In 2018 the Grass Valley Fire burned almost 11,800 acres in the Pine Valley Wilderness. Dense late successional forests and heavy dead and downed fuel loading resulted in more than 70% of those acres burning at moderate to high severity. The resulting flooding and ash flows eliminated one of two remnant populations of Bonneville cutthroat trout on the west side of the Pine Valleys (Reservoir Canyon) and caused damage to irrigation infrastructure on private property. Landscape Conservation Forecasting by the Nature Conservancy had shown that areas in and out of the Wilderness were moderately to highly departed from their desired condition and that fire regimes had been significantly altered in most vegetation types (Tuhy et al. 2014 -- see attachments). The scale and severity of the resulting fire was not unexpected based on the results of the LCF effort and other data collected by the Dixie National Forest (see attached Grass Valley Environmental Analysis). Prior to the Grass Valley Fire the Pine Valley Ranger District had been attempting to address ecological departure in and around the Wilderness through three different projects 1) completion of the Upper Santa Clara project which would remove commercial timber and reduce fuel in the Pine Valley Recreation Area, 2) completion of the Pine Valley Fuel Break, which would allow for protection of the community of Pine Valley and the Pine Valley Recreation Area while actively managing natural ignitions in the Wilderness, and 3) the Grass Valley Creek Watershed Restoration project, which was designed to address ecological departure in the Grass Valley subwatershed of the Upper Santa Clara River and to allow for actively managing natural ignitions in the Wilderness. The following project proposal incorporates parts of all three of these projects to improve wildlife habitat, improve watershed conditions and reduce the risk of uncharacteristically large, high severity wildfire. This project is Phase I of a more than 6,000 acre project, not including the more than 900 acres of the Pine Valley Fuel break that have already been completed (see UWRI projects 4450 and 4792). Fuel conditions in the untreated areas of the fuel break are such that they could carry high severity fire into the Pine Valley Recreation area and the community of Pine Valley potentially damaging homes and infrastructure. Similarly, Mid Phase II to early Phase III Pinyon Juniper succession into sagebrush steppe and mountain brush communities at the private Forest interface in Grass Valley elevate the risk of high severity fire damaging infrastructure and homes in private property. Dense conifers and upland vegetation encroachment into Water Canyon increase the risk of high severity fire impacting core remnant BCT population in this stream (Ecological Thresholds/Threats and Risks Section . Upland vegetation encroachment has also increased the amount of bare ground along Water Canyon and inhibited hydric vegetation and riparian hardwood establishment. Multiple trails within the project area are within 10-30 feet from streams (including Water Canyon and are contributing to high sediment levels (see Water Quality and Quantity). Additionally, other trails were negatively affected by runoff after the West Valley Fire and are now concentrating runoff resulting in increased erosion. Range trend monitoring in the Grass Valley pasture of the Pine Valley allotment show that the range is not functioning and vegetation is on a downward trend (see attached images). The decline in sagebrush and grasslands of this pasture negatively affect the ability to implement the Allotment Management Plan rotation. Additionally, this pasture and adjacent pastures have overutilization issues including Water Canyon (see attached images). A fence that has been in disrepair for decades plays a large role in these overutilization issues. Because of these current conditions the Forest has determined that there is a need to 1) continue to implement portions of the Pine Valley Fuel Break, 2) provide commercial timber opportunities while reducing fuels in the Pine Valley Recreation Area in and adjacent to the fuel break, 3) maintain a Defensible Fire Area on private and public lands around homes and infrastructure in Grass Valley, 4) improve riparian conditions along and reduce fine sediment deposition to Water Canyon, 5) maintain and reroute trails causing resource damage, 6) maintain and improve sagebrush steppe habitat, and 7) rebuild the Grass Valley pasture fence to move toward desired conditions and utilization in that pasture. This project has the potential to benefit multiple High Interest Game Species and Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) listed in the Utah Wildlife Action Plan. The proposed upland and riparian treatments in Grass Valley should directly benefit the core, remnant population of BCT in Water Canyon by improving riparian vegetation, increasing flexibility in livestock management, reducing the risk of an uncharacteristically large and severe wildfire and reducing sediment inputs to Water Canyon (see Ecological Thresholds, Fire and Fuels and Water Quality/Quantity sections). The project would indirectly benefit fish populations in the Santa Clara River system including brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout and desert sucker by reducing the risk of an uncharacteristically large and severe wildfire starting in and around the town of Pine Valley and in the Pine Valley Recreation area. Large and severe wildfires throughout Utah have resulted in large post-fire flooding and debris flows which have completely eliminated fish populations from 100s of miles of stream. Populations that are fragmented like those in the Upper Santa Clara River (dams at Pine Valley Reservoir and Baker Reservoir) and Water Canyon (natural drying). The proposed riparian and Sagebrush steppe/Mountain shrub improvement treatments would directly benefit mule deer, as most of these treatments occur in summer crucial habitat, with smaller amounts in summer substantial habitat. The Herd Plan for the Pine Valley Management Unit discusses the need for summer range treatments on the Unit (see Relationship to Management Plans section) and the importance of improving fawning habitats like the riparian areas in Grass Valley. The project also has the potential to improve watershed conditions by addressing improper grazing, increased erosion and sediment transport and ecological departure in key vegetation types.

