Woodland trees (pinyon pine, Utah juniper and Gambel oak) have steadily increased in size and density on the previously open sagebrush flat on the top of Harpole Mesa (see attached aerial imagery from 1976 to 2018). The 2008 Porcupine wildfire was stopped by aerial firefighting efforts on the edge of Harpole Mesa, otherwise the trees, and the sagebrush, would have been removed by that fast-moving, severe fire. Important big game winter range sagebrush forage in the adjacent valley was eliminated by that fire. Conversely, due to fire suppression, sagebrush and other shrubs such as bitterbrush, cliffrose and alder-leaf mountain mahogany are losing out to the increasing trees on Harpole Mesa. The proposed mastication treatment can imitate some of the effects of fire by removing the encroaching trees, while retaining and enhancing the important big sagebrush, understory shrub and herbaceous component of the habitat. Harpole Mesa is USFS land adjacent to private, BLM and SITLA lands. Habitat improvement for big game winter range and fuels reduction work in this area provides benefits across boundaries.

1. Create a mosaic of vegetation age/seral structure to improve habitat diversity, and forage production for wildlife. Improve the quality and productivity of shrub and herbaceous understory vegetation on important mule deer and elk winter and transition range. 2. Reduce the risk of stand-replacing crown fire on these Forest Service Lands within the wildland-urban interface adjacent to the Forest boundary (WUI area), including reducing the risk from wildfire to life (fire fighters, recreationists and residents) and reducing the risk of damage to soil and vegetation resources from wildfire on NFS and private property. 3. Increase resistance and resilience of woodland vegetation in this landscape and watershed to climate related stressors (drought, wildfire, insects, and disease) by: *Encouraging a mosaic of vegetative conditions (species, age, and density); *Restoration of fire occurrence to historic intervals, intensity, and severity. 4. Protect watershed values by reducing the risk of severe wildland fire.

This project focuses on pinyon/juniper removal and oak disturbance to maintain diverse, healthy sagebrush/mountain shrub habitat. The herbaceous understory and sagebrush openings are at risk of being lost due to the increasing density of pinyon and juniper trees, overly dense oakbrush and the threat of uncharacteristic wildfire. Risks from the proposed action are minor, as the outcomes of these type of projects are well-known. There are no noxious weeds on the site, and mechanical treatment with limited ground disturbance, combined with seeding, will not result in cheatgrass expansion. According to the NRCS Web Soil Survey, the area has a very high juniper encroachment potential, and the majority of the area is ranked as well-suited for mechanical treatment.

