In State FY 2018 WRI funded NEPA analysis on the Powell Ranger District of the Dixie National Forest that recognized the need to improve wildlife habitat, restore grazing capacity, and watershed conditions on 29,921 acres(WRI #4036). in State FY 2019 WRI funded UWRI project #4635 which will treat up to 6,000 acres of these acres by lopping and scattering Pinyon and Juniper (PJ). The proposed project would continue implementation of the NEPA funded during WRI project #4036 and expand on the treatments in WRI project #4635 by addressing decreased wildlife habitat effectiveness from PJ succession into valuable sage-steppe habitat for key species. The project is within a key focus area on the Powell Ranger District which provides critical habitat to high interest large and small game species as well as threatened non-game such as sage grouse and Utah prairie dog. Occupied leks and UPD colonies are found throughout this Phase of the project area. USFS upland vegetation trend studies within and adjacent to the project area indicate that Forest Plan desired conditions are not being met throughout portion of the Phase I, Phase II PJ succession and most of the Phase II-III PJ succession areas. Some of these areas are showing low ground cover and and/or a downward trend in vegetation cover and composition. Although there is limited trend data for the Phase II-III PJ tree cover that this project focuses on observations of trees encroaching and crowding sagebrush are obvious. The need to open up these key areas: Ridgelines and corridors between the other areas such as Johns valley and previous Mud springs project is a critical piece of the puzzle. The watershed benefits from this project will tie directly to the past project completed in the Upper Sevier Watershed such as Johns valley and the Prospect projects. This project, (Mud springs Phase II) proposes to treat 895 acres of the larger area by conducting (bullhog) mastication on encroaching PJ succession. The project is being proposed now to facilitate the matching of expected additional USFS Earmarked funding for Greater Sage Grouse habitat improvement. There is a current match of $71,723 of USFS funding for this project which will be used on the lop and scatter portion of the project. The project is part of a larger initiative to expand and enhance habitat for Utah PraireDog and Greater Sage Grouse within key habitat. The areas treated have connectivity to translocation sites for Utah Prairie dog as well as have existing occupied habitat for Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog.

1) To begin the second level of the watershed enhancement project by masticating phase II and phase III PJ. This would improve wildlife habitat effectiveness for key species such as Utah Prairie dog, Greater Sage grouse, mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. 2) To improve watershed health by increasing total ground cover both by mulching and mastication prior to having a need to also seed the area. If conducted now seeding will not be necessary. This not only reduces cost, but reduces the ecological risk of seed having noxious weeds in the mix or other undesirable species. 3) To improve water quality and water yield as well as increase total forage capacity for ungulates. 4) To reduce fuel loading and risk from wildfire and improve water retention by mulching PJ. 5) To support all three legs of the WRI initiative including improving watershed health, water quality and yield, as well as provide for sustainability of future resources.