TThe goals of the Upper Santa Clara Watershed Restoration and Defensible Fire Space project are to reduce ecological departure across multiple vegetation types to reduce the risk on uncharacteristically high severity fire and increase the amount of early seral vegetation types which should improve wildlife habitat and provide security for a disjunct, peripheral population of BCT (supports UWRI arm of Wildlife and Biological Diversity), reduce the amount of bare ground, improve riparian vegetation, allow for proper grazing practices and reduce the risk of high severity fire all of which should improve water quality (supports UWRI arm o Water Quality and quantity) and to remove commercial timber, improve livestock grazing and protect private infrastructure and agricultural interests (supports UWRI arm of Sustainable Uses). Measurable objectives include: Defensible Fire Area treatments: Within the Pine Valley Recreation Area the DFA treatments will reduce fire behavior and provide conditions that provide for low resistance to fire control by reducing/altering fuels. The project is designed to limit potential flame lengths during wildfires to less than four feet under 97th percentile weather conditions. Within the Grass Valley DFAs the objective is to create and maintain of a Defensible Fire Area (DFA) to strategically arrange or place early, mid and late successional vegetation treatments in a mosaic pattern to reduce fire intensity and impede fire flow paths within the DFA (toward or away from adjacent areas and/or ownerships). Strategically breaking up the vegetation successional stages to limit fire intensity and spread results in conditions that promote a safe and effective wildfire response, improve landscape resiliency, and create fire adapted communities as described in the Cohesive Strategy. The area is currently in FRCC 2 and the project would move it toward and FRCC of 1. Sagebrush steppe treatments/Mountain shrub improvement treatments: The objectives are to reduce PJ cover to less than 10% in these areas and to maintain or cheat grass levels through seeding. Reduce trees per acre, especially in the 9" and less size classes. Move toward Desire BioPhysical settings outlined in the TNC LCF document (see attachments). Ponderosa Pine treatments: The objectives for conducting a commercial thinning will be to remove all of the white fir and smaller live ponderosa pine mostly between 12-18" DBH or ponderosa pine showing poor health characteristics such as dead branches in the tops, browning needles, or obvious bark beetle infestation. The thinning treatment will reduce the basal area from about 120 sq. ft./acre to 60-80 sq. ft./acre across the timber thinning unit and will increase tree health and vigor in ponderosa pine stands by reducing insect hazard rating and potential for crown fire. Riparian improvement treatments: The objectives for these treatments will be to remove all Pinyon and juniper for the riparian areas, as well as all other conifers less than 12 inches in order to reduce fuel loading and allow for hydric vegetation and riparian hardwoods to establish. Grass Valley Pasture fence rebuild: The objectives for the fence reconstruction are twofold: 1) Allow for correct pasture rotation and AMP implementation leading to meeting utilization standards. 2) Allow for rest of Phase II treatments and seedings that will be proposed in this pasture, including harrowing and seeding which would recover the range lands in this pasture. Trail reroutes: Reconstruct trails out of riparian areas and to meet Forest Plan standards. Reduce fine sediment inputs to Water Canyon and Reservoir Canyon. Move toward Forest Plan Standard of < 25% fine sediments.

