During Phase 1 and Phase 2 there has been ~4,500 total acres treated in the Salina Creek and Old Woman Plateau areas. This proposal is for Phase 3 and will consist of treating ~9,100 acres. The plan is to treat an estimated ~30,000+ additional acres during future phases of the project. Continuing project treatments at an increased pace and scale of restoration in the Salina Creek and Old Woman Plateau areas is needed to not only address the significant sagebrush/grass/forb decline in the area, but also to reduce the risk of fire to the numerous values in the area. The pinion/juniper (PJ) expansion and fading understory in this area is having negative impacts to Salina Creek water quality, Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub, along with numerous wildlife species (primarily Mule deer; which is a Fishlake National Forest Management Indicator Species) which are dependent upon this area and these ecosystems. Approximately 1,000 acres of the PJ are in Phase II transitioning to Phase III. On the ground surveys and site visits in these areas have allowed staffs from the Richfield Ranger District to see the lack of understory plants. Approximately 5,500-7,500 acres of the PJ are in Phase I transitioning to Phase II. These areas are planned to be treated via hand thinning and prescribed fire. There is also approximately 500 acres of aspen/mixed conifer planned to be treated via prescribed fire located on both private and USFS land. Forage productivity has diminished greatly over the past century and the PJ expansion continues on a yearly basis into the more productive sage/grass/forb and mountain brush communities. This PJ expansion largely results from reduced occurrences of natural disturbance. As PJ has become dominant on the landscape and as the loss of understory vegetation increases, there will be continued increases in sediment transfer and TDS into Salina Creek and big game and small game animals will continue to experience a loss of foraging habitat. This area has a small Mule deer population. This expansion of more PJ and associated decreasing sage/grass/forb and mountain brush habitat has contributed to and will continue the overall decrease in Mule deer populations and other wildlife species in these areas such as the Greater sage grouse. This expansion factor also contributes to the issue of big game moving closer to higher elevation aspen and local agricultural crops in the valleys to find sustainable forage. Elk depredation issues have been a source of controversy with private landowners for several years. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Range Trend Study "Trough Hollow - STUDY NO. 16C-41" is found north of I-70 within the project area. Trend photos can be viewed in the documents section of this proposal. A summary of the study states: "Since the study was established in 1985, this site has remained dominated by a stable stand of mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana) and antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) with a diverse understory composed of perennial grasses and forbs. The grass component of the understory is dominated by muttongrass (Poa fendleriana) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and perennial grasses have shown an overall increasing trend (Table 16C-41.7, Table 16C-41.10). Forbs are a diverse mixture of mostly native plants with pussytoes (Antennaria sp.) being the dominant species (Table 16C-41.7, Table 16C-41.11). Preferred browse species are dominated by mountain big sagebrush and antelope bitterbrush with cover remaining stable over the study period (Table 16C-41.6, Table 16C-41.12). Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) has been present on the site in all years, but a trend is difficult to determine due to point-quarter density data not being gathered in multiple years (Photos, Table 16C-41.14). The state and transition model place this community in the Mountain big sagebrush-steppe/Introduced Non-natives state. In addition, the model indicates that improper livestock grazing could have the potential to alter the resiliency of this site due to a change in the composition of a robust and diverse understory. However, with proper management it is likely that this site will remain in the present state in future sample years (Jornada, 2019)". For this reason it is imperative that we affect as much transition and winter habitat by treating and seeding (if needed) to produce diversity across a landscape that is losing value for big game as well as a variety of small game and avian populations. The overall end state of this project is to: 1. Improve vegetative resilience by increasing abundance and diversity of native shrubs and perennial herbs (grasses, forbs and other herbaceous vegetation). 2. Reduce risk and associated negative impacts from uncharacteristic wildfire to the public, firefighters, structures, private property, and other high values at risk. 3. Improve wildlife habitat summer, transition and winter range (i.e. Mule deer). 4. Improve and expand wildlife habitat for Greater sage grouse. 5. Reduce sediment transfer and TDS into Salina Creek to improve water quality and improve and protect Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub habitat (Intermountain Region Sensitive Species). To accomplish this end state, the Richfield Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest (USFS), the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands (UFFSLs), and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), Sevier County and adjacent private landowners have determined there is a need to treat ~8,900 acres of USFS and private lands that are also in the Old Woman Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU). This project is located in the Salina Creek area near the communities of Accord Lakes, Salina Creek, and the SUFCO Mine. This project has the potential to minimize big game crop depredation on private lands. Improving the habitat in these areas will result in multiple benefits, which include but are not limited to, improving habitat for wildlife dependent upon these various ecosystems, improving native species diversity, reducing hazardous fuel accumulations, reducing the risk for large scale, uncharacteristic wildland fires, which in turn creates a fire resilient environment with less risk to public and firefighter safety. This also results in lower risk to sensitive wildlife species (i.e. Greater sage grouse, Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub) This project will also improve ground cover and reduce sediment transfer, reducing TDS in Salina Creek. As PJ are removed and replaced by grasses, forbs, and shrubs, sedimentation into Salina Creek should decrease, thereby protecting Bonneville cutthroat trout, Southern leatherside chub, and associated habitat. Fire risk and associated negative impacts to aquatic habitats and riparian areas - such as erosion, ash flows, fish kills and general habitat degradation - should also be reduced as fuel loads are reduced through project activities. These treatments will create a better-balanced ecosystem diversity that will enhance population viability for a variety of big game, small game, neo-tropical migratory birds, upland game, raptors, small mammals, insects and key pollinator species. Treatment design will be created on the ground to provide forage to cover ratios that will benefit a variety of flora and fauna. A reduction of PJ encroachment into sagebrush communities in the Salina Creek area will also help enlarge habitat use opportunities for Greater sage grouse populations established in the area (approximately 2/3's portion of the project is within a PHMA). Furthermore, due to the inadequate supply of water for livestock and wildlife in the area, a water improvement project is also planned. This water improvement project will be a multi-purpose system that will serve livestock, wildlife and provide a dedicated water source/emergency reservoir of 12,000 gallons for wildland fire operations in the area. This will enable wildland firefighter's access to water which is greatly needed and reduce their turnaround time filling engines