The areas proposed for Bull-hog in the current project area primarily Phase II/Phase III PJ succession, The most immediate risk in allowing PJ succession to continue further is that the project area currently maintains and understory of shrubs and grasses that are beginning to be lost; however, seeding is not currently necessary. Delaying the project by 5 years or more increases the risk of type conversion to Phase III PJ with little to no understory thus increasing the bullhog costs, as well as adding the cost of seeding. Additional threats and risk come from the loss of habitat for species including important habitat within Critical SageGrouse areas, Utah Prairie dog occupied habitat, the loss of forage for wildlife and livestock, and degraded watershed conditions as ground cover is lost and soils are impacted. The most immediate risk is that if allowed to continue further future treatments will become more cost prohibitive. Seeding is not necessary at this time. This greatly reduces the cost of the overall treatment. If the area is not treated within the next 5-10 years and understory species continue to become crowded out then seeding will be necessary. In addition (due to PJ encroachment) there is a risk of losing populations and habitat of Threatened and Sensitive species such as UPD & GRSG. As PJ encroaches across the landscape forage is lost for wildlife and livestock. The project is part of a larger plan to tie several land treatments together throughout the range of both Greater Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog on the Sevier and Paunsaugunt plateau. This project helps complete part of the puzzle and provides better connectivity for both of these species. The project has been coordinated with UDWR biologist as well as habitat biologist to provide for edge habitat as well as thermal cover for mule deer and elk. This project has great value because it not only provides for key connectivity but there are Utah Prairie Dog translocation sites throughout the project area as well as Sage Grouse that are utilizing the area as key habitat. Removing PJ from this area is key to improving the habitat. This removal will open up sight lines, provide more edges, remove perch trees for raptors which prey on sage grouse and UPD, reduce fuel loading, improve sage-steppe and understory species which all of the species mentioned need for habitat in this area. PJ varies across the project area. Most of the PJ is in phase I and early Phase II. All of this is mapped for Lop and Scatter and Hand-thin. However the Bull-hog areas are all Phase II/Phase III. 2) In terms of an ecological threshold we are treating a large portion of the Phase I/II first as it is the 'low hanging fruit' that will benefit Greater Sage Grouse and Utah prairie dog the most. 3) There is limited risk to cheatgrass but the risk is still there. The larger risk comes from encroachment of PJ. Musk thistle is also a concern across the project area however crews seem to be keeping up with it for now. Another risk within the project area is the threat of loosing water sources. Currently there are several key springs/seeps that wildlife and livestock rely on for drinking as well as key wetland and riparian habitat where Sage Grouse brood-rearing occurs. PJ encroachment is an eminent threat to these water sources. This project would eliminate PJ from these areas thus increasing water quantity and quality for wildlife and livestock.

1) Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-Grouse in Utah - Feb 14, 2013. pp. 4 Objective 2.0.3 Habitat: Enhance an average of 25,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat in Sage-grouse Management Areas annually. 2) Color Country Greater Sage-Grouse local conservation plan. Feb 9, 2008. pp. 53 Action 9.1: Remove juniper and pinyon trees from brood-rearing habitat. Also: Coordinated with working group on 12/12/2018. 3) U.S. Forest Service Greater-Sage grouse Record of Decision, Alternative C. GRSG-GRSGH-0-026- Objective-Every 10 years for the next 50 years, improve greater sage-grouse habitat by removing invading conifers and other undesirable species. And. GRSG-GRSGH-ST-028-Standard-On the Dixie and Fishlake National Forests, where greater sage-grouse priority habitat management areas overlap with identified Utah prairie dog habitat, the most current version of conservation measures developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be used during implementation of recovery actions. 4) Dixie National Forest - Land and Resource Management plan - pp. IV-84, Standard: A. Maintain habitat capability at a level at least 80 % of potential capability for all emphasized species. And. pp. IV-112, 6A management direction, (1) Maintain and manage forested inclusions to provide a high level of forageproduction, wildlife habitat, and diversity. 5) Conservation Plan for Greater Sage Grouse in Garfield County, Adopted January 27, 2014. pp. 6: 2.0.2 Objective 2 - Habitat: Enhance 500 acres of sage-grouse priority habitat on federal lands annually through conservation efforts evaluated by the NRCS Sage Grouse Habitat Evaluation criteria, with emphasis on areas of priority habitat. 2.0.3 Objective 3 - Habitat: Enhance an average of 1,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat on federal lands in Sage-grouse Management Areas annually. 2.0.4 Objective 4 - Habitat: Increase the total amount of sage-grouse habitat acreage within Sage-grouse Management Areas by an average of 500 acres per year, through management actions targeting opportunity areas. 6) Garfield County current desired future conditions and Draft resource management plan. pp. 5 Wildlife Goal: Prior to December 31, 2025, land managers will seek to have habitats supporting important fish and wildlife species meet the following seral stage ranges: Early Stage 30% to 50% Mid Stage 30% to 40% Late Stage Less than 25%And Policy...Based on a 10 year rolling average and consistent with desired ecological site descriptions, restore at least 25% of the Class II and Class III pinyon / juniper woodlands having a median age of less than 200 years to sagebrush / semi-desert grassland vegetation communities. 7) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Utah Prairie Dog Recovery Plan. pp.79, (2.3.1) Plan and implement vegetation treatments in strategic locations (including translocation sites) that benefit Utah Prairie Dogs and their habitat. 8) Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan pp. 16, Strategies: C. Watershed Restoration Initiative, a) Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. and b) Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional WRI working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats in need of enhancement or restoration. 9) Greater Plateau Elk Complex, Elk management plan, (24 Mt. Dutton): pp.4 Range Improvements: Maintain and/or enhance forage production on elk summer and winter range throughout the units. Coordinatewith the USFS, SITLA, BLM and private land owners to complete projects designed to improve forage production for both elk and livestock and to improve elk distribution across the unit. Identify higher elevation habitat projects that would encourage elk to winter higher and potentially away from traditional deer wintering areas. 10) Utah Mule Deer Statewide management plan, Dec 01 2014. pp.18 - Habitat Goal: Conserve, improve,and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. 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. Strategies: C. 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. D. Minimize impacts and recommend mitigation for losses of crucial habitat due to human impacts. Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000acres 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. G. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire. 11)DEER HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN, Deer Herd Unit # 24, (Mt. Dutton), February 2015: Maintain or enhance forage production through direct range improvements on winter and summer deer range throughout the unit to achieve population management objectives. 12) UTAH'S FINAL 2016 INTEGRATED REPORT - The area draining this project is in Assessment Unit East Fork Sevier-2 which the reports lists as a Category 5 water "Category 5: The concentration of a pollutant--or several pollutants--exceeds numeric water quality criteria, or quantitative biological assessments indicate that the biological designated uses are not supported (narrative water quality standards are violated)." Reducing sediment generation in this watershed may contribute to improving the O/E Assessment score for macroinvertebrates causing this exceedance.