The biggest risks to project success are probably natural ignition in the project area prior to the project being completed, overutilization of treatments preventing desired vegetation establishment and maintaining a mosaic of successional stages into the future. Natural ignitions around the project area have already caused economic and ecological damage, as well as eliminated a core, remnant population of BCT. Should a natural ignition start prior to completion of Defensible Fire Area treatments considerable private property and infrastructure damage could occur (see Fire and Fuels Section). Fire suppression costs on the Saddle and West Valley Fires immediately adjacent to the project area totaled more than $20,000,000, not including post-fire rehabilitation. Completing fuels treatments in advance of natural ignitions can help to reduce or eliminate suppression costs of future natural ignitions. The risks of an uncharacteristically severe wildfire in and adjacent to the project area include, but are not limited to: 1) Increased erosion and sedimentation 2) Stream channel incision and loss of fish habitat 3) Increased risk of flooding and debris flows 4) Loss of soil productivity 5) Potential loss of the Water Canyon core, remnant population of BCT 6) Potential loss of the sport fishery in the Upper Santa Clara River and Pine Valley reservoir. 7) Loss of later seral stage wildlife habitat 8) Threat of noxious weed invasion and a change in plant community type 9) Loss of future commercial timber stands 10) Loss (at least temporarily) of wildlife and livestock forage 11) Loss of life and/or property in the community of Pine Valley and on private parcels in Grass Valley The areas proposed for treatment in Grass Valley are generally mid-Phase II to early Phase III PJ succession with 5-10% cheat grass in the understory. If these areas are not treated within the next 10-20 years, they are likely to completely convert to Phase III. Waiting could increase the costs of mastication (by $20-$30 per acre) or lop and pile (variable but conceivably by $100 or more per acre). A natural ignition could result in a type conversion to conversion to nonnative invasive annual grass species at any time. The proposed treatments and aggressive seeding should help ameliorate these risks. If the area were to be converted to cheat grass valuable summer range for mule deer would be lost and the potential for successful range land recovery would be diminished. Ecologically as Phase II PJ succession converts to Phase III, fire risk and erosion increases, while forage production and ungulate habitat effectiveness decreases. Water Canyon currently provides marginal habitat for the remnant BCT population as it has low and variable flows (especially during drought years), has relatively high deposited fine sediments and somewhat limited habitat. As upland vegetation continues to encroach of riparian areas, erosion and sediment deposition will increase which could further reduce habitat quality for BCT. Additionally, portions of the Water Canyon have a non-motorized trail along it that has direct hydrologic connectivity to Water Canyon further elevating sediment deposition into Water Canyon. This is exacerbated by overuse of this area in some years, which is at least in part caused by the failing pasture boundary fence. This overuse stunts the growth and expansion of hydric vegetation and riparian hardwood species, which could help maintain and improve channel form and function to benefit BCT habitat. Not completing the project risks the deterioration of already poor habitat conditions in Water Canyon. Currently the permittees on the allotment are supportive of the work and have engaged NRCS in helping to fund the work (see partners Section). Delays in moving forward with the project risk losing their cooperation and the NRCS funds that they have been pursuing. If the project is not completed it is probable that range conditions will continue to deteriorate possibly resulting in a loss of AUMs, as well as watershed health and landscape ecological integrity. Currently NRCS is planning to provide over in $240,000 partner funds that are at risk of being lost without matching funds from WRI.