Project goals include the following: 1. Implement a landscape level ecosystem restoration project with an increased pace and scale of implementation across boundaries. 2. Promote landscape level treatments on federal, state, and private lands located in the Salina Creek and Gooseberry areas with a collaborative effort between USFS, UFFSLs, UDWR and Private Landowners. 3. Minimize project costs by promoting cost effective treatments along with increased scale and size of treatments that will reduce overall cost/acre. 4. Manage forest cover types to provide variety in stand sizes shape, crown closure, edge contrast, age structure and interspersion. 5. Implement a landscape level ecosystem restoration project that will reduce hazardous fuels and reduce risk of catastrophic fire. 6. Improve wildlife habitat to provide quality habitat to improve the viability of local Mule deer populations. Project objectives include the following: 1. Improve and/or maintain the quality of habitat on big game summer, winter and transition habitat by thinning and prescribed burning with prior seeding in mechanical areas. Design forage to cover ratios to benefit a variety of wildlife species. 2. Improve and expand habitat for sensitive, threatened and endangered species such as Greater sage grouse, Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub. 3. Improve or maintain quality of habitat for wild turkeys and upland game by increasing acres of grass and forb communities. 4. Reduce hazardous fuels while maintaining and improving fire resilient landscapes by improving the fire regime condition class to FRCC 1 and FRCC 2. 5. Increase overall forage production, habitat quality, and species diversity by treating in a mosaic pattern that will create biodiversity across the landscape. 6. Reduce sediment transfer and TDS in the long-term and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire through fuels reduction in Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub-bearing streams. Species benefiting summary for this project: 1. Bobcat: Treatment will create increased diversity in prey base for this species. 2. Elk: Treatments will improve forage, calving areas, cover: forage ratios helping maintain a viable elk population on the Fishlake and South Manti Units. 3. Blue Grouse: Treatments in spruce/fir will allow shrub and other understory components. 4. Ruffed Grouse: Treatments will improve understory brush, seed and insect potential. 5. American Beaver: Beaver will find improved water in the overall riparian system as well as healthy aspen and willows. 6. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout: Improvement in watersheds will have long term benefits for trout 7. Domestic Livestock: Treatments will improve forage across the mountain 8. Golden Eagle: Treatments will improve prey base and foraging opportunities for all raptors. 9. Rainbow Trout: Improvement in the watersheds will have long term benefits for trout. 10. Bald Eagle: Treatments will improve prey base and foraging opportunities for eagles. 11. Wild Turkey: Treatments will improve understory plants producing seed and insects. 12. Mule Deer: Treatments will improve foraging, hiding, fawning habitat for viable population. 13. Greater Sage-grouse: Reducing conifers across the landscape will enable improved sage brush habitat for sage grouse. 14. Black Bear: Improved forest from treatments will produce diversity across the flora and fauna component for predators and prey alike.

The greatest risk to this project's success in the lower elevational portions of the project is the possibility of invasive cheatgrass post treatment. This risk is mostly elevational dependent. The lowest elevations near the valley floor pose the greatest risk. As treatments occur further up slope and/or on northern slopes, the risk decreases. The prescribed fire portions of the project are located in the higher elevations with the mixed mountain brush and PJ fuel type. Previously burned areas of this project have shown no increased cheatgrass post treatment. Previously mechanically thinned areas of this project that have been reseeded show great success in outcompeting cheatgrass and promoting desired grasses and forbs. The District has seen success (Dixie Harrow transects) in treatment areas, both fire and mechanical, on the Forest and BLM that have initially shown cheatgrass response, but after the re-seeding has time to establish, cheatgrass has decreased dramatically. Since the area suffers from a diminished understory of grass and forbs, seeding will be an important factor to establish future soil stability and forage opportunities. Seeding will occur on the mechanically thinned areas of the project to promote desired grasses and forbs in the effort to continue to outcompete the cheatgrass. Forage productivity has diminished greatly over the past century and the PJ expansion continues on a yearly basis into the more productive sage/grass/forb communities. Some areas within the project have lost a majority of the understory sage/grasses/forbs, but other areas have not completely lost the understory. Another large threat is if left untreated, the areas with some understory of sagebrush/grasses/forbs still remaining will continue to decrease. This will continue to be "poor" habitat and range for ungulate animals. Poor habitat condition overtime would also diminish diversity of flora and fauna in the local ecosystem. Big game and small game animals are experiencing a loss of foraging habitat. This expansion of more PJ and reduced sage/grass/forb habitat has contributed to the decrease in Mule deer populations, other wildlife species, and Greater sage grouse habitat in the area. This expansion factor also contributes to the problem of big game moving closer to higher elevation aspen and local agricultural crops in the valleys to find sustainable forage. If acres of National Forest System lands and private/CWMU lands are returned to properly functioning condition it is possible that big game animals will spend more time on these lands and not as much on agricultural lands. The USFS, UFFSLs and private property owners expects that long-term cumulative effects from this project will be positive. This entire area is at risk of large catastrophic wildfires that could adversely affect entire watersheds. North Horn soils also exist within and adjacent to the project area within these watersheds. This fragile soil type is prone to erosion if impacted by catastrophic wildfire. Completed treatments along with planned and future treatments reduce the risk/threat of fire at a landscape level to multiple watersheds and reduce the ecological threat that is present due to the existence of North Horn soils within the Salina Creek area all while promoting resilient landscapes. Refer to the "Fire/Fuels" Section for more detail. Wildfire suppression costs can be extremely high when suppressing fires in similar fuel types. By treating this area now, under our terms we can drastically reduce the economic cost compared to when a wildfire occurs. When wildfires occur, this could result in damage to private property and numerous structures, potential negative smoke and fire impacts to the SUFCO mine, increased erosion, greater opportunities for noxious weed establishment, impacts to available short-term forage, stream sedimentation, and possible mud slides/flooding events. Soil movement is especially susceptible in the North Horn soil type that is present. This project reduces the threat to sensitive riparian ecosystems located in the Salina Creek area such as Salina Creek and Beaver Creek that hold both Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub fish species. Refer to the "Water Quality/Quantity" section for more detail. This project will reduce the ecological risk of: 1) Current sediment transfer and associated increasing TDS and 2) Potential catastrophic impacts of increased sediment transfer and degradation of Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub habitat and population in the event of a wildfire. As Salina Creek and its tributaries are improved and potential catastrophic ecological impacts in the event of a wildfire are reduced, sediment transfer into Salina Creek and subsequent Sevier River will likely be reduced as well. Approximately 5,500-7,500 acres of the PJ in this project is in Phase I with portions transitioning to Phase II. If left untreated these areas with productive mountain brush and sage/grass/forb communities will degrade in productivity and treatment costs in the future will go up dramatically. Approximately 1,000 acres of the PJ in this project is in Phase II transitioning to Phase III. Approximately 500 acres of this project is aspen stands with mixed conifer infilling. If left untreated these areas with mountain brush, sage/grass/forb, and aspen communities will also degrade in productivity and treatment costs in the future will go up more dramatically from approx. $25-$50/acre to approx. $300-$450/acre plus ~$100/acre in reseeding costs as the understory brush grass and forbs continues to disappear. This phase of the project is estimated to treat ~8,900 acres at an overall total estimated cost/acre of ~$104/acre.