The proposed project will also help reduce fuels within the proposed project area. A fire regime condition class (FRCC) is a classification of the amount of departure from the natural regime (Hann and Bunnell 2001). They include three condition classes for each fire regime. The classification is based on a relative measure describing the degree of departure from the historical natural fire regime. In areas where bull-hog is proposed and PJ is more dense FRCC shift will be extreme moving from a High to a Low or 3 to 1. This reduction in fuels ecologically helps the site as it will shift the FRCC back into a more natural state. This will further reduce the impact and effects of fire when it is present on the landscape. There will be immediate benefits to watershed health from the reduction of PJ trees on the landscape. Increased soil moisture from chipping and mastication is also a benefit to grasses and shrubs as well as the additional moisture it provide to move through the soil column. There is an immediate risk that if the areas proposed were to burn from wildfire that cheat grass and other invasive species would follow. This risk becomes averted when treatment occurs. By allowing the sage-steppe and grass/forb understory species to return without completion from PJ. If fire occurred while this area is within it's current conditions it would be devastating to the watershed as well as to the livestock grazing as well as wildlife habitat. Other values would also be lost including range/wildlife improvements such as pipelines, and fences. Roundy, et al 2013 showed that tree reduction improved soil climate. They also stated that treating stands while they were still open as opposed to closed would help by minimizing water available to weeds. Based upon this science it would be best to treat these areas now rather than in 5-10 years from now (Young, Roundy, Eggett, Forest Ecology and Management 12/2013).

