Phragmites has invaded and choked out much of the native wetland plants that once were found in the Powell Slough ecosystem. This has resulted in a loss of habitat for fish and wildlife and also impacted water quality, increased fire risk, decreased livestock forage, and reduced recreational opportunities. Some key species that may have been negatively impacted by the phragmites are bald eagles, June sucker, and columbia spotted frogs. We have actively tried to manage phragmites by just spraying it with herbicide but the effectiveness has not reached our desired goals. This project proposes to include grazing and mechanical smashing as tools in the removal and long term management of phragmites. Grazing has proven to be very successful in other waterfowl management areas to reduce phragmites and increase the native vegetation. To be able to effectively use grazing as a management tool we must have small pastures where grazing can be intense for short duration of time. To do this in Powell Slough we need to build fencing to create these small pastures and also to prevent livestock from leaving the area and entering the nearby community where they can create a hazard. WRI has helped to purchase marsh masters that smash the phragmites and help the dead material to biodegrade after spraying. We are asking for funds to help pay for fuels and operators time on these machines to treat phragmites where we are not able to graze. Utah Lake and its shores are utilized for hunting, fishing, sports, recreation, agriculture, and as valuable wetland habitat. According to the WAP this project benefits both Key Species and Habitat of greatest conservation needs (June Sucker and Invasive plant species in shoreline habitat). The removal of Phragmites greatly benefits the watershed and wildlife habitat. Phragmites chokes out valuable wetland and continues to intrude on habitat areas of endangered or threatened wildlife species. This invasive vegetation also greatly limits public access around the lake and creates a wall of vegetation which is a clear safety hazard for boaters in emergency situations. In addition to the Phragmites found along the shoreline, large numbers of tamarisk and Russian olive are also a problem around the lake. Their removal and establishment of desirable plant species greatly benefits the watershed. Phragmites proliferation has the potential to choke out valuable wetlands found around the lake. Phragmites is difficult to eradicate without an aggressive vegetation management program. Phragmites is capable of surviving the harshest conditions including fire, frost, high pH and flood. It is tolerant of low water, storm water discharge, road salts and nutrient pollution. It spreads by rhizomes and forms a dense mat that out competes and eliminates native vegetation and destroys valuable wetlands. It was added to the Utah County list of noxious weeds by the Utah County Commission in 2008. Stands of phragmites can grow to over 14 feet tall and create an impenetrable insecticide buffer which allows breeding mosquitos to thrive. Mosquitoes around Utah Lake and the County have tested positive for West Nile Virus. Each year when the phragmites dies back and dries out, lake shore residential developments, parks, bridges and other structures face the risk of extreme fire danger. In 2007 the Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands was court ordered to create a 30-foot firebreak as a safety measure to protect the homes in case of a fire. The Utah Lake Commission has coordinated the creation of a long-term shoreline restoration program with local municipal governments, Utah County, and applicable state and federal agencies as well as private land owners to remove phragmites and other invasive plant species such as tamarisk and Russian olive from the shoreline of Utah Lake and to restore native vegetation where beneficial. It is a multiple section removal effort which requires yearly dedicated funding to ensure its success. This project in Powell Slough will be one of the high focus areas along Utah Lake to continue this effort in a very targeted way so as to not only remove phragmites but to also restore native vegetation through seeding and planting. We want to get willows, cottonwoods, and other wetland vegetation that will be valuable for nesting birds and other wildlife. Beavers historically would have filled the entire Powell Slough area with dams. This would have created a larger wetland area. To begin restoring this natural system we will build BDAs to flood certain areas and create greater diversity of habitat for fish and wildlife. One of the biggest problems for the lake is water quality issues and by creating a series of ponds and weltands it will help to filter water and pull nutrients out before it reaches the lake and causes the toxic algal blooms.

1. Improve wildlife habitat 2. Improve water quality and quanitity 3. Reduce Fire risk 4. Increase livestock grazing 5. Increase recreational opportunity

Phragmites proliferation, which began a mere 16 years ago, will eventually choke out the valuable wetlands found around the lake. Utah Lake is at the confluence of multiple HUC 12 watershed resources making the lake a critical Utah watershed. Phragmites continues to intrude upon the habitat area of several endangered or threatened species, as well as species of concern. These include, as recommended by UDWR, June sucker, Utah sucker, channel catfish, bullhead catfish, panfish including bluegill and crappie, and large-mouth bass; shore birds, neotropical birds, and water fowl including the Avocet, Stilt, Caspian Tern, Plover, and Long-billed Curlew.