1) This action responds to the goals and objectives outlined in the Fishlake National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1986) (LRMP). The purpose and need for this project is consistent with Fishlake National Forest goals and objectives found in Chapter IV of the Forest Plan. The proposed treatment units are within the following management areas: * 5A- Big Game Winter Range (majority of proposed acres) and * 4B - Habitat for Management Indicator Species. This proposal is consistent with and it responds to Fishlake Forest Plan direction for wildlife management in areas 5A and 4B. The relevant goals and objectives are listed below: * Improve or maintain the quality of habitat on big game winter ranges. (Forest Plan IV-4) * Identify and improve habitat for sensitive, threatened and endangered species including participation in recovery efforts for both plants and animals. (Forest Plan IV-4) * Manage forest cover types to provide variety in stand sizes shape, crown closure, edge contrast, age structure and interspersion (Fishlake LRMP p. IV-99) * Reduce hazardous fuels: The full range of reduction methods is authorized, consistent with forest and MA emphasis and direction (Utah Fire Amendment, pg. A-41) 2) Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Elk Management Plan: This project will help introduce species diversity back into the Gooseberry and Salina Creek areas. (Habitat Management Goal B, Strategies C, a. and b.) a. Habitat Management Goal: Conserve and improve elk habitat throughout the state. b. Habitat Objective 1: Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. c. Watershed Restoration Initiative i. Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. ii. Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration. This project will help maintain a viable elk herd on the Fishlake NF and the southern area of the Manti LaSal NF. 3) The Greater Plateau Elk Complex Elk Management Plan (2016) lists range improvements in the habitat objectives section. This project specifically addresses the components listed under range improvements in that it enhances forage production and habitat quality through direct range improvements on winter range within the unit. The Greater Plateau Elk Complex goes on to mention that "focus will be on high use areas especially where we can entice animals away from agricultural areas." 4) Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Mule Deer Management Plan: This project will help introduce species diversity back into the Salina Creek and Gooseberry areas. A mosaic design is part of the implementation strategy to create a pattern of treated and un-treated acres that will create an increase of biodiversity. a. Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019 (p. 19). b. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that have been taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats, ensuring that seed mixes contain sufficient forbs and browse species. c. Mule deer population numbers are low in the Gooseberry and Salina Creek areas. Habitat improvement from this project will help provide quality habitat to improve the viability of local Mule deer populations. d. Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah. e. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire. 5) Utah Wild Turkey Management Plan: Newly treated areas through fire or mechanical means will attract use by wild turkey. Insects and new growth will be readily available to support turkey populations. a. Objective 2. Increase wild turkey habitat, quality and quantity, by 40,000 acres statewide by 2020 (p.16). This project will provide more foraging opportunities for wild turkey as grasses and forbs provide insects and seed. 6) UDWR Wildlife Action Plan: This project is geared toward meeting the goals found within this plan for a variety of wildlife species from large too small. a. Threat - Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity: i. Objective #1 for Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity 1. Fire is excluded from habitats in which potential burns now would be frequent, large, and destructive to soils and native vegetation; the habitats are being actively managed (treated) to reduce components or factors that promote risk of catastrophic fire, such as cheatgrass, excessive conifer encroachment, or unnaturally large stands of mature Gambel oak. (pg. 103). a. 2.1.9 Establish or enhance fuel breaks in locations that are susceptible to large or intense fires. (pg. 104). b. 2.3.14 Conduct upland vegetation treatments to restore characteristic upland vegetation and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings (pg. 104). c. 2.3.20 Conduct post-fire rehabilitation (pg. 104). ii. Objective #2 for Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity 2. Fire is returned to habitats from which it had been unnaturally excluded; the fire regime (frequency and intensity) in these habitats generally approximates a natural, pre-settlement regime (pg. 105). a. 2.3.14 Conduct upland vegetation treatments to restore characteristic upland vegetation and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings (pg. 106). b. 2.3.17 Apply or allow more fire in habitats/locations where fire was historically more frequent or intense (pg. 106). 7) National Cohesive Strategy: By means of prescribed fire and mechanical thinning at a landscape scale, the resulting mosaic of early and late successional forests will work toward the goal of restoring and maintaining resilient landscapes, one of the three goals described in the National Cohesive Strategy. a. Resilient Landscapes General guidance regarding vegetation and fuels management include use and expand fuel treatments involving mechanical, biological, or chemical methods where economically feasible and sustainable, and where they align with landowner objectives (pg. 58). 8) State of Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy: The Gooseberry Ecosystems Restoration Project aligns with the mission of the State of Utah's Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy. The project has developed a comprehensive and systematic approach toward reducing the size, intensity and frequency of catastrophic wildland fires on Monroe Mountain through a collaborative process. The project reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire occurrence negatively affecting property, air quality and water systems. a. The Mission: Develop a collaborative process to protect the health and welfare of Utahns, and our lands by reducing the size and frequency of catastrophic fires. (pg. 4). b. Adopt Key Recommendations from the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (pg. 15). c. Encourage federal land management agencies to expedite fuels treatments (pg. 15). d. Prioritize landscapes for treatment (irrespective of jurisdictional boundaries) (pg. 15). 9) Grazing Allotment Plans: The amount of forage available to livestock within the affected allotments in the Salina Creek and Gooseberry areas is expected to increase significantly as a result of this project. With the removal of pinion/juniper, the amount of grasses and forbs in the sagebrush is also expected to increase significantly. With increased forage, ungulate distribution is expected to improve. Many areas that are currently unproductive due to overgrowth will soon become desirable for future uses by ungulates. 10) Bald Eagle Management Plan: Bald eagles are protected by the Utah Wildlife Code, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Although the bald eagle is no longer listed on the Endangered Species List, the species remains listed as a Species of Concern in Utah, a subset of the State Sensitive Species List. State and federal laws prohibit harassing, injuring or killing eagles, or damaging their nests. Midwinter surveys of bald eagles within the lower 48 states were initiated by the National Wildlife Federation in 1979. Wintering Bald Eagles utilize the project area and treatments would improve life cycle opportunities for them. 11) The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d) is a United States federal statute that protects two species of eagle. The bald eagle was chosen as a national emblem of the United States by the Continental Congress of 1782 and was given legal protection by the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940. This act was expanded to include the golden eagle in 1962.[1] Since the original Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act has been amended several times. It currently prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior, from "taking" bald eagles. Taking is described to include their parts, nests, or eggs, molesting or disturbing the birds. The Act provides criminal penalties for persons who "take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, at any time or any manner, any bald eagle ... [or any golden eagle], alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg thereof."[2] The purpose of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection act is to not agitate the bald and golden eagle to the extent of not a. Abusing an eagle b. Interfering with its substantial lifestyle, including shelter, breeding, feeding, or c. Nest abandonment. The eagle feathers have been collected and incorporated into clothing, art, jewelry, etc. In addition, having the possession, exchange, or sale of bald eagle feathers violates the act if no permit is obtained. The basic structure of the act resembles the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. There are nesting golden eagles in the project area. They nest in the sandstone cliffs and canyons of the Old Woman Plateau. Bald eagles migrate to the area in late October and remain through late March. Treatments will attract wildlife species that are common prey to eagles and other raptors. 12) Sevier County Resource Management Plan; This project is congruent with the policies and desired management practices found in Sevier County's Resource Management Plan. Policies (all from pages 6-7) a. Support the removal of conifers and manage land to promote the establishment of aspen cover and attendant grass, brush, and forbs. b. Encourage timber harvesting to prevent fuel load and biomass buildup. c. The county supports prescribed burns as a fuels reduction management tool for resource enhancement, when used in conjunction with forest thinning and post-treatment salvage or in areas that physically cannot be mechanically thinned, when such burns comply with air quality regulations. d. Support managing forest cover types to perpetuate tree cover and provide healthy stands, high water quality, and wildlife and fish habitat. e. Support the management of forests and woodlands for healthy conditions that contribute to healthy habitat for animal and plant species, proper watershed functioning conditions, and riparian restoration and enhancement. f. Support agencies in prioritizing fuel reduction treatment in high-value/high-risk areas (e.g., wildland-urban interface, developed recreation facilities including campgrounds). Desired Management Practices a. Encourage the commercial and non-commercial harvesting of forests and woodlands, to the maximum extent possible, through federal agencies' plans and policies. b. Agencies should support a broad range of reforestation and timber stand improvement tools and timber harvesting practices consistent with prudent resource protection practices. 13) Central Utah Fire Management Plan (FMP): a. Greater use of vegetation management to meet resource management objectives b. Hazardous fuels treatments will be used to restore ecosystems; protect human, natural and cultural resources; and reduce the threat of wildfire to communities sagebrush steppe communities will be a high priority for ESR and fuel reduction to avoid catastrophic fires in these areas. c. Gooseberry CWPP Goal 1: Minimize the potential wildland fire threat to life safety. This project works to achieve Goal 1 Gooseberry CWPP by reducing fuel loading and lowering the potential of wildland fire spread across the Gooseberry area.