No long-term vegetation trend sites are present within the Phase II-III polygons proposed for bullhog treatment in this portion of the project; however, there is a Forest Service upland vegetation trend monitoring site just over 0.5 miles to the northeast of the proposed project that is in late Phase II early Phase III succession that is not meeting Forest Plan desired conditions because of vegetation composition and lack of effective ground cover. After the nearly 900 acres of Phase II-Phase III PJ succession in this proposal are treated runoff and sediment transport should be significantly reduced after treatment as ground cover and vegetation composition improves (Roundy & Vernon, 1999; Pierson, Bates,Svejcar, & Hardegree, 2007a; Peterson & Stringham, 2008; Pierson, et al., 2010; Cline, Pierson, Kormos, & Williams, 2010). The project area is in the heads of Berry Spring Creek, Mud Spring Creek, and several other intermittent streams that drain into the East Fork Sevier River within the Department of Environmental Quality's Assessment Unit East Fork Sevier-2 (East Fork Sevier River and tributaries from Deer Creek confluence to Tropic Reservoir). The 2016 Beneficial Uses and Water Quality Assessment showed that the beneficial use of this area was impaired because of a low OE Bioassessment (i.e. poor macroinvertebrate community). Fine sediment loading is a known cause of impairment of benthic macroinvertebrate communities (Waters 1995, Turley et al. 2014). Improving vegetation composition and ground cover from the project should contribution to fine sediment loading reductions in this assessment unit. Roundy et al. (2014) demonstrated increased spring soil water availability following PJ removal; however, Phase I removal resulted in substantially less gain than Phase III removal. Phase III removal resulted in substantial soil-water availability gain (up to 19 days) for as long as 4 years following treatment. removing the 900 acres of Phase II-III succession will result in a substantial gain in spring soil water availability.

1) All of the current project area has been surveyed. Cultural surveys have been completed as a part of the NEPA analysis, and included within the analysis. 2) Forest Service Biologist met on December 19, 2017 with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representatives and UDWR habitat biologist to discuss wildlife habitat overlap areas and compliance. USFWS has encouraged this project and will actively engage in promoting vegetation treatments that will improve wildlife habitat effectiveness for species such as Utah Prairie dog and Greater Sage Grouse. Because over 80% of the occupied habitat found on public land within the Paunsaugunt Recovery unit is found within this proposed project area, it is highly supported by USFWS. A letter of support from USFWS was received as part of the scoping for this project. In addition, there are as many as 3 UPD translocation sites found within the proposed project area that are in need of habitat improvement from this project. 3) The proposed methods of treatment are compliant with the newest Dixie National Forest Land and Resource Management plan Greater Sage Grouse amendment, Alternative C . 4) It was determined on 12/29/18 that in order for proposed projects that potentially benefit Greater Sage grouse to receive full credit they (must) be presented and coordinated with local Sage grouse working groups. This project was presented on 12/12/18 to the COCARM group and was received as the number one project within the COCARM area.

The proposed method is to contract the bullhog and mastication work utilizing federal and state contracting methods. Crews would be monitored weekly for performance. There are 5 proposed units totaling 895 acres. All areas will directly improve wildlife habitat effectiveness for Utah Prairie Dog and Greater sage grouse as the entire project area is comprised of pieces of occupied habitat for these key species.

1) Monitoring will involve the assessment of vegetation status as well and ground cover and trend prior to treatment. In addition, biologist would pre-determine areas where openings and connectivity is needed to facilitate movement of key species such as UPD or GRSG. 2) Islands and ridgelines would be left (and have been designed into) to promote migration and allow for cover of Big-game species as well. 3) Wildlife monitoring, crews conduct spring counts at all leks on FS and adjacent leks on SITLA, etc. As a result we found a new lek on FS lands last year inside this project area. Over 40 males. Crews conduct HAF monitoring annually across range allotments and will continue into the future. For UPD we count annually as well as conduct plague abatement across all active colonies. Translocations are still occurring as well which also keeps us in the field monitoring. As far as monitoring the vegetation response the Dixie National Forest has a botanist (Mark Madsen) that established long-term trend plots and reads them over time in most of our treatments. There six USFS upland vegetation monitoring plots and one UDWR Big Game Range Trend plot already established in the larger project area and more to be implemented when the project is fully funded. Nearby long-term vegetation transects have been established within the project area include the Showalter area, and Mud Springs ridge transect. The Mud Spring transect is accessible via Utah Big Game Range Trend Studies website: https://dwrapps.utah.gov/rangetrend/rtstart. This study was scheduled for 2018 however data is not available yet. These long term range trend studies established by the UDWR and USFS help provide the adaptive management feedback that will allow Range managers to better manage the East Pines Grazing allotment. In addition, local Rangeland Management Specialist have been monitoring grass height and utilization across the project area through HAF monitoring for the past two seasons. These permanently established plots will continue to be monitored as the project is implemented. The proposed PJ removal will improve overall watershed conditions by opening up areas to more sunlight and reducing completion which will allow further grass establishment. Population monitoring is occurring already at multiple levels throughout the project area. Sage grouse are being counted annually by USFS and UDWR biologist. In addition, radio telemetry is also being use to track Sage Grouse utilization patterns. Big-game such as elk, deer, and pronghorn are classified by UDWR and USFS annually on this herd unit. UPD counts are also conducted annually by USFS biologist and this data has been tracked for multiple years.