State of Utah Resource Management Plan *Conserve, improve, and restore 500,000 acres of mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. *Protect existing wildlife habitat and improve 500,000 acres of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state by 2025. *Produce and maintain the desired vegetation for wildlife and domestic livestock forage on public and private lands. *Improve vegetative health on public and private lands through range improvements, prescribed fire, vegetation treatments, and active management of invasive plants and noxious weeds. *Actively remove pinyon-juniper encroachment in other ecological sites due to its substantial consumption of water and its detrimental effect on sagebrush, other vegetation, and wildlife Grand County Resource Management Plan *Support federal agencies in vegetative management treatments in forested cover types that provide for a full range of seral stages which achieve a mosaic of habitat conditions and diversity. Each seral stage should contain a strong representation of early seral tree species. Recruitment and sustainability of early seral tree species in the landscape is needed to maintain ecosystem resilience to disturbance. *Support the removal of conifers as determined appropriate. Manti-La Sal Forest Land and Resource Management Plan of 1986, as amended *Minimize hazards from wildfire - reduce fuel loading, stand and crown/canopy density, and resultant fire hazard to vegetation, the public, private property, and firefighters (LRMP III-5). *Maintain/improve habitat capability through direct treatment of vegetation (LRMP III-23). *Provide habitat needs for deer and elk (LRMP III-19), especially improving the cover:forage ratio by maintaining 50% of habitat as foraging habitat (early seral stages, not thick pinyon-juniper and decadent brush). *The Utah Fire Amendment has a goal to reduce hazard fuels. The full range of fuel reduction methods is authorized, consistent with forest and management area emphasis and direction. *Certain vegetative types are to be managed such that varying successional stages will be present to provide for a high level of vegetative diversity and productivity (III-2). Pinyon-juniper stands on gentle slopes and on lands with good soils will be treated periodically to maintain early successional stages (III-8). Intensive management practices would maintain structural diversity within the woody species in at least 25 percent of the area covered by the Gambel oak and mountain shrub type (III-9). *In Range Emphasis Management Units, nonstructural restoration practices include a full spectrum of vegetation treatments. National Fire Plan *Design projects to manage the potential impacts of wildland fire to communities and ecosystems and to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildland fire. Grand County Master Plan *Public Lands Policy 2- Grand County will work to protect watersheds. Public agencies are encouraged to adopt policies that enhance or restore watersheds for Moab. *Implementation Actions- Encourage responsible re-vegetation, preservation of existing native plant communities and control of noxious weeds. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer *Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range. *Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that are being taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush habitats. *Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands in early successional stages. Convert habitats back to young, vigorous shrub-dominated communities. *Work with land management agencies and private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning and wintering areas. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Elk 2015-2022 *Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. *Reduce adverse impacts to elk herds and elk habitat. *Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. DEER HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Deer Herd Unit # 13 La Sal October 2015 *Protect, maintain, and/or improve deer habitat through direct range improvements to support and maintain herd population management objectives. *Work with federal, private, and state partners to improve crucial deer habitats through the WRI process. Elk Herd Unit Management Plan Elk Herd Unit #13 La Sal *Support habitat improvement projects that increase forage for big game and livestock. Improve forage and cover values on elk summer ranges. * Remove pinyon-juniper encroachment into winter range sagebrush parks and summer range mountain brush communities. Over 500 acres per year will be targeted using primarily mechanical treatments. Utah Wildlife Action Plan Gambel Oak and mountain sagebrush are Key Habitat in the 2015-2025 Plan Recommendations to improve condition include: 1)Promoting policies and management that allow fire to return to a more natural regime. 2)Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the uncharacteristic class, including cutting mulching of invading pinyon and juniper trees, and herbicide or mechanical treatment. 3)single tree mulching/cutting invading conifer in the mountain sagebrush type. Utah's Wild Turkey Management Plan *The plans objective is to maintain and improve wild turkey populations. One of the strategies identified to reach this objective is to do habitat projects. This project will help to achieve this objective. *The plan also identifies as an objective increasing habitat quantity and quality for turkeys by 40,000 acres statewide by 2020. This project will help to achieve this by increase herbaceous foraging habitat for turkeys. Shared Stewardship While the Castle Creek and Placer Creek watersheds did not rank in the top (20%) priority in the Utah Shared Stewardship process, these watersheds are identified by the EPA as a Sole Source Aquifer for Castle Valley, and the Town of Castle Valley General Plan and 1996 Watershed Protection Ordinance include specific protections for those watersheds, including the Harpole Mesa area. The Town will encourage...policies throughout the watershed that protect water quality and availability.

The Harpole Mesa project area is in stark contrast to the Porcupine Ranch wildfire (2008) that burned pinyon-juniper and oak in the adjacent Pinhook Valley. The fire was stopped on top of the mesa with retardant, and the hard line is still visible along the western edge. Post-fire, there were issues with severe erosion and flooding downstream in Castle Valley. Cheatgrass and knapweed increased. The proposed project would reduce the risk of that kind of damage to soil and vegetation resources from severe wildfire. The Castle Valley Community Wildfire Protection Plan, updated in 2019, focuses on cooperative efforts to implement fuels reduction projects that are also sensitive to ecological considerations and watershed protection. Concern is expressed in the plan that the head or south end of the valley is defined by heavy fuel loading, increasing slope and no natural or man-made fire breaks, and that pinyon, juniper, Gambel oak and mountain shrub woodlands have proven susceptible to fast moving and intense fire due to live fuel layers that have increased with lack of natural fire activity. Important natural resources they want to protect include the slopes above the valley that are covered with pinyon-juniper forest, sagebrush, and mountain shrubs. Fire in this area could have detrimental effects for soil and slope stability by exposing the soil to the effects of heavy summer rainstorms. In some areas the effect could be positive if small shrubs, grasses, and forbs are released by the removal of the pinyon-juniper overstory. Generally, these plants are better at conserving and protecting the soil than pinyon and juniper because these trees are aggressive competitors for soil moisture and as they increase tend to crowd out understory species. As in the main part of the valley, cheatgrass is present on the talus slopes and could increase with fire. The project is bordered on the north, east and west sides by private lands and SITLA, with Forest Service lands on the south. All proposed treatment locations are within 1.5 miles of private inholdings/Forest boundary. This proposal will reduce the continuity of vegetative crown and ladder fuels, serving to modify fire behavior, reduce fire intensity and severity and therefore reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and damage to natural and cultural resources while restoring the fire regime condition class (FRCC) to low. It will also provide fire fighters the opportunity to suppress fires under conditions that allow for fire fighter safety and protection of life, property and improvements. This improved condition class and reduced fire risk will benefit National Forest lands and improvements by aiding in protection from fires (natural and man-caused) which spread from private lands, dispersed recreation areas, and other areas of the National Forest. It will also aid in the protection of private infrastructure from fires that initiate on and spread from the National Forest. National policy directs the Forest Service to consider whether climate change is affecting forest health, and where applicable, implement adaptation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of landscapes to expected climate change effects. This includes building resistance to climate-related stressors (drought, wildfire, insects, and disease) and increasing ecosystem resilience by minimizing the severity of climate change impacts, reducing vulnerability, and/or increasing the adaptive capacity of elements of the ecosystem. Increased resistance of sagebrush and mountain brush vegetation types in the project area to climate-related stressors would result from encouraging a mosaic of vegetative conditions (species, age, and density) and treatments that mimic natural fire effects in areas where the use of fire is limited.