Enhancing the habitat in these areas will result in multiple benefits, which include but are not limited to, improving habitat for wildlife dependent upon these various ecosystems, improving native species diversity, reducing hazardous fuel accumulations and breaking up the continuous fuel bed of PJ and mountain brush that currently exist in the Salina Creek and Old Woman Plateau areas. This treatment will promote a fire resilient environment that reduces the risk for large scale, intense wildland fires, with less risk to public and firefighter safety. Fire risk would be reduced to multiple watersheds, and the communities of Accord lakes and Salina Creek. This also results in lower risk to sensitive wildlife species (i.e. Greater sage grouse, Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub which are located within and/or directly adjacent to the planned treatment areas. This project will reduce the risk for large scale, intense wildland fires along with potential smoke impacts to the SUFCO Mine, Interstate 70 and the high voltage powerlines that run through the project area. The communities in Accord lakes and Salina Creek, consisting of numerous structures, are all located directly adjacent the project boundaries. The SUFCO coal mine is located in close proximity to this phase of the project and directly adjacent to Phase 1 treatments that have already been completed. Existing wildfire risk index in the project area ranges mostly from moderate-high. The dominant southwest wind flow in conjunction with associated fire behavior expected from the PJ, mountain shrub, and mixed conifer/aspen fuel types pose significant wildland fire risk to these areas and values. A majority of the planned treatments will be occurring on the southwest side of these values that will create a large treated buffer that will significantly reduce the risk of fire to these values. This low to mid-level project compliments completed and future planned treatments that will be occurring on the Old Woman Plateau within the Ponderosa pine ecosystems. It also directly compliments a completed fuel break along the Accord Lakes subdivision private property treatment that is located along portions of the private property boundary near both of these communities. All these projects combined reduce the risk of fire at a landscape level to multiple communities and watersheds in the Salina Creek area while promoting resilient landscapes. Treatments on this project will be occurring in mixed conifer/aspen, sagebrush and mountain mixed brush ecological communities. Restoring uplands within all of these ecological communities will reduce impacts from future wildfires along with reducing risks of future impairment to the watersheds that contain North Horn soils. North Horn soils are present directly adjacent to, and within portions of the project. This project will help reduce the risk to this soil type with increased erosion potential by reducing the risk of catastrophic wildland fire from negatively impacting areas with the North Horn soil. ~1,000 acres of project is within fire regime II -- 35-100+ year frequency and mixed severity (less than 75% of the dominant overstory vegetation replaced); The Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) is estimated to be both moderate (FRCC 2) and high (FRCC 3) departure from the central tendency of the natural (historical) regime. The central tendency is a composite estimate of vegetation characteristics (species composition, structural stages, stand age, canopy closure, and mosaic pattern); fuel composition; fire frequency, severity, and pattern; and other associated natural disturbances. The majority of this project (8,000 acres) would be in FRCC 2 and FRCC 1. This project will improve or maintain the fire regime condition class to FRCC 1 from FRCC 2.