The COCARM sage grouse working group met on 12 December 2018 to rank upcoming proposed WRI projects that would benefit Greater Sage Grouse. This working group consist of partners from BLM, USFS, Academia, Utah Extension service, Garfield county, USFWS, and many others. The propose Mud Springs Phase II project was voted as the #1 project that would benefit Greater Sage grouse within the COCARM area. The project area already has multiple partners involved with many habitat projects. 1) Livestock permitees have been informed and many are considering applying for NRCS funding to help with future projects that would be similar and benefit their range. 2) We have partnered with BLM and BYU to use GPS tracking collars on sage grouse within this project area to determine the projects effects on Greater Sage Grouse. 3) U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has helped with conservation efforts throughout the project area supplying plague abatement equipment and specialized help for Utah Prairie Dog Conservation. 4) We just finished cleaning and sealing over 25 ponds within the project area with the help of UWRI and the Habitat Council last year. These water developments will tie in with this proposed project by facilitating water in areas where additional forage and habitat will now become available. 5) We have utilized the Dedicated hunter program to continue to work on projects throughout this area including spring and pond development, elk crossings, pond cleaning, fence removal and installing sage grouse deterrents on existing fence.

Future management would include the continued implementation of the remainder of the NEPA Decision funded under WRI project 4036. This includes more than 20,000 acres of additional vegetation treatments surrounding the proposed bullhog area. The Dixie National Forest and Powell Ranger District have made a considerable investment in projects surrounding this one including upstream on the Paunsaugunt Plateau and downstream throughout John's Valley. These projects help demonstrate the Forest Service's long running commitment to improving habitat along the East Fork Sevier River. Seeding is not planned for this initial phase of the project as grasses and understory are sufficient to recover in the absence of the PJ removal. Rest from livestock may be necessary post-treatment and be accomplished utilizing the current grazing system and use of monitoring and adaptive management strategies that accommodate the treatments. Maintenance of the proposed treatments may be necessary depending upon climate and utilization practices and the length of time it takes PJ to success back into the proposed area. Maintenance is addressed in Allotment Management Plans and is allowed under current grazing strategies. Cooperation by all parties to maintain vegetation enhancement and monitor future needs.The proposed established monitoring transects will provide inform adaptive management including continued maintenance. The existing recovery plans for Utah Prairie Dog and other species as well as existing Standards and Guidelines for Greater Sage grouse are the guarantee that further habitat management for these species will continue to be a priority in the project area. Other plans that help further cement the commitment to continued habitat maintenance and restoration are included in the Management plans section. To address species of Greatest Conservation Need: The entire Mud Springs project area was created and selected based upon the critical habitat needs of several key species. Although Mule deer, elk, pronghorn and others will benefit greatly from the proposed habitat work, it is Greater Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog that will benefit the most. UWRI has already made considerable investment in restoring watersheds and habitat for these species on the Sevier plateau area. Over 10,000 acres have recently been restored in the Johns valley project and that area ties directly to the Mud springs project area. Sage grouse satellite collars show that there are multiply pathways and corridors that grouse are using to connect these habitats. This proposed mastication project will help alleviate visual barriers on ridgelines and open sight lines for sage grouse as well as all other species. Utah Prairie dogs are another species that have had considerable population conservation investment in habitat as well as specific hands on management with trapping and translocation of UPD into this specific project area. There are documented accounts of UPD moving as far as 12-14 miles across landscapes within Southern Utah. The proposed project will open up areas that are now major obstacles for this species by removing trees and providing edge and sage-steppe habitat for this species to more freely move across its natural range. USFS has partnered with UDWR and USFWS as well as many others in UPD conservation throughout this area. The project area comprises a very significant portion of the range within the Paunsaugunt portion of the recovery unit and the proposed project will improve critical habitat for this species as UPD occupy significant areas throughout the project area. The threats from PJ encroachment are eminent here and this project will provide an immediate positive impact for this species as well as many others. The project has been designed to provide specific openings where UPD movements occurs across the landscape. It ties into occupied colonies of UPD as well as helps connect sage-steppe between sage grouse lek areas.