Utah's Wildlife Action Plan (WAP): The WAP identifies the following key habitats to be addressed by the Ranch Creek Watershed Improvement project Phase 1: Riverine, Mountain sagebrush and Mountain Shrub. The WAP lists Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity a high level threat for BCT and mule deer. 2.3.14 Conduct upland vegetation treatments to restore characteristic upland vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings. 2.3.15 Conduct riparian vegetation treatments to restore characteristic riparian vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings. 2.3.17 Apply or allow more fire in habitats/locations where fire was historically more frequent or intense. The Riparian and upland treatments proposed are designed to restore characteristic vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings with the end goal to be able to allow natural ignitions to be managed for resource benefits in the future. The WAP lists Problematic Plant Species -- Native Upland as a Very High level threat to Mountain sagebrush communities with the following as potential conservation actions. Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the Uncharacteristic and surpluses of older age class, including: Dixie/chain harrow, brush mowing or other treatments that reduce the older age class and stimulate the younger/mid age classes; herbicide or mechanical treatment of non-native invasive species such smooth brome; single tree mulching/cutting of invading conifer. The treatments proposed in this vegetation type are designed to stimulate the younger/mid age classes through cutting or masticating invading conifer. Dixie National Forest Land Resource Management Plan (as amended)- Goal 15 -- Maintain or enhance the terrestrial habitat for all wildlife species presently on the Forest (page IV-5). All the vegetation treatments proposed should increase browse and or forage for Forest MIS species, such as mule deer, elk and wild turkey. Goal 17 -- Managed Classified Species habitat to maintain or enhance their status through direct habitat improvement and agency cooperation (Page IV-6). This project has the potential to benefit a core, remnant population of BCT. BCT are an Intermountain Region Sensitive species and is managed under Conservation Agreement and Strategy that both DWR and the Forest Service are signatories or involved partners. Deer Herd Unit # 30 (Pine Valley) 2015 The Unit Plan has objectives to "Maintain or enhance forage production through direct range improvements on winter and summer deer range throughout the unit to achieve population management objectives," and "Maintain critical fawning habitat in good condition. Fawn recruitment is a major concern on this unit and maybe the single greatest factor limiting the population." In order to accomplish these objectives it sets the following strategies "Coordinate with federal and state partners in designing projects that will improve fire resiliency and protect areas of crucial habitat," "Manage riparian areas in critical fawning habitat to furnish water, cover and succulent forage from mid- to late summer," "Protect deer winter ranges from wildfire by reseeding burned areas, creating fuel breaks and vegetated, green strips and reseed areas dominated by Cheat grass with desirable perennial vegetation," The Plan specifically calls for "Landscape level watershed improvements on the Pine Valley Ranger District of the Dixie National Forest with a focus on transitional ranges," as well as Pinyon juniper removal efforts and reseeding in sagebrush and mountain brush communities. Additionally, see "Other Sustainable Uses" for a discussion on depredation issues. Bonneville cutthroat trout Range-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy (UDWR 2018): The BCT CAS identifies large wildfires as a factor that is a threat to the persistence of BCT, with the threat being highest for disjunct populations such as Water Canyon. As outlined in the Project Need, Water Quality and Quantity and Ecological Thresholds sections of the proposal the treatments within this proposal will support the following objectives and actions from the BCT CAS: Goal 2: Protect all critical BCT populations (in this case critical = genetically pure). Goal 3, Objective 1: Work with landowners to maintain/improve land management activities. Goal 8, Objective 1 Encourage and enable partners to perform restoration that benefits the BCT fisheries. State of Utah-Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy: Protecting the health and welfare of Utahns and our lands. Recommendations- 5. Adopt key recommendations from the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy- Encourage federal land management agencies to expedite fuels treatments. Pine Valley Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2014 Objectives: 1) Enhance levels of fire resistance and protection to the community. 2) Reduce the potential for and the consequences of wildfire. Goal B: Community will work with county, state and federal fire officials to decrease fuels on adjacent public lands to reduce wildfire intensity and impact in and around the community. The Plan lists a major part of achieving this goal is to complete the fuel break around Pine Valley, parts of which are included in this proposal. Washington County Resource Management Plan The following objectives and action recommended in the Washington County RMP are fulfilled by the various aspects of this projects and the project's objectives to improve forest and watershed health, protect sensitive and recreational fisheries, reduce the risk of uncharacteristically large, severe wildfire and Fire Management Objectives: 1) Fuels and fires are managed so that the county has no catastrophic wildfires. 2) Controlled fire is a tool for managing fuels. 3) Fire management is used as a tool to protect water quality and forage yield. To achieve these objectives the County recommended the following pre-suppression activities: 1) The creation of defensible space around homes, outbuildings, campgrounds. 2) Fuel load reduction projects through thinning, harvesting, and other mechanical means. 3) Utilizing prescribed fire under the appropriate conditions to remove hazardous fuels. 4) Implement efforts to maintain or create healthy landscapes and ecosystems focused on native vegetation. Fisheries Objectives: 1) Fisheries support healthy ecosystems, enhance native fish populations, and provide sport fishing. 2) Fisheries play a role in getting listed species delisted and preventing listing of new species. To achieve these objectives the County recommended the following Management Action: 1) The county will work with state, federal, and local partners to manage existing fisheries. Forest Management Objectives: 1) Forests are healthy and sustainable through management that responds to pest concerns and plans for responsible harvest. 2) Forest are managed to avoid catastrophic fires. To achieve these objectives the County recommended the following Management Actions: 1) The county will support and facilitate efforts by US Forest Service, state partners, and private landowners to maintain healthy forests through active and adaptive management. 2) The county will support efforts to manage fuels to reduce catastrophic wildfires in forests by identifying high priority areas for fuels management and actively participating in fuels decisions. Livestock and Grazing Objectives: 1) Grazing is adaptively managed to fully utilize forage resources. Adjusting stocking rates to achieve proper stocking should be based on monitoring of actual stocking, utilization, and trends in range vegetation and soil. This is called the "stock and monitor" approach and is synonymous with adaptive management. 2) Grazing rights are managed under best grazing practices including the time/timing/intensity model. Riparian Area Objectives: 1) Riparian areas are healthy and ecologically functional, where functional is not defined us untouched, but rather as structurally stable and supporting riparian flora and fauna. To achieve these objectives the County recommended the following Management Action: 1) The county will work with federal, state, and municipal partners to manage existing riparian areas. Water Quality and Hydrology Objectives: 1) The county has an adequate supply of clean water to supply the domestic, recreational, and ecological needs of the residents and visitors. Wilderness Objectives: 1) Existing wilderness is ecologically healthy and supports appropriate recreation. Wildlife Objectives: 1) Thriving wildlife populations provide wildlife viewing and hunting experiences for residents and visitors to the county. 2) Hunting continues to be part of the economy and traditions of the area.

