented will include appropriate best management and other practices to protect water resources. FFSL's project management assistance will ensure Utah's Forest Water Quality Guidelines will be followed during implementation. By reducing the risk of severe, large scale wildfire in the project area, the actions will protect watershed values from damage to soils that result in reduced infiltration and increased runoff in the short term and loss of top soil and subsequent reduction in soil productivity in the long term. The additional treatment of drainages that could act as funnels during a wildfire protects these riparian areas in the long term. The project is designed to increase percent effective ground cover, reduce soil loss due to erosion and reduce the potential amount of area in detrimental soil condition (as from severe fire, compaction or displacement). Monitoring of similar treatments on other areas of the neighboring Manti-La Sal National Forest with similar equipment found no detrimental soil compaction from several passes of the machine on the soil surface. The chips from the mulching added additional ground cover. Soil bulk density following use of the Brush Hog was similar to non-treated or control areas. The total effective ground cover in the brush hog (pinyon-juniper chipped) areas was higher due to wood chips than non-treated areas. Areas dominated by pinyon-juniper (PJ) produce limited understory vegetation and the bare soil inter-spaces are prone to soil loss by erosion. Herbaceous vegetation is important in impeding overland flow and is effective at reducing soil erosion. Both the potential increase in herbaceous vegetation and the masticated tree material should help stabilize the soils by reducing erosion and protect the water quality throughout the watershed. Pinyon-juniper trees alter the amount and distribution of water that reaches the soil, intercepting 10-20% of precipitation according to Horman et al. 1999. By removing pinyon-juniper, this should allow for more precipitation to contact the soil and increase biomass on the ground. Pinyon-juniper expansion into areas that historically had greater forbs and grasses present impedes streamflow for off-site (downstream) uses (Folliott 2012). Because PJ is very competitive for water this often reduces grasses and forbs within the area, leading to bare soil. "The increase in bare soil, particularly in the spaces between trees, typically leads to increased runoff and soil loss as the juniper infestation increases" (Thurow 1997). Increased runoff and sediment load, decrease water yield and water quality within the watershed. Studies have shown that an evaluation of alternatives using conversion treatments to enhance stream-flow in the PJ should be made (Barr 1956). According to the Ecological Site Description the soil is in hydrologic groups b and c. The runoff curve numbers are 61 through 86 depending on the condition of the watershed. Results of the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative study in Nevada (Desatoya Mt.) found that by removing (lop and scatter) P/J (130 trees/acre) there is the potential to increase water recharge yields 4% on wet years. On wet years this will increase recharge, but does not increase stream flow. Wet meadows and upland plants benefit by utilizing the increase soil moisture, providing for better resiliency during drought years. This provides for an increase in water quantity for herbaceous plants on sites where p/j is removed. A recent publication by Roundy et al. 2014 showed that phase 3 juniper removal can increase available moisture for more than 3 weeks in the spring. And removing juniper from phase 1 and 2 stands can increase water from 6-20 days respectively. Because juniper are prolific water users, they readily out-compete understory species which eventually die off. In addition, water quality/quantity will improve through increased water yield in this watershed due to a sustainable aspen forest resource: studies have shown that sagebrush (and conifer) encroachment into aspen stands throughout the Intermountain West causes a significant decrease in an area's water yield (mechanisms include differential accumulation of snow, melting patterns, and plant water use rates). By encouraging the regeneration of aspen, the watershed's water yield should increase. This project area is on the slopes directly adjacent to Pace Lake, the largest lake in the La Sal Mountains in Utah (second only to Buckeye Reservoir in Colorado), and an important water source for wildlife, migrating birds, livestock, and wildfire fighting. The lake and it's surrounding riparian zones will benefit from a sustainable forest and brush landscape that is less prone to catastrophic wildfire and subsequent mass soil erosion.

Project areas will have archaeological clearance and SHPO consultation before project activities begin. RIP Application will be approve for state lands before project activities begin.

