Human development in Salt Lake and Utah counties now spans the entire valley bottoms between the Wasatch front and the Oquirrh Mountains/Lake Mountains. The impacts that this has had on wildlife is shown through multiple forms of evidence including; loss of native biodiversity, increased human-wildlife conflicts, and direct wildlife mortality on roads. The city of Eagle Mountain has begun expanding the development into the valley between the Lake Mountains and the southern end of the Oquirrh Mountains. Eagle Mountain is currently the largest city in Utah in terms of area but is only ~20% developed as of 2019. The low proportion of developed space in the city and the desire of city leadership to preserve open space provides the opportunity to proactively plan to avoid impacts on wildlife in Eagle Mountain that have already occurred in the cities of Salt Lake and Utah Counties. If no space is preserved for a corridor in Eagle Mountain there will be a loss of genetic connectivity and the risk of increased human/wildlife conflicts in the area. Currently there is a snow fence on the north side of the SR 73 with a large opening that funnels wildlife to cross mostly along a narrow stretch of the road. The current situation has led to a "hotspot" of wildlife vehicle collisions if nothing is done, the risk to human well-being and the negative impacts to wildlife populations will continue.

The objective of this initial phase is to reduce wildlife vehicle collisions along SR 73 by installing a fence on the southern portion of the road with a space where wildlife currently is known to pass. This will allow wildlife to continue to migrate until we are able to preserve a continuous corridor of open space from the Lake Mountains to the Camp Williams Military Reservation that will allow wildlife migration to continue through Eagle Mountain city limits. We will also seek to improve habitat around and within corridor to provide necessary resources for wildlife to continue to use the corridor and reduce their need to move into neighborhoods for resources

Eagle Mountain City is currently only 20% developed but is rapidly growing. If no corridor is preserved in this area the existing route used by migrating deer and the space used by other species will be cut off by home, businesses, and roads. The loss of space and connectivity to habitats will results in the loss of native and genetic biodiversity, increased human-wildlife conflicts, and increased direct wildlife mortality on roads. Once this area is developed it would be extremely cost prohibitive to restore the historical migration paths of wildlife in the area

Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan- "To address deer/vehicle collisions, DWR and our partners have worked to identify deer migration routes and locations where deer are commonly hit on roadways. This information has allowed us to know where to place underpasses and fences to increase deer survival. These studies have also provided data on the types of underpass structures these animals will use (Cramer 2014). Although costly, these efforts are helping to prevent future collisions, increase public safety, and minimize deer mortalities." "Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges." "Work with county, state, and federal agencies to limit the negative effects of roads by reclaiming unused roads, properly planning new roads, and installing fencing and highway passage structures where roads disrupt normal mule deer migration patterns." Utah's Wildlife Migration Inititiative- "...identify and preserve wildlife migration corridors" Eagle Mountain city plan- The city of Eagle mountain and it's leadership has express geat interest in preserveing the natural setting of the area whenever possible. This project has been explicitly endorsed by the Mayor and City Planner of Eagle Mountain City.

Cheatgrass threatens homes and infrastructure in this area. Cheagrass dries out earlier in the summer and is a continuous fuel load where fire can easily carry through quickly. We will be spraying cheatgrass with plateau which will remove this fire risk and planting species that will stay green longer into the year and reduce fire danger to the community. (See seed mix)

By reducing the threat of fire from cheatgrass we will be protecting the crucial water supply to the City of Eagle Mountain. Also, we will be preventing mud slides and erosion from damaging homes and infrastructure. This project will also improve a drainage ditch with seasonal flow within the corridor used by wildlife, preventing erosion along the drainage ditch.

We will conduct all necessary cultural clearances in-house with UDWR archaeologists prior to implementation. Any actions taken on federal and state lands will be assessed by appropriate agencies and completed before actions occur.