Within the last decade the Pine Valley Mountain range that surrounds the project area has had several wildfires (Forsythe Ridge 2008, Mill Flat 2009, Oak Grove 2016, Saddle 2017, West Valley 2018) with various impacts to forest health and the surrounding communities. The Pine Valley Mountain is surrounded by several small communities (Pine Valley, Pinto, Central, New Harmony etc.) that need effective fuel breaks and defensible fire spaces. Currently more than 900 acres of a fuel break have been completed around the community of Pine Valley. This project proposes completing another 55 acres along the east side of the fuel break. This area is in Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) 3 the project would move it towards Condition Class 1 and this project will help achieve this by thinning and piling PJ and other conifers and reducing fuel loading. The purpose of the fuel break is to protect critical infrastructure and the community of Pine Valley. The Community Wildfire Protection Plan for Pine Valley lists the fuel break as a priority action (see Relationship to Management Plans Section and attachments). Within Grass Valley both the 2018 West Valley Fire and the 2017 Main Canyon Fire threatened private property adjacent to Forest Lands. This project proposes to expand on private land treatments to reduce fuels that were completed by UTFFSL in 2018 (~25 acres of mechanical cut and pile treatments), as well as initiate Defensible Fire Area treatments on Forest Service lands immediately adjacent to this parcel and another private parcel. These areas are in Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) 2 and the project would move them towards Condition Class by removing encroaching PJ and reducing fuel loading. The sagebrush steppe mastication treatment areas are currently in FRCC 2 and 3 and the project should move them toward an FRCC of 1. In several fires on the Dixie National Forest, including the West Valley fire, conifers in riparian areas have provided ladder fuel and fuel continuity that allowed for fire to move down drainages. Water Canyon currently has a moderate level of PJ encroachment into the riparian hardwood community. In spots the PJ encroachment is dense enough to burn at high severities (see attached photos). In the upper portions of the area proposed for treatment in this Phase, there are continuous dense stands of small diameter conifers that would carry fire down the drainage and likely burn at high intensities (see attached images). The project would thin and pile burn these allowing for hydric vegetation and riparian hardwoods to expand which should help slow/change fire behavior. As highlighted in the Project Need and Ecological thresholds/Threats and Risks Sections post-fire flooding has had significant impacts on fisheries throughout the State in the past 2 decades. In fact, flooding and debris flows following the West Valley Fire eliminated a core, remnant population of BCT in Reservoir Canyon. The Water Canyon BCT population is a disjunct, peripheral population and if it were eliminated inf flooding following a fire only active management could bring it back. Fish habitat often takes decades to recover from large scale flooding and changes in sediment transport dynamics following wildfire. Reservoir Canyon is in that position after the West Valley Fire (see attached images). Cheat grass is present throughout the project area and a large wildfire could result in type conversion to cheat grass in sagebrush, mountain shrub and PJ woodland communities. This could have major impacts to big game use of the area, as well as the ability of the area to sustain the current level of livestock AUMs. Other values at risk from wildfire should the project not be completed include. Homes (~482) and outbuildings in the community of Pine Valley and the private lands in Grass Valley, the road and trail infrastructure in the Pine Valley Recreation Area, Pine Valley Reservoir, irrigation water and infrastructure in Grass Valley and Pine Valley, the Pine Valley Municipal Watershed and four different public water systems.

Treatments in the Grass Valley portion of the project area were initiated to improve watershed conditions. Phase 1 of this project proposes riparian conifer removal in Water Canyon and Bark Hollow. The project also proposes PJ reduction in upland sagebrush and mountain brush communities adjacent to both these streams and the Upper Santa Clara River. Pebble counts in Water Canyon and the Santa Clara River have both shown the fine sediment levels exceed Forest plan standards. Pinyon Juniper removal projects have been shown to increase the ground cover of grasses and forbs, thereby reducing bare ground and erosion (Roundy & Vernon, 1999; Pierson, Bates, Svejcar, & Hardegree, 2007a; Peterson & Stringham, 2008; Pierson, et al., 2010; Cline, Pierson, Kormos, & Williams, 2010). Similarly, trails with direct hydrologic connectivity have been shown to increase sedimentation and impact macroinvertebrate communities (Kidd et al. 2014). This Phase of the project would reroute 0.15 miles of a non-motorized trail that is within 0-50 feet from Water Canyon and has direct hydrologic connectivity in multiple places including one stream crossing. The project will also reroute a portion of trail that has begun to rill out and funnel water and sediment directly into Reservoir Canyon. The reroute would put the trail in a more sustainable location and stop the current rill erosion. The benefits of healthy riparian vegetation and connected floodplains and wetlands to water quality, as well as water storage and release are well documented. Riparian vegetation buffers can trap sediment during overbank flow events and prevent sediment from overland runoff from reaching stream channels (Belt, O'Laughlin, & Merrill, 1992). Fine sediment input to streams can lead to an associated increase in nutrient loading, decreased dissolved oxygen and an increase in waterborne diseases. Stream bank stability is instrumental in preventing excessive erosion. Willow-sedge communities are among the best for maintaining stream bank stability (Winward, 2000). This project proposes to improve hydric species and riparian hardwood communities through removal of encroaching conifers. As highlighted in other portion of the proposal wildfire can have immediate and relatively long-lasting negative impacts to water quality. Ash and debris flows can elevate levels of total dissolved solids, lower dissolved oxygen and increase nutrient levels (Neary et al. 2005). These impacts can extend for long distances (30-50 miles downstream; Lyon and O'Connor 2008). The Santa Clara River downstream from Baker Reservoir is 303d listed for Total Dissolved Solids, reducing the potential for uncharacteristically high severity wildfire in the in the headwaters of the Santa Clara reduces the risk of exacerbating these water quality issues. While research regarding the impacts of PJ removal on water yield are mixed, recent research indicates that pinyon-juniper removal in mountain sagebrush can increase soil water availability (Roundy et al. 2014). This research indicates that the later the stage of PJ succession the larger the benefit is likely to be. This project proposes removing over 700 acres of Phase II PJ succession and almost 230 acres of Phase II/Phase III PJ, which should increase in the duration of soil moisture availability anywhere between 10-26 days for multiple years following treatment. Temporary water yield increases are also known to occur after thinning ponderosa pine ecosystems (Baker 1986). This project proposes thinning treatments in over 180 acres of ponderosa pine habitats in Pine Valley. Both the Santa Clara River and Water in Bark Hollow are used for irrigation and Pine Valley Reservoir stores water for irrigation. Preventing impacts to irrigation infrastructure caused by flooding subsequent to wildfire also maintains water availability for agriculture. Past and future phases of this project will reduce fuels and the risk of wildfire in the Pine Valley Municipal watershed. The Pine Valley fuel break treatments that occurred in 2017 and those proposed for this year also help to prevent wildfire impacts to for public drinking water sources.