Treatments for this phase of the North End project will utilize a combination of mechanized bull hog (fecon head) mastication of pinyon/juniper and Gambel oak, hand-thinning with chainsaws to remove encroaching pinyon pine and juniper trees from sage and mountain brush areas, and mastication of the oak understory in ponderosa pine forests. Group selection regeneration treatments will be applied to Gambel oak, serviceberry, and birch leaf mountain-mahogany to regenerate a portion of the mid-aged and mature vegetation to diversify stand structure and provide more palatable plants for wildlife forage. There will be a mosaic of larger oak left to provide forage (acorns) for wildlife, including black bears, turkeys and band-tailed pigeons. The treatment of the basal re-sprouting shrubs (oak and other mountain browse) will create diverse age classes, better vigor and increased leader growth for forage for big game. There will be no seeding since the area has good understory already. Thinning and woodland regeneration treatments will emphasize retention of ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, larger mature trees, and clumps/groups of woodland trees. Designation of openings and clumps/corridors will be coordinated with the District Wildlife Biologist. Owl boxes will be installed to benefit flammulated owls in the area as well as artificial bat bark. The results of this type of treatment are well-understood, and have been successful in similar areas on the La Sal Mountains. In conjunction with these activities, FFSL will use a contractor to cut decadent and dying aspen stands, then clear the areas of woody material. Some material will be hauled to a timber mill, and some biomass will be processed into biochar using mobile kilns. In areas where machinery does not disturb the soil sufficiently to stimulate regeneration, a ripper attachment will be use. Felled aspen trees will be used as jackstrawed fencing around the forest stand perimeter to protect the aspen regeneration from browsers. Some stands will have hinge-cut aspen as fencing. Existing roads will be used to access the aspen stands. All equipment will be cleaned before entering the property to reduce the risk of invasive/noxious weeds spreading to the project area. If any weeds are observed in the project area, they will be removed/ treated immediately. As successful regeneration of aspen is more likely if stands are harvested or treated in the dormant season when nutrient reserves in aspen roots are highest, project work will likely happen in the fall. We will leave a residual of a few big, dead trees with cavities that won't blow over as potential nesting locations for bird species. DWR and SITLA will try a pilot treatment of 34 acres of snowberry mowing. Areas on the La Sal have an over abundance of snowberry. We would like to try mowing small plots while still allowing grazing to see if the new growth will be managed by wildlife and livestock grazing in the area. If this works we would try it on a large scale.

*Day-to-day monitoring of contract or force account operations will be completed during implementation by DWR and FFSL personnel. *DWR and FFSL personnel will monitor for weeds post-treatment. Existing or new weed populations will be treated in accordance with existing noxious weed management decisions. *Photo points will be established to identify pre and post-treatment conditions, as well as long-term monitoring points for future reference. Post-treatment photos will be taken within 3 years post-treatment. *Monitoring nests of raptors (golden eagle) in the project area will be continued annually by the USFS with the previous phases of the project. *DWR biologist will continue to do annual big game surveys in the general project area and with the management unit.

This project is a multiple phase project, with several partners involved. The project was originally brought to the attention of DWR by the Mule Deer Foundation. There was a day in the field with BLM, Forest Service, MDF, DWR and landowners in the area to visit potential treatment sites. The project was designed to treat lands in the north Beaver Creek area across multiple ownerships. The initial phase involved private lands treated in a mosaic pattern, and in the second phase, we partnered with the NRCS. The landowner received grant funding from the NRCS to supplement project funding. The partnership grew as we reached out the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) to help gain support and help in project design. The NWTF has partnered with us to help develop the project to make sure it will benefit turkeys and all wildlife. In phase 3, the Forest Service lands that were funded to be analyzed under phases 1 and 2 were treated, continuing the work that has happened over the previous phases. Seeding and additional hand-thinning of treatment units on USFS land are part of phase 4. This project is continuing east onto SITLA and private lands, creating a landscape level impact on the north end of the La Sal mountains. The project is consistent with proposed management in the Southeastern Utah Regional Wildfire Protection Plan (Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands 2007). The Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands (FFSL) has worked with the JB Ranch landowners for several years, and has provided resource management recommendations through the Forest Stewardship Plan. FFSL will be completing an aspen regeneration timber harvest and treatments on the property in 2019 and 2020 to assist with further wildlife habitat improvement efforts.

The area will continue to be managed for multiple uses such as grazing, hunting, wildlife and overall ecosystem health. While fire is an important part of this ecosystem, due to WUI, multiple landowners and the proximity to ownership boundaries, the use of fire is limited in the project area and mechanical treatments will continue to be a way to maintain diverse age classes and vegetation communities in the area. The oak, mountain brush and sagebrush areas have an herbaceous understory component, so the need for seeding is not anticipated. No changes to livestock management are anticipated at this time, but utilization and trend monitoring will continue and adaptive management can be applied if required. The La Sal deer herd is well under 50% of population objective. Elk on the La Sals are at objective. Turkey populations are increasing on the La Sals. DWR will continue to strive to achieve and maintain objectives for big game and turkeys according to management plans on the La Sal Mountains. The private landowner is committed to this project, and has been invested in improving wildlife habitat on his property for several years. The Forest Stewardship Plan provides management direction for a 10 year time period. The landowner is familiar with the previous phases of this North End La Sal project, and attended the field tour in 2018. He is enthusiastic about continuing this mosaic treatment across the North End of the La Sals and onto his property, therefore contributing to a landscape level scale of hazardous fuels reduction and wildlife habitat improvement.