According to the Castle Valley CWPP, Castle and Placer Creeks have been identified as major recharge sources for the unconsolidated aquifer that provides domestic water, via private wells, to the residents of Castle Valley; the water supply has been officially designated as a Sole Source Aquifer by the US EPA. In 2008, the Porcupine Ranch Fire severely burned 17% of the Placer Creek Watershed. The post-fire effects on the watershed have yet to be realized, however, such an event is known to be detrimental to water quality and quantity. A resulting debris flow did occur the following year, which had significant surface impacts on the community. Currently, the Castle Creek Watershed is also at risk because it shares similar vegetation conditions and types, topography and weather patterns that promoted the Porcupine Ranch Fire into a fast moving, high-intensity fire. According. the fire district has included the Placer Creek and Castle Creek Watersheds within its CWPP boundary. This has been done primarily for two reasons: (1) firefighter safety and (2) watershed health, as Castle Valley has a high, vested interest in these two watersheds and by including them in the CWPP allows funding to become more available for creating defensible space around homes, and to reduce hazardous fuels on the public lands. It is the Forest Service's responsibility to ensure that activities implemented by the Forest include appropriate soil/water best management and other practices to protect water resources. Project design, site specific recommendations and the incorporation of SWCPs during project implementation mitigate concerns for watershed and water quality. By reducing the risk of severe, large scale wildfire in the project area, the actions will protect watershed values from damage to soils that result in reduced infiltration and increased runoff in the short term and loss of top soil and subsequent reduction in soil productivity in the long term. The project is designed to increase percent effective ground cover, reduce soil loss due to erosion and reduce the potential amount of area in detrimental soil condition (as from severe fire, compaction or displacement). Monitoring of similar treatments on other areas of the neighboring Manti-La Sal National Forest with similar equipment found no detrimental soil compaction from several passes of the machine on the soil surface. The chips from the mulching added additional ground cover. Soil bulk density following use of the bullhog machine was similar to non-treated or control areas. The total effective ground cover in the treated areas was higher than in non-treated areas. Areas dominated by pinyon-juniper produce limited understory vegetation and the bare soil inter-spaces are prone to soil loss by erosion. Herbaceous vegetation is important in impeding overland flow and is effective at reducing soil erosion. Both the potential increase in herbaceous vegetation and the masticated tree material should help stabilize the soils by reducing erosion and protect the water quality throughout the watershed. Pinyon-juniper trees alter the amount and distribution of water that reaches the soil, intercepting 10-20% of precipitation according to Horman et al. 1999. By removing pinyon-juniper, this should allow for more precipitation to contact the soil and increase biomass on the ground. Increased runoff and sediment load decrease water yield and water quality within the watershed. A recent publication by Roundy et al. 2014 showed that phase 3 juniper removal can increase available moisture for more than 3 weeks in the spring, and removing juniper from phase 1 and 2 stands can increase water from 6-20 days respectively. Because juniper are prolific water users, they readily out-compete understory species which eventually die off.

