PJ encroachment into sagebrush ecosystems degrades the habitat. Lop and scatter of phase one PJ is a cost effective method of making more water resource available for shrubs and understory species (grasses and forbs). This treatment pushes the state and transition in the direction of the reference state for that ecosystem.

Lop and scatter 6,898 acres of Phase one PJ encroaching into Sagebrush habitat. Opening 6,898 acres for use by Sage grouse, release understory vegetation, and providing increased forage for livestock and wildlife.

Untreated PJ will continue to grow and increase becoming the dominant species and degrading valuable understory species (shrubs, grasses, and forbs) thereby increasing risk of top soil erosion, decreasing groundwater infiltration, and lowering the plant diversity of the habitat.

The desired condition for pinyon/juniper in the Vernon Ecosystem Management Plan for Vegetation (USDA 1996) is to maintain greater than 85 percent of potential ground cover on pinyon-juniper sites and to remove pinyon-juniper on sites with less than 30 percent slope. This desired condition for pinyon-juniper was developed to mimic conditions created by past fire regimes and is within the range of natural variability for the Vernon Ecosystem. Project area occurs within the sagebrush steppe type, one of the key habitats identified in the WAP. This area supports mule deer (Tier III) and Greater sage grouse (Tier II) and numerous other species of concern (Tier III) including neotropical birds and raptors. Treatments lie within Central Region UWRI focus areas. Treatments address strategies outlined in the WDARM sage grouse conservation plan; reduce pinyon/juniper stands from sage-grouse use areas. Increase brood-rearing habitat quality in the Resource Area. a) Reduce pinyon/juniper stands from sage-grouse use areas. b) Remove pinyon/juniper trees from priority areas where action is warranted. c) Revisit and retreat pinyon/juniper removal sites, as needed. d) Maintain or increase distribution and quality of mesic sites available to sage-grouse during summer months. e) Maintain or improve breeding habitat quality in the Resource Area. f) Minimize weed concerns This plan addresses the removal of PJ which will welcome the SG to utilize the forage and open water that crosses portions of this property. Reseeding disturbed areas will mitigate weedy species concerns, and expand habitat for this population. http://utahcbcp.org/files/uploads/westdesert/WDARMSAGRPlanFinal.pdf http://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/plans/deer_19.pdf http://utahcbcp.org/files/uploads/westdesert/WDARMSAGRPlanFinal.pdf Mule Deer Unit 19b Mgt Plan Objectives/Strategies: a) Reduce expansion of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by Pinyon-Juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects like lop & scatter, bullhog and chaining. b) Condition of winter ranges is a long-term problem. c) Fire and encroachment by pinyon and juniper trees results in the loss of forage production, diversity and quality. d) Cooperate with federal land management agencies and private landowners in carrying out habitat improvement projects. e) The primary concern on the studies within the subunit is the abundance of weedy annual grass species (cheatgrass), particularly on the lower elevation sites. This plan addresses the condition of winter range in the project area by dealing with PJ expansion, condition of winter range by planting browse species, reducing fuel loads, coordinating with Federal land management agencies, and mitigating weedy annual grass species. http://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/plans/deer_19.pdf The Vernon Management Area as defined by the 2003 Land and Resource Management Plan for the Uinta NF has the following sub-goals of the Forest Plan: Sub-goal 2-8: Ecosystem resilience is maintained by providing for a full range of seral stages and age classes (by cover type) that achieve a mosaic of habitat conditions. Sub-goal-2-23 Areas identified as being of special concern for habitat such as big game winter range, big game natal areas,.... and greater sage grouse breeding areas in the Vernon Management Areas are maintained and, where potential exists, improved or expanded. Sub-goal-2-25(G-2-25)Maintain stable and upward conditions in big game winter range and improve downward trend sites Utah Greater Sage grouse Management Plan, 2009 Publication 09-17, State of Utah, DNR, DWR, - Specifically the plan addresses goals outlined in part B-1.3 Public land habitat objectives; A Veg. Mgt, D Fire Mgt, and E Conifer Encroachment - 1. Reduce conifers that are encroaching on sagebrush habitats using appropriate methods, which may include: masticators, chains, chain saws, prescribed fire, etc (pp45-48). In