The project will utilize strategic placement of treatments over approximately 114 acres of aspen, conifer and aspen/conifer mix to achieve the overarching goals of the Forest Stewardship Plan and wildfire protection plan. A tree thinning prescription will be applied to each forest polygon to achieve decreased fire behavior over a larger area while improving aspen regeneration and improving forest health. The goal is to utilize a systematic method of treating fuels to maximize effectiveness of individual treatments utilizing the stewardship and fireshed assessment process. The project will incorporate an interdisciplinary method of identifying and prioritizing hazardous fuel treatments. This project will also directly deal with an invasive disease affecting subalpine fir and reduce the spread to nearby private and federal forests. The project will also improve the existing road network to create and improve fire and fuel breaks. The main focus of the fire and fuel break network will be a system of "primary" shaded fuel breaks that break the landscape into large blocks which surround the objects of highest value. A system of "secondary" fuel breaks will be constructed which branch off of the primary system. The secondary fuel breaks will break the large blocks created by the primary system into smaller blocks, with focus on protecting the highest valued assets and to provide firefighting access and community egress. Project will be implemented as soon as funding becomes available in July 2019. Contract work will take approximately 2 months to complete and will be finished by the fall of 2019 with the exception of potential pile burning that may extend through 2020 if conditions are not adequate.

1) Reduce fuels that create a threat of wildfire to the Powder Mountain community. 2) Treat aspen stands to promote regeneration and reduce the impact of an invasive insect on subalpine fir. 3) Increase light penetration to the forest floor to encourage forage for wildlife and livestock. 4) Improve water quality and quality. 5) Improve wildlife habitat for numerous wildlife species.

Delaying treatment will result in increased cost in the future as the trees continue reproducing and increasing in size and becoming more difficult to remove. Aspen is an important habitat component for wildlife in the area and delayed treatment will eventually result in a subalpine fir dominated stand that we are unable to restore. This stand should also be treated quickly to reduce the threat of catastrophic fire to the stand and the nearby communities should a fire occur in the area. Future cabin sites are planned in the vicinity of this stand and this treatment will be much easier to complete prior to homes being built. As more cabin sites are installed, the ability to perform pile burns around these homes will become extremely difficult. The Powder Mountain area has been heavily affected by the Balsam Wooley Adelgid (BWA). This treatment is designed to help slow the progress of BWA in the area and preserve some conifer trees in desirable locations at proper densities to improve aesthetics and tourism. A delay in treatment on BWA infested stands will result in significant spread to neighboring properties.

In 2013, Powder Mountain completed a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which specifically recommended this project and met the following objectives/goals mentioned in the plan: 1) Community will decrease fuels within the community to reduce wildfire intensity and impact in and around the community. 2) Improve community safety through fuels modification and fire prevention. 3) Reduce the potential for and consequences of a wildfire. The 2016 Utah Forest Action Plan created by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, & State Lands outlines several objectives and strategies for improving wildfire and fuels management, which mirror the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. These objectives are as follows: 1) "Restore and maintain landscapes" 2) Create "Fire Adapted Communities" 3) Improve "Wildfire Response" This project addresses the key threat of "Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity" identified in the Wildlife Action Plan and addresses several recommended actions: 1) "Establish or enhance fuel breaks in locations that are susceptible to large or intense fires." 2) "Conduct mechanical control of invasive/problematic species." 3) "Conduct upland vegetation treatments to restore characteristics upland vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types of loadings." 4) "Conduct better fire suppression in habitats/locations that are susceptible to damage from fire that now would be too frequent or intense" This project is a critical component to the Forest Stewardship Plan that is currently being finalized which outlines several related management objectives: 1) Enhance and maintain forest health by addressing the balsam woolly adelgid infestation. 2) Maintain, utilize, and increase rangeland production on the property for long-term, sustained livestock grazing. 3) Manage current forested areas to improve and maximize health in addition to minimizing the threats of wildfire and infestation. 4) Improve habitat for elk, deer, and other wildlife that are found in the area.

This project has been specifically designed to accomplish two outcomes that will provide fire resistance to the Powder Mountain community while improving critical aspen habitat. A thinning prescription will be applied to each polygon to create a mosaic across the landscape that decreases fire behavior and maximizes the effectiveness of individual treatments. This project will incorporate an interdisciplinary method of identifying and prioritizing hazardous fuel treatments. The project will also improve the existing road network to create and improve fire and fuel breaks. The main focus of the fire and fuel break network will be a system of "primary" shaded fuel breaks that break the landscape into large blocks which surround the objects of highest value. A system of "secondary" fuel breaks will be constructed which branch off of the primary system. The secondary fuel breaks will break the large blocks created by the primary system into smaller blocks, with focus on protecting the highest valued assets and to provide firefighting access and community egress.