The Harpole Mesa project falls under authority of 36 CFR 220.6 (e)(6) - Timber stand and/or wildlife habitat improvement activities which do not include the use of herbicides or do not require more than one mile of low standard road construction. The Decision Memo for this project is expected to be signed at the end of March 2020. Cultural resource surveys were funded/completed in FY20 by WRI project #4793. Proposed activities meet the goals and management direction provided by the Forest Plan. Management emphasis includes: *Production of forage and cover for domestic livestock and wildlife (III-64) - range condition is improved or maintained through range and/or silvicultural improvement practices, nonstructural restoration practices include a full spectrum of vegetation treatments *Use mechanical treatment or prescribed fire in combination with harvest methods as appropriate to alter timber stands and increase herbaceous yield or cover (III-65) *Wildlife habitat diversity may be enhanced by vegetation manipulation (III-67) This project conforms to these sections of the Plan and is consistent with other portions relative to these types of activities. The project also complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including regarding archaeological resources, and has received SHPO concurrence.

Treatment for the Harpole Mesa project will utilize mechanized bull hog mastication of pinyon/juniper to remove encroaching pinyon pine and juniper trees from sage and mountain shrub areas, thin pinyon-juniper infill and create openings in dense Gambel oak stands to regenerate a portion of the mid-aged and mature vegetation to diversify stand structure and provide more palatable plants for wildlife forage. Thinning will retain mature pinyon pine, clumps/groups of woodland trees and larger, acorn-producing Gambel oak. A seed mix of native grass/forb species will be incorporated during the mechanical operations to enhance the depleted herbaceous understory. The results of this type of treatment are well-understood, and have been successful in similar areas on the La Sal Mountains. There will be a seasonal restriction (February 15 to July 31) on project activity to protect migratory birds, particularly pinyon jay.

*Day-to-day monitoring of contract or force account operations will be completed during implementation by USFS and/or DWR personnel. *USFS personnel will monitor for weeds post-treatment. Existing or new weed populations will be treated in accordance with existing noxious weed management decisions. *Photo points will be established to identify pre and post-treatment conditions, as well as long-term monitoring points for future reference. Post-treatment photos will be taken within 3 years post-treatment. *Monitoring nests of raptors (golden eagle) near the project area will be continued annually by the USFS. *An interdisciplinary team review will be conducted following implementation (within two years) to determine if project objectives have been met and to determine whether implementation of SWCPs has been effective.

The Harpole Mesa project is the phase 2, USFS portion of the Castle Valley Wildfire Mitigation Project with the BLM. DWR is also a partner in this big game habitat improvement project.

The area being treated is federal lands that will continue to be managed for multiple uses such as grazing, hunting, wildlife and overall ecosystem health. While fire is an important part of this ecosystem, due to WUI, multiple landowners and the proximity to ownership boundaries, the use of fire is limited in the project area and mechanical treatments will continue to be a way to maintain diverse age classes and vegetation communities in the area. The pinyon-juniper and sagebrush areas have a somewhat depleted herbaceous understory component, so seeding will be utilized as part of the project. The area generally receives light use by livestock (cattle), and no changes to livestock management are anticipated at this time. Forage utilization and trend monitoring will continue and adaptive management can be applied if required. The La Sal deer herd is well under 50% of population objective. Elk on the La Sal Mountains are at objective. Turkey populations are increasing on the La Sals. DWR will continue to strive to achieve and maintain objectives for big game and turkeys according to management plans on the La Sal Mountains.

The project area is part of one cattle allotment. The proposed treatment would decrease the amount of woody vegetation (especially pinyon-juniper and oak) within much of the grazed areas in these allotments. This would likely lead to an increased production of herbaceous vegetation (grass and forb species) on up to 200 acres. Noxious weeds are not expected to increase or spread as a result of the treatments as best management practices will be implemented. Site visits found little cheatgrass in the areas to be treated and the risk of cheatgrass being established as a result of the project is low, due to the limited ground disturbance and reseeding treatment. Any other noxious weeds in the area would continue to be treated. In the short-term there could be some interruption of grazing operations; however the long-term benefits to the range resource outweigh the short-term negative impacts that may have to occur to individual permit holders such as resting pastures or exclusion of livestock from the area. One of the species expected to benefit from the improved sagebrush habitat is black rosy-finch. This species, along with gray-crowned and brown-capped rosy-finches, is known to winter in the area, foraging on seeds of grasses, annual forbs and Composite species such as sagebrush, sunflowers and thistles. The pinyon-juniper thinning and seeding will improve the sagebrush and herbaceous components in the project area for rosy-finches and other wildlife.