addition it addresses goals in section B-2.3 Public land habitat restoration objectives (p 49-50). Utah Conservation Strategy (Utah Wildlife Action Plan), 2005 Publication Number 05-19, State of Utah, DNR, DWR, Effective 2015-2025 - The threat of Greater Sage-grouse habitat loss due to Pinyon -Juniper succession in sagebrush habitats should be addressed by the conservation actions of enhancing fragmented and degraded habitats [Juniper removal] (11.1). Habitat problems and conservation actions (7.1 & 7.3) by addressing fire cycle alteration with methods to disturb decadent [Pinion-Juniper] vegetation. This plan addresses invading PJ, mitigation of non-native invasive species, new restoration techniques, and diversification of understory species composition in mountain and lowland sagebrush steppe. https://wildlife.utah.gov/learn-more/wap2015.html NRCS SGI 2.0 Objectives/Strategies: a) Reduce threats...by grazing sustainably ...re-vegetating disturbed areas and combatting noxious weeds. Avoid further loss of sagebrush grazing lands to wildfire by reducing annual grass threat. b) Accelerate removal of conifer trees. c) Avoid further loss of riparian edges, wet meadows, restore and enhance degraded mesic areas to help increase (Sage grouse) populations." d) Reduce sage grouse fence collisions. This plan will support this initiative by removing conifers (PJ) revegetating disturbed areas and enhancing degraded mesic areas. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwjcn47rzK_KAhWLaz4KHVyACisQFggiMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrcs.usda.gov%2Fwps%2FPA_NRCSConsumption%2Fdownload%3Fcid%3Dnrcseprd391816%26ext%3Dpdf&usg=AFQjCNHWGtF7AMa-Zb9dz3eZ82IG9FdBbQ Utah DWR Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer Objectives/Strategies: a) Programs that provide incentives to private landowners to manage their properties for mule deer and other wildlife are critical to the success of the state's deer management program. b) Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. c) 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) Work with local, state and federal land management agencies via land management plans and with private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning, wintering and migration areas. e) Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019. f) Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that have been taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats, ensuring that seed mixes contain sufficient forbs and browse species. g) Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah. This plan addresses improving and restoring Mule deer habitat, by working in cooperation with partners, mitigating invasive annual species, ensuring that seed mixes contain sufficient forbs, and browse species, and improving sagebrush-steppe. https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/biggame/pdf/mule_deer_plan.pdf Utah Greater Sage grouse Mgt. Plan 2013 Objectives/Strategies: a) Enhance an average of 25,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat in Sage-grouse Management Areas annually. b) Increase the total amount of sage-grouse habitat acreage within Sage-grouse Management Areas by an average of 50,000 acres per year, through management actions targeting Opportunity Areas. c) Removal of encroaching conifers may create new habitat or increase the carrying capacity of habitat and thereby expand grouse populations, or the distribution of water into wet meadow areas may improve seasonal brood-rearing range and enhance greater sage-grouse recruitment. d) Aggressively remove encroaching conifers and other plant species to expand greater sage grouse habitat where possible. e) Livestock grazing is a major resource use in most SGMAs, and can be an effective tool to improve habitat quality and seasonal nutrition, and thereby enhance local populations. f) Removal of trees to less than 5% cover and g) maintenance of at least 10% sage brush cover; h) Maintain forb cover greater than 10% and grass cover greater than 10% during nesting/brood-rearing season; i) Maintain or improve wet meadows, when present; and j) Installation of green-strips or firebreaks to protect existing habitat. k) An improvement to existing habitat that does not result in an acreage gain. For example: Removal of pinon-juniper conifer trees in young open canopy stands still used by sage grouse. This plan will help toward the acreage goals for enhancement and increased Sage grouse habitat by removal of PJ in existing use areas, opening up new habitat and providing a diversity of seeded species for livestock and wildlife. Part of the plan is to enhance wet meadows through seeding. https://wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame/sage-grouse/pdf/greater_sage_grouse_plan.pdf