This project is in the Salina Creek watershed and includes the following tributary streams to Salina Creek: Beaver Creek, Skutumpah Creek, and Meadow Creek. All the mentioned basins contain perennial water bodies and riparian systems. Salina Creek is listed as a 303d watershed for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). Sources for TDS loading in Salina Creek are primarily from Land and Streambank Erosion/Natural Geology (98% contributor) and Irrigation return flows (2% contributor) (UDWQ). This project will improve ground cover and reduce sediment transfer, reducing TDS in Salina Creek. Project treatments may result in short to moderate term impacts to water quality, but project design features aim to improve water quality on a long-term scale. Project efforts in the Salina Creek watershed that improve ground cover will likely reduce sediment transfer into the lower watershed system, benefiting downstream water users and ecosystems. Water flow from Beaver Creek flow into Salina Creek which then flows into the Sevier River. The Sevier River is also listed as a 303d waterbody for Total Dissolved Solids, Sediment, Total Phosphorous, and Habitat Alteration (UDWQ). As Salina Creek and its tributaries are improved at a watershed scale through project efforts, sediment transfer into Salina Creek and subsequent Sevier River will likely be reduced. Restoring uplands will reduce the impacts future wildfires and reduce the risk of future impairment. Treatments will considerably lessen the risk of catastrophic large-scale high severity fires that could result in long-term watershed degradation, including habitat loss for Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern Leatherside Chub. Refer to the "Fire/Fuels" section for more details. By maintaining watershed function, long-term water quality will be maintained or enhanced. By removing PJ, it is anticipated that water quantity will be enhanced (seeps, springs, bogs--improved) in the short and long term. Some research indicates that PJ removal in mountain sagebrush can increase soil water availability (Roundy et al. 2014). PJ removal activities should have a net positive effect on increasing water yield/availability as fewer conifer trees use water. Since the area suffers from a diminished understory of grass and forbs, the planned aerial seeding will be an important factor to establish future soil stability and reduce the risk of erosion. Seeding of rangelands with native and/or drought-tolerant vegetation in the Salina Creek watershed was recommended as a Best Management Practice to reduce TDS in Salina Creek (UDWQ). Improving ground cover, reducing catastrophic fire risk, and reseeding understory areas with grasses and forbs should reduce sedimentation and erosion in Salina Creek and thereby increase water quality. These benefits will translate to better habitat for Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub. Both the potential increase in herbaceous vegetation and the masticated or chained tree material should help stabilize the soils by reducing erosion and protect the water quality throughout the watershed. By removing PJ this should allow for more precipitation to contact the soil and increase biomass on the ground. In areas where hand thinning will be used there should be adequate vegetation to avoid soil erosion, but this should increase the amount of water into the system instead of evaporating before it reaches the ground. Wet meadows and upland plants benefit by utilizing the increase soil moisture, providing for better resiliency during drought years. North Horn soils exist with the project area that are prone to movement and erosion after fires or disturbances. This project reduces risk to the North Horn soils that have potential to increase sedimentation into Salina Creek if impacted by catastrophic wildfire. This provides for an increase in water quantity for herbaceous plants on sites where PJ is removed. Due to the inadequate supply of dedicated water source for wildlife and livestock in the area, a dual-purpose water development project (on private land) is planned as part of this project. This water improvement project will be a dual-purpose system that will serve as a wildlife/livestock guzzler as well as an emergency reservoir that can be accessed during wildland fire operations. The water development piece of this project will also help disperse wildlife and livestock pressure away from a natural spring to protect water quality and integrity along with providing an additional water source in an area that currently has minimal water available. In addition, the spring that feeds the new water development will be fenced in the future by the private landowner with a livestock pole fence to help maintain and protect the integrity of the spring. Sevier County: In Sevier County's Water Quality and Hydrology section under Desired Management Practices the statement below supports these types of projects. 3. Where water resources on public lands have diminished because grasses have succeeded to pinyon-juniper and other woody vegetation, a vigorous program of mechanical treatments should be applied to promptly remove this woody vegetation and biomass, stimulate the return of the grasses to historic levels, and thereby provide a watershed that maximizes water yield and water quality for livestock, wildlife, and human uses (pg. 24).