This project will continue the process needed to help several agencies accomplish their goals and objectives. The agencies, the plans and objectives are listed below. 1. The Utah Lake Commission [1,2 (two objectives)] and Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands [3,4 (two objectives] adopted the Utah Lake Master Plan in June 2009. It specifically lists removal of phragmites around Utah Lake as a high-priority goal. The Master Plan also lists the importance of insect control to benefit public health--a direct result of this removal effort. 2. The Utah County Commission (5) has identified phragmites as a noxious weed at the recommendation of the Utah County Weed Board. This board meets regularly to strategize treatment of numerous types of noxious weeds in Utah County. This is outlined in the 2013 County Resource Assessment. Restoration of the shoreline of Utah Lake is a high priority of this board. The Utah County Mosquito Abatement (6) district has identified phragmites removal as a priority as well. 3. Phragmites removal is listed in the 2013 Alpine Conservation District Resource Assessment (7) and the 2013 Timp Nebo Conservation District Resource Assessment (8) 4. Removal of phragmites also helps the Division of Wildlife Resources (9) reclaim valuable habitat for wildlife. It is also a priority of several municipalities, including the City of Saratoga Springs (10) and Provo City (11), Lehi City (12) to have this invasive species controlled as it grows closer to existing homes and planned developments. 5. The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (13) has identified phragmites as one of their top priorities for invasive species control, within the new Invasive Species Mitigation program, which is a partner in this grant. 6. The June sucker Recovery Implementation Program (14) has identified phragmites at Utah Lake to be detrimental to habitat and has been supporting efforts to remove phragmites around the lake. 7. WILDLIFE ACTION PLAN This project lies within the wetland type which is one of the key habitats identified in the WAP. This area supports a variety of wildlife species including many that are listed in the WAP such as fish, Neotropical birds, raptors, and wading and shorebirds. June sucker, an endangered fish endemic to Utah Lake, may also receive benefit from a long-term phragmites removal effort of which this project is the first step. Other species of concern, as identified by UDWR include, fish such as the Utah sucker, channel catfish, bullhead catfish, panfish including bluegill and crappie, and large-mouth bass; birds, including the Avocet, Stilt, Caspian Tern, Plover, and Long-billed Curlew. 8. This project lies within a wetland/lake conservation focus area as determined by the Central Region UPCD team.

There are multiple buildings, infrastructure, and homes located adjacent to the Powell Slough area ant the phragmites creates a substantial fuel load and hazard. A lawsuit between Saratoga Springs and the Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands highlighted the reality of this fire risk after which the State was ordered to create fire barriers by removing the phragmites vegetation. This project is part of a multi year effort to remove phragmites and it will continue to reduce the fuel loading around the lake and prevents the risk of Catastrophic Fires. Reducing the fuels along the shoreline also prevents the negative impacts of large fires to the Air quality along the Wasatch Front which is uniquely susceptible to poor air quality.

Treating and removing Phragmites will allow native vegetation to reestablish, this creates positive impacts to the water quality in Utah Lake. Replacing Phragmites with other native species provides better uptake of nutrient pollution by native vegetation species. Removal efforts of Phragmites also creates a more complex riparian root system that is better habitat for juvenile fish and other species. Utah Lake is a priority on the current Utah County Resource Assessment Plan created in 2013. It points out that the lake provides water not only to its county residents but also to Salt Lake County. As the third largest freshwater lake in the western United States, Utah Lake contains ~902,400 acre feet of water when full. As such, it is a very important part of the watershed both in quantity and for its quality. This project along with many others are contributing to improving the value of this resource.

This type of treatment does not require archeological surveys or cultural surveys. However, DWR's Archeologist has an opportunity to review the project area to provide comments on general areas to avoid during the smashing phase of the treatment. Any stream alteration permits that are needed for BDAs will be completed prior to work being done.