Fuels have been accumulating over the years due to human cultural practices and changing climatic conditions. The 2007 Northern Utah Regional Wildfire Protection Plan designates this area as a Moderate-High Risk area for wildfire (Utah Division of Fire, Forestry and State Lands 2007). Hazardous fuels reduction treatments would help minimize the risks to private land, structures, and natural resources, from potential wildland fires.The nearby communities of Vernon and Lofgren are listed as two of Utah's Communities at Risk (Utah Division of Fire, Forestry and State Lands 2013). The implementation of this project would help minimize the risks to private land, structures, and natural resources, from potential wildland fires by: 1) altering fire behavior from a crown fire to a surface fire, 2) increasing native plant populations and their resiliency, 3) reducing the risk of weed expansion, and 4) protecting critical mule deer habitat from unwanted fire effects. The current fuel load and arrangement is likely to support a relatively severe crown fire due to continuous, dense canopies of juniper and oakbrush. The proposed treatment would alter fire behavior from a crown fire to a more controllable surface fire by breaking up the continuity of aerial fuels. This alteration in fire behavior not only enhances firefighter and Forest visitor safety, but increases the ability of the plant community to recover post-fire by reducing the fire severity.

The treatments were designed to benefit soil and watershed resources by removing shrub community overstory of PJ, improving nutrient cycling, and increasing vegetative ground cover in treatment areas. Water quality and quantity is expected to benefit from increased ground cover and reduced erosion.

Categorical exclusion has been used by the USFS to maintain the current state and transition model. NRCS CPA-52 looks at all impacts to the area of concern including soils, water, air, plants, animals, human, and energy. It also looks at all resource concerns and provides the landowner or permittee with alternative choices for ways of dealing with resource concerns.

Contracted hand crew to lop and scatter with chainsaws beginning October 2019.

a)Monitoring Plots were established a couple of years ago and will be read post treatment, 1 year, 3 year and 5 years. The monitoring includes photos, tree density, tree height, tree root collar diameter, fuel loading and line intercept for shrubs. b) Photo points, Utah-2, Rangeland Health Assessment, Mule deer, Sage grouse and Rangeland WHEGs, CPA-52 as close to May 15th as possible by Project Manager and NRCS Range Conservationist. c) NRCS application, eligibility, ranking, and obligation between Sep 2018 and May 30, 2019 d) Contracting of lop and scatter hand crew to remove 7,023 acres of Phase I PJ for removal of 100% of PJ within prescribed polygons beginning in August 2019. e) Permittees will be obligated w/ the NRCS for Upland wildlife management monitoring which includes: Wildlife observations, photo points, plant heights, shrub recruitment, fence markers if needed, escape ramps in watering troughs, and PJ regeneration by 31 Dec 2020.

The U.S. Forest Service is partnering and collaborating on this project with biologists from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Natural Resources Conservation Service to identify areas and treatment methods that will be most beneficial for wildlife in the area. All partners include: United States Forest Service, Natural resources Conservation Service, Private Landowner, Division of Wildlife Resources, West Desert Adaptive Resource Management, Local Working Group for Sage grouse, Utah State University, Tooele County Commissioners, Shambip Soil Conservation District.

The area will be managed according to the Uinta National Forest Land Management Plan and Vernon Grazing Allotment Plan which includes a rest rotation grazing system.

The reduction in over head canopy will increase the amount of grasses and forbs produced within the project area. This will also benefit livestock that do use this area.

07/15/2019

06/30/2020

2020

Lopped and Scattered with hand crews with chainsaws, 5,059 acres of PJ <10' DRC (Diameter Root Collar).

This project was located on the western and southwestern slopes of the Sheeprock Mountains just south of Vernon, UT. The purpose of this project was to enter phase 1 juniper encroachment and set it back ecologically to a preferred state and transition ecological state (Sagebrush community). This was an SGI (Sage Grouse Initiative) project with the NRCS to expand sage grouse habitat for the grouse in this Sage Grouse Management Area. This treatment was a maintenance project to lop and scatter trees encroaching into areas that were previously treated or open areas that were getting encroachment from pinyon and juniper trees. Cutting <10" DRC (Diameter Root Collar) trees effectively opened most of these areas up (5,059 acres) for Sage grouse habitat use. This type of treatment extends the sagebrush ecosystem for many years before encroachment begins again. If left untreated the juniper trees would crowd out the sagebrush community under-story and the trees would take over the ecosystem. This is a low cost method to keep the juniper trees at bay. Historically fire would have removed the juniper trees and rejuvenated the ecosystem.

Rx grazing through the USFS and Upland Wildlife habitat Management through the NRCS.