The Fishlake National Forest Pinyon and Juniper Project Decision Notice was signed on December 5th, 2019 which covers the USFS portion of this project. The Fishlake National Forest has begun consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office. Archaeological, wildlife, and plant surveys have been completed for this phase of implementation. The burn plans are reviewed and each ignition is approved through the Utah State Smoke Management Plan, as described in Utah Rule 307-204. This decision will meet the Utah State Smoke Management Plan requirements and therefore comply with the Clean Air Act.

Both mixed mechanical and prescribed fire treatments would continue to be implemented within ~8,900 acres on USFS and private lands that are also part of the Old Woman Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU). This project can be split into various phases/units of treatment based on available funding. Treatment methods include the following: 1) A USFS IDIQ hand thinning contract treating ~4,257 acres of USFS land (Spring 2021). 2) Aerial seeding followed by a mastication thinning contract treating ~401 acres (Spring 2021). 3) Aerial seeding followed by a chaining contract treating ~661 acres of USFS land (Spring 2021). The District will seed with a mix of brush, grass and forbs. The seed mix design contains a variety of species to provide forage and seed for a variety of big game, small game, upland game and avian populations in the area. 4) Prescribed fire implementation on ~1,800-3,800 acres of USFS and private/CWMU lands utilizing USFS, UFFSLs, and local VFD resources with aerial ignition (Fall 2021 and Spring 2022). 5) A water development for wildlife, livestock and emergency wildland operations. This water improvement project will be a multi-purpose system that will serve as a wildlife/livestock guzzler as well as an emergency reservoir that can be accessed by wildland operations. The water improvement project will consist of an upgraded 12,000-gallon water tank buried approximately 4 feet in the ground and plumbed for emergency extraction of water and drinking for wildlife (Summer 2021). 6) The USFS Seasonal wildlife, botany, and range crew is also needed to complete required wildlife, plant, range/weed control monitoring and surveys for future planned treatment phases. Funding is being requested to complete these required surveys (Summer/Fall 2021). Slopes over 40% and/or areas classified as Phase I PJ encroachment will be hand thinned utilizing chainsaws. Slopes under 40% and/or areas classified as Phase II and III PJ encroachment will be thinned utilizing mastication and chaining by machine. Prescribed fire will be utilized in the upper elevations of the project or northern slopes that are over 40% where cheatgrass invasion is less of a concern. Prescribed fire treatments will be implemented utilizing aerial and/or hand ignition techniques targeting PJ encroached mountain shrub areas with mosaic burn patterns and mixed burn severities. To maintain Fishlake Land and Resource Management Plan(LRMP) compliance, a mosaic treatment pattern with travel corridors will be designed into the project to allow some hiding, thermal and migration cover for big game. This diversity will help create a mix of life cycle benefits for a variety of wildlife and insect species. Curl-leaf mahogany and other key brush species will be designed away from fire opportunities to maintain browse integrity. Where mastication treatments are applied a pattern design will also include leave trees of pinyon in a variety of age classes. This will help maintain PJ dependent avian species.

Throughout implementation of this project, elk, deer, and other Management Indicator Species along with range conditions will continue to be monitored annually, following USFS wildlife and range protocols (vegetation monitoring cages and vegetation transects). Long-term avian surveys have been conducted in Salina Creek (from dam north) and the Old Woman Plateau areas. Electronic survey instruments to detect bats and birds were introduced in Salina Creek in 2019. These surveys will continue through the Richfield RD wildlife section. Deer counts in the Accord Lakes area will continue to be completed annually. We will continue to conduct this route to monitor deer and elk use within the treatment areas. Post-season deer numbers remain low in the area (not indicative of the unit as a whole) which would lead us to believe that vegetation projects on summer, transition and winter range are needed to help keep deer healthy as in other parts of the range. Treatment areas will be seeded and monitored post-implementation. Fuels treatment monitoring will take place involving multiple repeatable photo points. Fuels monitoring plots will be established within the project. Plots will be visited 1 year, 3 year, and 5-year post treatment to monitor vegetation response and ground cover. This will be accomplished by the Forest Service SCA Monitoring Crew. Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub monitoring will occur to assess project impacts and ensure they are at levels conducive to population recovery. Monitoring will also provide information to improve design of future large-scale treatments to reduce aquatic impacts. UDWR and USFS fisheries personnel monitor Bonneville cutthroat trout on a seven-year rotation in the middle Sevier River Watershed. Salina Creek is included in this monitoring plan and will be next monitored in 2024. Southern leathersides will also be accounted for in this monitoring effort. Population and condition factor changes will be analyzed, as well as limited aquatic habitat monitoring.