This project will improve quality by increasing aspen on the site and encouraging more grasses, forbs, & shrubs. Removing conifers improves the quality and quantity of water in the area as ground cover is improved and the amount of water used by the area will decrease dramatically. Pure aspen stands are well known for providing better water quality and quantity due to their deciduous nature that allows snow to fall to the ground and soak into the soil rather than sublimate off the conifers in the winter. Water quantity will increase by removing a significant amount of conifers from the area. As more snow falls to the ground due to lack of subalpine fir, increased amounts of snow/water will be available to infiltrate into the soil. This project is located in the North Fork-Pineview Reservoir watershed Pineview Reservoir is an important an important source of drinking/irrigation water for the Ogden area in addition to recreation and fishing.

NEPA not necessary on private lands. Archaeology will be completed before the project starting date.

Contractors will be hired to cut the subalpine fir and some of the live aspen on approximately 114 acres to reduce competition and regenerate young aspen. These trees will be piled by crews in combination with the mechanical methods. Piled slash that isn't used for firewood or other wood products will be burned in the late fall. Additional fire breaks will be created using partnering funds, which will include dozers to improve roads and reseeding with resilient species.

The Forest Stewardship Plan for this property specifies an ongoing monitoring strategy to continually look for new weed infestations, erosion, and insect and disease outbreaks. A baseline inventory was completed for this stand in the summer of 2018 and included photopoints, average trees per acre, average diameter, and stand density. These locations will be monitored and re-inventoried on a regular basis as the Forest Stewardship Plan is revised on a regular schedule. FFSL will accompany the landowner on a yearly basis to assess the treatment and determine effectiveness in regards to aspen recruitment, fuels reduction, forage improvement, and wildlife usage. Qualitative monitoring will be done to establish photo points.

This project is located on a large private property and will only encompass the single landowner due to the size of the project. It is in close proximity to Forest Service lands but the Forest Service ground would be unsuitable for this project due to steep topography. The landowner is working will be working very closely with USFS Forest Health Protection and FFSL to implement this next phase of treatments. Other partners that will be involved with the project include Cache County Fire, Weber County Fire, and local fire departments for training opportunities and contract work related to the project. A similar 60 acre project sponsored by USFS Forest Health program is currently in progress on the property as well with similar goals and has provided a test area for the projects proposed in this grant, specifically in regards to treatment of Balsam Woolly Adelgid insects.

The landowner is part of the Forest Stewardship Program with the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands. Grazing will not need to be reduced on the property given the very low utilization of the property. Once this project has been completed, maintenance will be a simple issue of removing small trees approximately every 5 years and should not be a difficult task for the landowner. The landowner already employs a 6 person crew to perform fuels reduction and conifer removal along potential ski runs. The landowner will continue to monitor and maintain the stands by removing new subalpine fir while they are still small and manageable. The landowner will include this area in their regular monitoring and maintenance schedule to check for weeds or other forest health issues such as insects and diseases and will work with FFSL when necessary to deal with maintenance issues.

This property has been appropriately grazed by a local cattle rancher for many years and is lightly grazed every summer. This project will greatly improve grazing in the area by removing the subalpine fir currently creating a closed canopy with little forage. Increased light and moisture availability will improve grazing for livestock with increased forage. Currently, the stand is so dense that it is rarely used for grazing and there is little forage available. Wood from this project will be made available to the landowner and cooperators as a variety of timber products. Past projects such as this one have resulted in a significant amount of firewood becoming available and with the easy accessibility of this project, there will be multiple wood products removed from the site to reduce the amount of slash that will be burned. This property is part of the Powder Mountain CWMU and provides recreational public access for hunting. This project will improve wildlife habitat in these areas and thereby improve recreation opportunities for a significant amount of public. This property is also part of the Powder Mountain Ski Resort which hosts thousands of visitors for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, and other events year round. This project will benefit those sustainable uses and provide economic support to the community, while improving the natural resources of the forest community.

06/01/2020

08/24/2021

2022

Methods included both hand falling and feller-buncher falling of subalpine fir and dead aspen. Fallen trees were piled and will be later burned.

The Bobcat Ridge project was implemented across 137 acres due to the cost/acre bids received from the solicitation and the funding available. Additional Cat-fire funding allowed for a much larger project size and enabled us to mechanically cut and pile all subalpine fir, as well as any dead or dying Douglas-fir and aspen to open up the stand and stimulate new aspen regeneration and reduce hazardous fuels around future cabin sites. Several large pockets of mature Engelmann spruce and Douglas-fir were left intact while large clearings were created to reduce hazardous fuels and regenerate aspen which will help add to the biodiversity of the stand. The contractor completed all cutting in August 2020 and the piles will be burned in the fall of 2021.

The landowner is committed to preserving this stand as an aspen dominated site. Although there is little maintenance required, as new young subalpine fir enter the stand, the landowner will work with Forestry, Fire, and State Lands to continue to remove these trees and encourage aspen. The landowner hires a fuels reduction crew every summer and they will be tasked with maintaining this project over the years. The landowner will also monitor for new infestations of weeds in this area due to equipment activity.