The Environmental Analysis and Decision Notice documents for the Pine Valley Fuel Break, Upper Santa Clara project and Grass Valley Watershed Restoration projects are all completed, signed and attached. Cultural clearance has been completed for all acres (181) in the Pine Valley portion of the project area, but not for the Grass Valley portion of the Phase I project area. The proposal requests funding for cultural clearance of the 831 acres of Phase I in the Grass Valley portion of the project area as well as 2,041 acres for Phase II of this project.

Defensible Fire Area treatments: Lop and pile -- Approximately 361 acres (281 acres on Forest and 81 acres on private) have slope/accessibility issues and will have all juniper lopped and piled. All other conifers less than or equal to 12 inch DBH will also be lopped and piled. Mastication -- Approximately 307 acres will have all juniper masticated. Additionally, all other conifers less than or equal to 12 inch DBH will also be masticated. Mastication will be contracted. Mechanical cut and pile: Approximately 69 acres of private land will have all juniper cut, skidded and piled. Additionally, all other conifers less than or equal to 12 inch DBH will also be cut, skidded and piled. Ponderosa Pine Treatments: Approximately 90 acres will be mechanical logged with whole tree skidding and yarding. Approximately 30 acres have slope/accessibility issues and will have all juniper lopped and piled. All other conifers less than or equal to 12 inch DBH will also be lopped and piled. Sagebrush steppe treatments/Mountain shrub improvement treatments Mastication -- Approximately 229 acres will have all juniper masticated. Additionally, all other conifers less than or equal to 12 inch DBH will also be masticated. Mastication will be contracted. Riparian improvement treatments (71 acres) -- Within the inner gorge of the stream all junipers will be lopped and scattered. Additionally, all other conifers less than or equal to 12 inch DBH will also be lopped and scattered within the inner gorge. Outside of the inner gorge and all juniper will be lopped and piled. All other conifers less than or equal to 12 inch DBH will also be lopped and piled. Seeding: All areas to have vegetation removed will be seeded to help prevent expansion of cheat grass. See attached seed mixes. Seed will be purchased from GBRC and the seeding will be a contracted aerial broadcast seeding. Grass Valley Pasture Fence rebuild: Approximately 50,240 linear feet of four strand barbed wire fence will be installed around the Grass Valley pasture using a fence contractor. Pine Valley trail system reroutes: Project will use Conservation Corps Crew to reroute: Water Canyon Trail 31024 (three sections 0.034 miles, 0.05 miles, 0.15 miles), White Rocks Trail 31014 (1.25 miles) and the Cut-Off Trail 31038 (0.75 miles). Additionally, corps crews will complete trail maintenance of sections of trail damage in runoff following the West Valley Fire.