One of the main goals of this project is to promote treatment efforts on federal, state, and private lands located in the Salina Creek and Gooseberry areas with a collaborative effort between USFS, UFFSLs, UDWR, Sevier County, and private landowners. Coordination meetings are taking place between USFS, UFFSLs, UDWR and private landowners to plan collaborative treatments that will mutually benefit all agencies along with promoting landscape-level restoration. This project will include prescribed fire and mechanical treatments on private and USFS managed lands located in Sevier County through cross boundary collaboration. Discussions have been occurring on this project in preparation of an agreement between the USFS and private landowners being developed utilizing the Wyden Authority and an interagency burn plan between the USFS and UFFSLs. The purpose of the agreement through the Wyden Authority is to allow prescribed fire treatments to occur on both USFS and private lands (which are also a CWMU). A Good Neighbor Agreement with UFFSLs is currently in place that will allow interagency coordination and ability to utilize and include local volunteer fire departments and state fire resources during prescribed fire planning and implementation of the prescribed fire using the prepared interagency burn plan. This project will compliment previously accomplished treatments on all these land jurisdictions with overall benefits being at a landscape scale. Some UFFSLs across boundary work has already been completed on private lands adjacent to this project along and/or near the USFS boundary. UFFSLs are also planning on completing more treatment in the future on private property. The expansion factor of the PJ also contributes to the problem of big game moving closer to higher elevation aspen and local agricultural crops in the valleys to find sustainable forage. If acres of national forest and private/CWMU lands are returned to properly functioning condition it is possible that big game animals will also spend more time on these lands and not as much on agricultural lands. During project planning the local UDWR biologists offered suggestions that were incorporated and offered support for the project. The Sevier County Commissioners are supportive of this project. Local ranchers/livestock grazing permit holders are also supportive of this project. During project scoping, no opposition from the public was shared. The Grand Canyon Trust NGO is also in support of this project. Those in attendance during planning and the decision signing expressed their support for active management. Interagency agreements with the BLM are also in place. This will allow for an interagency effort during implementation of the prescribed fire along with utilizing BLM work force as needed during portions of the mechanical implementation. SUFCO Mine is a cooperating partner on this project. SUFCO Mine is very supportive of this project and active management around the mine. Multiple meetings have been held with mine staff discussing planned projects in the area along with implementation meetings during Phase 1 of this this project. Smoke and fire impacts to air intake systems of the mine infrastructure are a concern and therefore require close coordination during prescribed fire activities. This coordination with the SUFCO mine partners will need to continue to occur during this phase of the project. This project is also being implemented in collaboration with our partners from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Foods and the local livestock permit holders.

By continually promoting a collaborative effort between USFS, UFFSLs, UDWR, Sevier County and private landowners, it is anticipated that a long-term level of success will be obtained on all the current and future treatments in the Salina Creek area. USFS: Treatment areas will be monitored post-implementation. If noxious and/or invasive weeds are detected, the District will take the appropriate actions to control spread and eliminate the noxious and/or invasive weeds from the treatment areas. Since the area suffers from a diminished understory of grass and forbs, seeding will be an important factor to establish future soil stability and forage opportunities. Implementation of this project will reduce the risk of catastrophic high severity wildland fire; thus reducing the risk to the public and firefighters. This also reduces the risk to private property. Health and public safety are improved. To maintain these treatment areas, the desire is future naturally caused fires within or near the project area can be managed (if possible, not suppressed). With this reduced risk, future management of naturally caused fires may be possible to allow fire to play greatest feasible natural role in the environment, thus potentially further reducing risk to public and firefighters. Bonneville cutthroat trout monitoring will provide information to improve design of future phases of treatments to reduce aquatic impacts overall on the Salina Creek Project. As habitat is improved for ungulates (deer, elk, cattle, sheep) and additional forage becomes available, the USFS expects the flexibility and management of ungulates will improve; hopefully with less controversy. Maintaining healthy populations of wildlife, while also responding to the needs of livestock permittees, is expected to become easier. The District will seed the project with a mix of brush, sagebrush, grass and forbs. If treatment areas are seeded, and if determined necessary, the District will ensure the seeded areas are temporary rested from livestock use for 2-3 growing seasons. This information will be incorporated into Annual Operating Instructions. These actions will help ensure that permittees are in the communication loop and will give them enough time to plan for the resources they need to continue their operations. If needed, impacts to permittees will be minimized by the use of herding and temporary electric fences so that treatment areas can be temporarily rested while non-treatment areas can continue to be grazed. As future PJ expansion occurs, maintenance/re-treatment of this project via additional entries of prescribed fire, hand thinning of new PJ growth/whips is expected to be implemented to maintain the integrity of this project and the anticipated continued PJ expansion. Increased pace and scale of restoration type projects in this area is currently underway. Multiple projects have been and are currently being implemented and more are being planned in this area. This project directly coordinates at a watershed and landscape level with the planned Ponderosa Pine Ecosystem Restoration Project that is currently in the planning stages. This ponderosa project will cover a majority of the Ponderosa pine ecosystems located in and around the Old Woman Plateau near the Salina Creek area. This Salina Creek Project along with the planned Ponderosa Pine Ecosystems Restoration Project will include landscape level treatments in the majority lower to mid-level areas in the Salina Creek area. These projects combined are in an effort to disperse browse pressure of both wild and domestic ungulates and improve watershed health across the entire area. The spring that feeds the new water development will be fenced in the future by the private landowner with a livestock pole fence to help maintain and protect the integrity of the spring. The planned Wyden agreement with private landowners on the CWMU will also help facilitate future phases of prescribed burning that are planned on the Old Woman Plateau areas and the upcoming planned Ponderosa Pine Ecosystem Restoration Project. Collaborative efforts between USFS, UFFSLs, UDWR and private landowners is occurring to learn of future projects in the area that will help enlarge the footprint of planned USFS treatments, by treating additional acres on private lands as well. This low to mid-level elevation phase of the project compliments completed and future planned treatments that will be occurring in the Salina Creek area. Thousands of acres are available for treatment in and around the Salina Creek and the Old Woman Plateau areas in the future through the Fishlake National Forest Pinyon and Juniper Project. This project will already directly compliment completed treatment on both private property and USFS land in the area. This phase along with future planned phases of this project have the potential to treat upwards of 20,000+ acres of USFS land in the Salina Creek and the Old Woman Plateau areas and will be establish an anchor point to continue with several thousand acres of future planned prescribed fires in the area. This planned landscape-scale project will also directly compliment planned future treatments on Accord Lakes and Salina Creek private properties. Adaptive management is also authorized. Many tools have been analyzed and approved in the NEPA planning process to allow other methods in the future.