Following a similar plan that the UDWR has been using and adapting for improved success in northern Utah, we have developed a plan to control and contain phragmites, other invasive plants, and to reestablish desirable vegetation in appropriate locations. The plan involves a three-year aggressive treatment followed by subsequent revegetation work, with a monitoring and management strategy to prevent spread and re-invasion. Methods for Treatment: Year 1 -- 1. A contracted helicopter will be used to treat the project area with AquaNeat in late summer. 2. Contractors will be used to remove and treat stumps with AquaNeat of tamarisk and Russian olive from strategic areas in the Fall/Winter. 3. Utah County crews will smash or contract the smashing for much of the biomass in the treated area during the winter. 4. Utah County weed crew will spot treat regrowth of phragmites in the project area with AquaNeat in accessible areas in the spring. Year 2 -- 1. A contracted helicopter will be used to treat the project area with AquaNeat in late summer. 2. Tree stumps of tamarisk and Russian olive will be retreated with AquaNeat in summer. 3. Regrowth will be smashed mechanically during the winter. 4. Continual monitoring of regrowth and treatment as needed will be done during the year. 5. Year 3 -- 1. A contracted helicopter will be used to treat the project area with AquaNeat in late summer. 2. Tree stumps of tamarisk and Russian olive will be retreated with AquaNeat in summer. 3. Regrowth will be smashed mechanically during the winter. 4. Continual monitoring of regrowth and treatment as needed will be done during the year. 4, 5... 1. Continual maintenance will occur 2. Spot treatment of any regrowth along the shoreline will continue. 3. Smashing will occur if the lake is low enough and is needed. 4. Revegetation of strategic areas are considered based on the public use, need, and expected success rate of the project. Seeding will occur with hand boradcasters and a broadcaster on the back of the marsh master . The seed will only be broadcast in areas where the phragmites has been removed and there is bare ground.

Utah County Public Works Department (weed program) will monitor the effectiveness of spraying efforts on phragmites and conduct follow-up treatments as necessary. Photopoints will be established to document pre and post-treatment implementation activities and compared each year to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. Each year the Lake Commission captures images of the entire shoreline of the lake to document the work completed and review year to year progress for monitoring purposes. Starting in 2015, we have incorporated the use of Drone technology to further document regrowth and smashing activities. This helps better monitor and identify needed retreatment areas.

Utah County Utah Department of Agriculture and Food - ISM Utah Lake Commission Central Utah Water Conservancy District Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

The Utah Lake Commission, comprised of 15 cities, Utah County, UDNR, UDWQ, CUWCD, has a long term vested interest, regardless of land ownership, in maintaining the shorelines of Utah Lake and has identified this as a priority in the Utah Lake Master Plan. As the owner of the lake bed, the Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands is also dedicated to long term lake management. As described in the methods section, our long-term plan includes monitoring and managing the treated areas into the future to ensure the shoreline remains clear of phragmites. Each year an aerial fly over is completed and used to analyze areas where re-treatment is needed. This provides a site specific plan to be created for spot treatments where regrowth is taking place.

One of the main objectives of this project is to utilize grazing as a management tool to reduce phragmites. This will provide more opportunity for grazing and as phragmites is cleared, livestock production increases with the additional acreage created by the open space where native grasses and plants reestablish. From our seeding efforts we will increase forage availability and quality. The other main objective of this project is to increase recreational opportunity through duck and pheasant hunting. Also, fishing will be improved and future phases may include a community fishing pond, trails, and camping.

10/17/2020

06/30/2021

2021

This was a multifaceted project with several different components. We first had the aerial spraying with helicopters and aquaneet herbicide to kill the phragmites. We then had a marsh master go through and smash the phragmites. This was done from October through December of 2020. We also purchased some seed and had it broadcasted from the marsh master throughout a portion of the project starting October of 2020 and finishing in early November. We then hired a contractor to build the east 800 ft of 8' tall barrieer fence to be able to bring cows out to eat the phragmites and not have them get out into the city. This was built in December. Once that was completed in January and February we built a 4' tall barb wire fence for the pasture perimeter. This was about 5,000 feet of fence. In March we released about 40 head of cows into the pasture and they began eating the phragmites all through the end of June.

All across the banks of Utah Lake the habitat has been choked out by phragmites. Phragmites is a non native plant that takes over wetland areas and impacts wildlife habitat. This projects goal is to remove this weed with several different techniques from spraying herbicide, smashing with a marsh master, and grazing. We are also seeding native plants to try and get desirable species growing.

We already are seeing immediate results from our grazing program. See photos. We will continue to monitor effectiveness of treatments through photo points and make active management decisions. We will continue to graze, spray, and smash every year until we get the desired results.