Vegetation -- Within Phase I project treatments the Dixie National Forest has three established long-term vegetation monitoring plots including one Riparian Level III inventory on Water Canyon (Winward, 2000). The riparian inventories monitor trend in vegetation composition along the greenline throughout the drainage and will help to evaluate changes in riparian vegetation composition along with repeat photography. Upland sites use the ocular microplot method. Inventory sites are read on a rotating five year interval and will continued to be monitored for Forest objectives. Inventories are detailed in biannual monitoring reports by the Dixie National Forest and can be uploaded to the WRI web site. Stream habitat -- Dixie National Forest personnel have also begun collecting data on bank stability, bank cover and greenline to greenline width using the Multiple Indicator Monitoring protocol (Burton, Smith, & Cowley, 2011). Bank stability, bank cover and greenline to greenline width have been evaluated at three of the Riparian Inventory locations in the project area, one of which are within the riparian conifer removal treatments on Water Cnayon. The goal is to resurvey these sites for bank stability, bank cover and greenline to greenline width every 5 years. Results of Partial MIM monitoring are are detailed in biannual monitoring reports by the Dixie National Forest and can be uploaded to the WRI web site. Fish -- UDWR has three monitoring stations on Water Canyon that are visited every 5-7 years to monitor the status and trend of the remnant BCT population in this stream using density, standing crop and occupied stream miles (Hadley & Golden, 2019). Similarly, the Dixie National Forest has monitoring stations on the Santa Clara River and its tributaries to track the status and trend of nonnative trout, which are the Management Indicator Species (MIS) for those streams. DNF attempts to monitor quantitative fish stations on a rotating 5 year interval to track status and trends in density and standing crop of MIS. UDWR and DNF both summarize results of their sampling efforts in reports that can be uploaded to the WRI web site. Wildlife monitoring - The Utah Division of Wildlife regularly conducts mule deer and elk population estimates in and surrounding the project area. Fuels monitoring -- Brown's transects have been established to measure fuel loading throughout the project area. These can be repeated post-treatment and the results uploaded to the UWRI web site. Additionally photo points will be established before and after project treatments within the various project units.

The Upper Santa Clara project has been well coordinated with other agencies and private landowners. Phase I proposes treating 150 acres of private lands adjacent to the Forest in Grass Valley, building on 25 acres already treating by UTFFSL, as well as fuels reduction work completed on private lands during the 2017 Main Canyon Fire and 2018 West Valley Fire. Additionally, UTFFSL personnel and the Forest Service met in November 2019 to discuss this project and how private lands work can be coordinated with work on the Forest. UDWR is aware of this project and was asked for, and provided input to, the Environmental Analysis for the Grass Valley portion of the project. Additionally, these projects were several of many discussed at a meeting between Forest service and UDWR biologists in summer 2019. During the Environmental Analysis process several public meetings were held in the communities of Pine Valley and New Harmony to discuss the fuel break treatments, as well as the Grass Valley Watershed Creek Restoration Project. Additionally, District personnel have met with the Washington County Fire Warden, the Pine Valley Fire Department and the County Commissioners to discuss the project and they are supportive of moving the project forward. Livestock permittees met with USFS and NRCS personnel in December 2019 to discuss the project. To date three of the five permitees have signed up to qualify for funds from the EQIP program to go toward the project. The other permitees have also expressed support and interest in signing up for the EQIP program. NRCS anticipates providing up to $243,495 in funds through the permittee to go towards the Grass Valley pasture fence rebuild and the vegetation/reseeding treatments in Grass Valley.

As mentioned previously this project is one Phase of a large effort to protect communities and allow for natural ignitions to burn in the Pine Valley Wilderness. More than 950 acres of the Pine Valley Fuel break have been completed and over 650 additional acres of vegetation management around the community of Pine Valley will be completed in future Phases of this project. In addition to Phase I future Phases of this project will treat more than 5,000 additional acres in Grass Valley. The Dixie National Forest has been working for nearly a decade to initiate and complete this suite of projects that help create fire resilient communities and ecosystems so that fire can play its natural role in the Pine Valley Wilderness, so the ultimate goal is to be able to manage natural ignitions to maintain ecological diversity in the future. The Forest Service's commitment to community wildfire protection should help to ensure the continued maintenance of the treatments contained in this proposal, as well as the pursuit of additional vegetation management projects that have that same goal. The Pine Valley Community Wildfire Protection Plan will also help make sure that fuels treatments in areas surrounding the community are maintained. The Forest Service and UDWR are both signatories to the Range-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Bonneville cutthroat trout and have repeatedly showed their commitment to implementing and maintaining conservation actions for this species over the past 20 years. Obligations to this CAS will continue to direct management toward maintaining and improving watershed function, through road and trail, instream habitat and riparian and upland vegetation projects, such as those contained in this proposal. The Pine Valley cattle allotment is partially overlain by all of the proposed projects (see Sustainable Uses Section). The portions of the pasture receiving seeding will be rested for two growing seasons using a combination of herding, reduced duration on the pasture and temporary electric fence. The Forest will work with permitees to adjust Annual Operating Instructions to achieve the goals of the project. Additionally, in order to qualify for NRCS funding the permittees need to agree to practices NCRS requires to protect its investment into a plan. In this case the producer that is participating in the upland range work will be required to follow NRCS practice 645- Upland Wildlife Habitat Management. NRCS practice 645-Upland Wildlife Habitat Management will require no grazing for 2 growing seasons, a stubble height requirement, and a grazing management plan with recommendations for proper use. Each NRCS practice has a lifespan Brush Management (practice used for the lop and scatter) has a 10 year lifespan. Meaning that for the next 10 years that practice cannot be implemented again in the same areas. The practice lifespan for fence is 20 years, so fence could not be contracted in the same footprint in the next 20 years. Future grazing management will be determined by long-term trend and annual use data providing an adaptive management feed back loop. One of the goals of the project is to provide a more functional 6 pasture allotment for the permitees. Once treatments in the entire project area are completed the goal is to maintain the treatments through future work to remove whips and missed trees using dedicated hunters and other volunteers, as well as Youth Conservation Corps crews. The Environmental Analysis allows for maintenance of future succession of pinyon and juniper trees into the treated areas.