~1 mile (4,966 ft) of Wildlife fencing will be placed withing the right-of-way of SR-73 and so must follow standard UDOT protocol for fencing installation. There will be 4 escaped ramps installed along the fencing, two on either side of the road spaced Habitat improvement with be done by controlling non-native annual grasses through the use of aerial granular plateau application. ~5000 shrubs and seedlings with browsing cages will be planted within the corridor to provide cover and resources for migration wildlife. Lastly aerial seeding of native seed mixes. Will also repair/upgrade the animal detection-driver alert system It will be completed Summer/Fall of 2022. The current driver alert system that is in place is not functioning as intended. This new system warns driver's when deer are on the highway and will contribute greatly to the new fence.

The migration routes in and around Eagle Mountain were identified by data gathered using GPS collars. The successful of this project would be able to continue to be monitored using the same collars and collars placed on additional individual deer and other species, such as pronghorn. The success of this project will also be able to monitored through analysis of roadkill data observed on the Utah Wildlife-vehicle Collision Reporter app.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has been working closley with leadership and city planners of the City of Eagle Mountain to plan a route to preserve. Also, collaborations with the BLM, Utah National Guard, Sportsman Groups and other partners of the Utah Wildlife Migration Initiative. Eagle Mountain and UDWR representatives have met with landowners within the proposed corridor and signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to accomplish the goal of preserving a migration corridor through the city. Much of this work will be done and coordinated by the UDWR with support from the other partners that will provide sportsmen and public volunteers and technical advice throughout the process. The fencing design, installation, and maintenance portion of the project will be coordinated by UDOT as it will be within the roads right-of-way. UDWR will monitor the success of the fencing and habitat projects.

The preservation of this area is in progress. Once the entire project is complete the corridor will be preserved for the benefit and use of wildlife. Maintenance of fencing will be UDOT's responsibility. Other management responsibility in the area will go to the city of Eagle Mountain with support from the UDWR

The sole purpose of this project is to protect wildlife migration corridors through Eagle Mountain by restricting development within the proposed corridor. The project will support wildlife populations indefinitely as long as the corridor is sustained. This project will also protect lands from development that can also be used for livestock grazing.

01/10/2020

03/20/2023

2023

The Eagle Mountain Wildlife Migration Corridor Preservation project is a long-term multi-phased project with partners working together to preserve a crucial mule deer migration corridor in Utah County. Approximately 5700 feet of wildlife exclusionary fence was installed in spring 2022. Over 5000 seedling shrubs were planted in 20 acres of the Eagle Mountain City designated Wildlife Migration Corridor with the help of citizen and sportsman group volunteers. DWR coordinated with Eagle Mountain City, UDOT, and private contractors to install a wildlife detection system for an at-grade crossing on SR73. We had contractors plant 2,000 seedlings in fall of 2022.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources worked with a variety of partners including Eagle Mountain City, UDOT, MDF, NFWF, Camp Williams, Eagle Mountain Nature and Wildlife Alliance, to identify, fund, and implement this project. Since the completion of the main portion of the fence there have been 24 collisions reported averaging 1.45/month or 17/year, most of which were concentrated at or near the at-grade crossing left to allow animals to migrate between winter and summer ranges. The five year average for the same area was 28 reported collisions prior to the construction of the fence. We anticipate the number of wildlife collisions to be further reduced by the installation of the detection system. A great working relationship has been created between the DWR and Eagle Mountain citizens and city staff. Because of our efforts, Eagle Mountain created and hired a city staff wildlife biologist/city planner whose main duties include incorporating wildlife habitat needs into the city plans as it continues to grow.

UDOT will maintain the wildlife exclusion fence on SR73. Eagle Mountain City will maintain the wildlife detection system at the crossing location on SR73, If the detection system is ever removed and is no longer needed (installation of an under or over pass), the equipment will be donated to UDOT. Eagle Mountain City will provide data or summaries of the data collected with both UDWR and UDOT. DWR will facilitate monitoring.