This project has the potential to provide bio-mass as PJ is masticated. Our Nepa allows for materials to be removed/collected for fuel such as wood pellets, etc. Livestock grazing capacity is expected to maintained and potentially increased as sage-steppe is returned to functional status and grass/forb cover is increased. All of the area is open to livestock grazing at this time. Seeding is not considered to be necessary based upon current conditions. Rest is not expected to be needed as much of these units are on slopes and there remains ample forage on flat ground. Permittees will continue to be updated as treatments move forward. No further grazing agreement is necessary as all grazing is under active grazing permits. The areas proposed for treatment are all located on the Powell Ranger District on the Pines Cattle allotment. This Allotment is managed under a 4 unit deferred rotation grazing system with 464 pair of cows permitted. The project will benefit the allotment by increasing forage, and facilitating better access to new forage and improved water sources. Stephens et al, stated that in response to mechanical treatment of Pinyon and Juniper in Northwest Colorado that " any type of mechanical removal of pinyon-juniper can increase understory plant biomass and cover. Seeding in conjunction with mechanical treatments, particularly mastication, can initially increase annual forb biomass and shrub density". Stephens, Johnston, Jonas, and Paschke: Rangeland Ecology and Management, 9/2016. Recreation is expected to increase as habitat effectiveness is increased. Hunting, trapping and wildlife viewing are all recreation activities that will be improved as a result of improved wildlife habitat and improved wildlife numbers. Additional water quantity is also expected from the existing spring sources within the proposed treatment areas. Water development currently exist at these sources. With increases in yields expected there is further potential for the ability to disperse this water across the landscape and re-distribute ungulate use allowing for increased ungulate forage capacity as well as a better distribution of ungulates as well as Sage grouse and Utah prairie dogs across the area. Burrowing owl is another unique species found throughout the project area. Owl territories are monitored annually by the district wildlife crew. This project benefits this species indirectly by facilitating better habitat for Utah Prairie Dog the provide the burrow system for this species. All data for this species is anecdotal, however burrowing owl populations seem to increase as UPD expand their range across the project area. The proposed project area is of especially high interest for sportsmen/women during the fall hunting seasons. The area provides significant habitat for mule deer throughout the year. Large numbers of hunters can be found hunting deer and elk throughout the project area every fall. This project will help sustain the habitat as well as the culture and heritage that hunters have come to appreciate within the area. The proposed mastication units are becoming increasingly encroached with PJ. Large portions of the units are composed of critical winter browse including Curl leaf mahogany and bitterbrush. The project will restore critical winter range habitat for mule deer and elk by removing PJ. Islands, edges and thermal cover have been designed into the proposed treatments.