The entire project area is in the active Pine Valley cattle allotment. The Pine Valley allotment is currently managed on a six pasture, deferred rotation with a permitted use of 786 cow/calf pairs. For many years the Grass Valley pasture has been used as a transitory pasture partially because of poor range conditions (see project need). Additionally, monitoring of annual use indicators on Water Canyon in the adjacent Mountain Unit pasture riparian areas has shown that stubble height and bank alteration have exceeded standard in multiple years over the past decade. One of the main contributors to both these issues has been the non-functional fence around the Grass Valley pasture. Rebuilding the fence would assist with maintaining the distribution and rotation of livestock on the allotment. Additionally, this project proposes 761 acres of mastication and lop and scatter treatments followed by seeding on the Mountain Unit pasture. This is expected to increase forage production on these acres by more than 400lbs/acre. Finally Phase II of this project will propose major work in the Grass Valley pasture including over 1,300 acres of Dixie harrow and seeding. This will dramatically increase the forage in this pasture and allow a return to a full 6 pasture deferred rotation. Resting the treatments in Phase II of the project is contingent on rebuilding the pasture boundary fence. Ponderosa pine communities that are outside of IRAs and the Pine Valley Wilderness have commercial value. This project proposes commercial harvest of 96 acres which could provide approximately 810 CCF of commercial timber volume. The other major use of the project area is recreation. The Pine Valley Recreation Area lies squarely within the area to be surrounded by the Pine Valley Fuel break. The recreation area has averaged over 46,000 visitors a year for the past five years with visitor use generally increasing. This generates over $125,000 a year in user fees for day use and camping. Additionally, it provides considerable business to the restaurants and other service industry businesses in Pine Valley, Central, and Veyo. The Forest Service has invested heavily infrastructure for this are included paved trails, bridges, campgrounds roads and a water system. Flooding that was partially off of the West Valley Fire scar damaged trail bridges, a campground, and the water system in 2018. Reducing the risk of large wildfire impacts to this area will help to maintain and support the economic benefit of recreation gained from this area. Pine Valley Reservoir is a popular family fishery within the recreation area and the Santa Clara flowing into the reservoir is also moderately used fishery by anglers using the recreation area. Downstream in the canyon section of the Santa Clara River below Pine Valley is a destination for fly fisherman and in certain years can produce fairly sizeable brown trout (see images in attachments). Reducing the risk of post-fire flooding impacts to these fisheries helps maintain these recreational opportunities. The Pine Valley Wilderness is a popular place for horseback riding, hunting and hiking. Treatments proposed in the Grass Valley portion of the project will improve trail systems through maintenance and reroutes, as well as improve the visual quality of the landscape by improving riparian, sagebrush steppe and mountain shrub vegetation. Hunting and shed hunting are common activities throughout the area. The benefits to mule deer on crucial and substantial summer range should improve the quality of hunting throughout the project area. This and future phases of the project should also provide additional forage around private lands in the north end of Grass Valley to assist with crop damage issues there. A 2017 report by the Outdoor Industry Association showed that nationally, outdoor recreation generates $887 billion in consumer spending annually, supports 7.6 million jobs and generates $59.2 billion in state and local tax revenue. The USFWS's 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Associated Recreation estimated that more than $1,000,000 was spent on hunting and fishing in Utah alone in 2011. Maintaining and improving these recreational opportunities should provide economic benefits to local communities.

07/01/2020

06/30/2022

2022

A cultural resource survey of 3,000 acres was completed by EcoPlan for a total cost of $72,000. The survey was initiated on March 1, 2021 and SHPO concurrence was received 9/20/2021. This survey consisted of a 100% pedestrian survey of the entire 3,000 acres.

As a result of the survey, a total of 54 archaeological sites were identified within the project area. Of those sites, 26 were determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The project area was modified to avoid those sites and as a result, the project will have no adverse effect to cultural resources.

Implementation will occur in phases so although 3,000 acres was surveyed it will not be implemented all at once. As individual project areas are identified for treatment, the survey data will need to be reviewed to ensure avoidance of any eligible sites.