The Salina Creek and Old Woman Plateau areas are very popular for camping, hiking, sight-seeing, wildlife viewing, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and ATV trail riding. Miles of hiking and prominent ATV trails exist. Treatments will promote a renewed resilient beautiful sustainable forest that will be enjoyed by future generations. Multiple contracts are planned during this phase of treatment along with future planned phases. This project benefits the local communities by providing private companies work and associated economic benefits. The SUFCO coal mine is a high production coal mine with high economic value to the surrounding area. This project will reduce the risk for large scale, intense wildland fires and potential smoke impacts to the coal mine that will allow continued coal production and economic benefits the SUFCO mine provides to the county and local communities. Forage Production or Improved Distribution: Forage productivity has diminished greatly over the past century and the PJ expansion continues on a yearly basis into the more productive sage/grass/forb communities. As PJ is thinned, understory vegetation increases, wild and domestic ungulates will experience an increase in foraging habitat. Through the mechanical thinning, PJ expansion is addressed, and sagebrush, grasses, and forbs are promoted. This in return moves the sage/grass/forb ecosystems on a trajectory toward improved forage conditions thus improving ecosystems for both wildlife and livestock. Portions of the project are currently not being grazed due to the lack of understory and PJ expansion. This project has the potential to improve distribution of domestic livestock into new areas. The amount of forage available to livestock is expected to increase significantly as a result of this project. With the removal of PJ, the amount of usable grasses and forbs and sagebrush is expected to increase significantly. With increased forage, ungulate distribution is expected to improve. Many areas that are currently unproductive due to overgrowth will soon become desirable for future uses by ungulates. Other Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources: This project protects and enhances the Salina Creek watershed. Refer to the "Fire/Fuels" section for more details. This project promotes sustaining hunting of big game such as elk and deer along with small game such as bear, cougar, bobcat, grouse and wild turkey in the Salina Creek and Old Woman Plateau areas. By providing better hunting opportunities this project economically supports the hunting and fishing private commercial industries. Treatments like this have potential to increase wildlife numbers and potential hunting opportunities to future generations. A main goal of these treatments is to enhance habitat on USFS and private lands (which are also a CWMU) to promote increased utilization of big game animals and lessen the impact on private agricultural lands. The water development piece of this project will also help disperse wildlife and livestock pressure water away from a natural spring to protect its integrity along with providing an additional water source in an area that currently has minimal water available. Salina Creek is a popular hunting area for big game, fishing (a variety of fish species), hunting, camping, wildlife viewing, site seeing, hiking, snowmobiling, ATVing, private land ownership, wild turkeys and a variety of upland game and non-game species. Treatments will improve winter transition and summer ranges that will benefit wildlife along with improving water quality and reducing risk to necessary fish habitat and watersheds. This project will promote sustainability for a variety of sportsmen and sportswomen along with providing more hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations. Treatments are planned to occur on the Old Woman Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) in conjunction with treatments on USFS land. CWMUs provide public hunter access onto private property. This project will promote and benefit not only hunting on USFS land but also private land that is a CWMU as well. Restoring uplands on this project will reduce the impacts future wildfires and reduce the risk of future impairment. Treatments will considerably lessen the risk of catastrophic large-scale high severity fires that could result in long-term watershed degradation, including habitat loss or degradation for Bonneville cutthroat trout and Southern leatherside chub located in Salina Creek/Beaver Creek. Forest visitors use adjacent areas for firewood gathering and Christmas tree harvesting. Efforts are being made to promote commercial sale of Juniper fence posts from the project areas.

07/01/2021

08/03/2022

2023

In total 9,946 acres were treated during this phase of the project on both USFS and Private lands. A total of 6,243 acres of broadcast prescribed fire treatments were completed that included USFS: 3,906 acres and Private: 2,337 acres. Prescribed fire treatments were completed using USFS, UFFSLs, Volunteer Fire Department, and BLM inter-agency resources. Both aerial and hand ignition was utilized throughout implementation. Aerial ignition contracts were through USFS contracting. A total of 3,703 acres of mechanical thinning treatments were completed on USFS land that include 2,734 acres hand thinning completed via USFS IDIQ contract, 568 acres chaining and aerial seeding via UDWR contracts (chaining utilized a two way Ely chain between two dozers), and 401 acres of mastication thinning and aerial seeding via UDWR contracts

During this phase of the project mechanical thinning (chaining hand thinning and mastication) occurred on USFS land in and around the Salina Creek and Old Woman Plateau areas. Seeding also occurred in the mastication and chained areas prior to treatment. This was in an effort to allow increase under story recovery in areas that show depleted grasses and forbs due to the pinion and juniper encroachment. Prescribed fire of moderate complexity was implemented on the Old Woman Plateau that included both USFS and Private lands that were part of the Old Woman CWMU, and adjacent to the Accord Lakes private land subdivision. Both aerial and hand ignition techniques were utilized to implement the prescribed fire. Multiple agencies such as BLM, UFFSL, UDWR, local fire department resources and other National Forests from Idaho and Utah assisted in the implementation of this prescribed fire.

Seeded and mechanically treated areas will be rested from livestock grazing for 2-3 growing seasons to allow for better seed response and establishment. Noxious weeds will be monitoring by force account range staff. If needed weed spraying of noxious weeds will occur. Prescribed fire is planned to continue moving south along the Old Woman plateau this upcoming spring 2023. Prescribed burning is planned once again on both USFS and private lands that are also part of the Old Woman CWMU. Approx 9,500 acres of prescribed fire is planned to be implemented during phase 4 of the Salina Creek Project. Mastication and aerial seeding of 500-1000 acres are also planned during the next phase of this project and will be located in the Salina Creek drainage near Beaver Creek.