The project area is part of two cattle allotments. The proposed treatment would decrease the amount of woody vegetation (especially pinyon-juniper and oak) within much of the grazed areas in these allotments. This would likely lead to an increased production of herbaceous vegetation (grass and forb species) on up to 1,750 acres. Noxious weeds are not expected to increase or spread as a result of the treatments as best management practices will be implemented. Site visits found little cheatgrass in the areas to be treated and the risk of cheatgrass being established as a result of the project is very low, due to the existing diversity and healthy grass production of most of the understory layers and because of the elevation. Any other noxious weeds in the area would continue to be treated. In the short-term there could be some interruption of grazing operations; however the long-term benefits to the range resource outweigh the short-term negative impacts that may have to occur to individual permit holders such as resting pastures or exclusion of livestock from areas. As part of the aspen regeneration project, FFSL will be assisting the landowner with both a traditional timber harvest sale and a biomass utilization project. Some of the decadent aspen stands contain merchantable material that will be cut and brought to a timber mill, likely in western Colorado. Some of the unmerchantable aspen will be treated as part of the current 'Forest Restoration Through Biomass Utilization in Southeastern Utah' Landscape Scale Restoration grant. This woody material will be processed using portable kilns to produce biochar. Other felled aspen will be used as slash fencing to protect the aspen regeneration, saving on the cost of fencing, and ensuring the future of the aspen forest resource in this area.

06/01/2019

10/30/2019

2020

In summer 2019 (6/1/19 to 9/1/19), 57 acres of declining aspen forests were treated to stimulate aspen regeneration. A combination of clear felling, slash fencing, and hinge fencing techniques were used in several areas. By fall 2019, aspen resprouting was already evident, and fencing techniques seemed successful at keeping out ungulates from browsing the new aspen seedlings. Beginning 8/12/2019 bullhogs were used to masticated 1,249 acres encroaching pinyon and juniper along with oak brush. This was done to balance and create a diversity of serial states in the oak brush zone. No seed was used due to the amount of understory as well as the ability of oak brush to basal re-sprout. This area is used by deer, elk and turkey this treatment will open more foraging areas. The treatment was done in a patchy mosaic pattern to allow for forage as well as hiding/thermal cover. Mastication was completed by 10/8/2019. The snowberry treatment was not done in FY20. It is planned to be done in the fall of 2020. PM is working with landowner to create a seed mix that will be planted in the fallow field. The seed mix will be for wildlife benefits. The landowner will drill seed the mix in fall of 2020. The 50 acres identified for hand treatment to reduce encroachment of trees into a meadow in the treatments area has not been accomplished by Forest Service crews. USFS did do more than 50 acres acres of seeding (hand broadcast with volunteer group and USFS personnel).

Photo points are at numerous locations throughout the stands, marked with GPS, and will be revisited by FFSL on an annual basis. In addition, annual forest inventory surveys will be conducted within the treated stands to determine regeneration numbers. Fence lines will be walked on a regular basis to ensure that they are intact or see if they require repair. Oak brush as well as pinyon and juniper has lacked disturbance on the La Sal Mountain for many years now. Mastication has created a diversity of seral states in this area. This diversity will provide many benefits for wildlife. Other areas near this project area have been treated in past years, we have seen an increase in grasses and forbs in these areas. The re-sprouting of oak brush has provided woody forage for wildlife.

These treatment areas will be monitored by FFSL several times of year for the next 10 years to (a) measure and count aspen regeneration, (b) take repeat photos at set locations, (c) survey for noxious/invasive weeds, and (d) inspect & ensure fencing is intact. The private landowner is on the property spring through fall, and will also monitor the project area. The landowner is committed to this project, and in fact, he is the one who initially contacted DNR to let us know of this disappearing aspen resource on his property. The landowner recognizes aspen as a valuable wildlife habitat, and is willing to try these treatments and multi-year fencing to get the aspen resource to return to this area. This property has an active Forest Stewardship Plan which provides management recommendations for a 10 year time period. In addition, FFSL recently received a 3-year Landscape Scale Restoration (USFS) grant focused on aspen regeneration projects on private lands. Therefore, we expect to treat additional acreage neighboring these project areas over the next several years. The landowner is working to purchase equipment to do follow up treatments. The area will continue to be managed as CWMU. DWR will continue to manage for deer and elk population objectives.