08/01/2019

10/17/2019

2020

Dixie National Forest crews and staff will monitor the growth of the newly released under-story. Future management plans will be designed to effectively reestablish the native grasses and shrubs within the treatment areas. This may include future habitat treatment or seeding within the project area, but as of right now no further treatment or seeding is not necessary within these newly treated areas.

Mastication practices were utilized to reestablish the native under-story within the proposed Mud Springs project area. These areas held a high concentration of pinyon/juniper per acre, which deemed them unable to utilize hand thinning. Two contracted crews were brought in to perform the mastication (Kolob Mt Construction and Halls Hammertime). Contractors worked with Powell Ranger District staff to ensure contract compliance. This included upon arrival an equipment inspection that required equipment to be clean and in good working order. When contractors would finish a unit they would then call staff to ensure all the project area had been completed. Once units were checked for compliance they were allowed to mobilize to the next project unit. Compliance checks for crews camps, as well as job sites were completed weekly to ensure compliance to contract and forest guidelines. Upon completion of entire proposed project units a final compliance check was done before allowing contractors to submit an invoice to UDWR staff for payment.

Future management would include the continued implementation of the remainder of the NEPA Decision funded under WRI project 4036. This includes more than 20,000 acres of additional vegetation treatments surrounding the proposed bullhog area. The Dixie National Forest and Powell Ranger District have made a considerable investment in projects surrounding this one including upstream on the Paunsaugunt Plateau and downstream throughout John's Valley. These projects help demonstrate the Forest Service's long running commitment to improving habitat along the East Fork Sevier River. Seeding is not planned for this initial phase of the project as grasses and understory are sufficient to recover in the absence of the PJ removal. Rest from livestock may be necessary post-treatment and be accomplished utilizing the current grazing system and use of monitoring and adaptive management strategies that accommodate the treatments. Maintenance of the proposed treatments may be necessary depending upon climate and utilization practices and the length of time it takes PJ to success back into the proposed area. Maintenance is addressed in Allotment Management Plans and is allowed under current grazing strategies. Cooperation by all parties to maintain vegetation enhancement and monitor future needs.The proposed established monitoring transects will provide inform adaptive management including continued maintenance. The existing recovery plans for Utah Prairie Dog and other species as well as existing Standards and Guidelines for Greater Sage grouse are the guarantee that further habitat management for these species will continue to be a priority in the project area. Other plans that help further cement the commitment to continued habitat maintenance and restoration are included in the Management plans section. To address species of Greatest Conservation Need: The entire Mud Springs project area was created and selected based upon the critical habitat needs of several key species. Although Mule deer, elk, pronghorn and others will benefit greatly from the proposed habitat work, it is Greater Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog that will benefit the most. UWRI has already made considerable investment in restoring watersheds and habitat for these species on the Sevier plateau area. Over 10,000 acres have recently been restored in the Johns valley project and that area ties directly to the Mud springs project area. Sage grouse satellite collars show that there are multiply pathways and corridors that grouse are using to connect these habitats. This proposed mastication project will help alleviate visual barriers on ridgelines and open sight lines for sage grouse as well as all other species. Utah Prairie dogs are another species that have had considerable population conservation investment in habitat as well as specific hands on management with trapping and translocation of UPD into this specific project area. There are documented accounts of UPD moving as far as 12-14 miles across landscapes within Southern Utah. The proposed project will open up areas that are now major obstacles for this species by removing trees and providing edge and sage-steppe habitat for this species to more freely move across its natural range. USFS has partnered with UDWR and USFWS as well as many others in UPD conservation throughout this area. The project area comprises a very significant portion of the range within the Paunsaugunt portion of the recovery unit and the proposed project will improve critical habitat for this species as UPD occupy significant areas throughout the project area. The threats from PJ encroachment are eminent here and this project will provide an immediate positive impact for this species as well as many others. The project has been designed to provide specific openings where UPD movements occurs across the landscape. It ties into occupied colonies of UPD as well as helps connect sage-steppe between sage grouse lek areas.