The Big Springs Fire burned 2,916 acres. Most of the fire burned moderatley hot and did not kill many of the perrenial grasses on site. However, we wanted to add forb and shrub components since this is a high value winter range for both deer and bighorn sheep. We want to make sure that cheatgrass doesn't establish and that we don't lose our forb and shrub community. So we will also spray some plateau on areas that are high risk for cheatgrass establishment and do some check dams to reduce erosion.

Reestablish perennial grasses, forbs, and shrubs on the burned area by aerially seeding.

Following these types of fires there is a large risk of major erosion as well as a monoculture of cheatgrass. This area is also an important area for wildlife, particularly wintering mule deer and bighorn sheep. The loss of vegetation for food and cover is a major threat to wildlife.

Mule Deer Unit 18 Mgt Plan Objectives/Strategies: c) Fire and encroachment by pinyon and juniper trees results in the loss of forage production, diversity and quality. d) Cooperate with federal land management agencies and private landowners in carrying out habitat improvement projects. e) The primary concern on the studies within the subunit is the abundance of weedy annual grass species (cheatgrass), particularly on the lower elevation sites. This project will help restore habitats for mule deer and prevent cheatgrass from establishing and reduce fire threats in future. 6) Utah DWR Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer Objectives/Strategies: b) Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. c) Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. d) Work with local, state and federal land management agencies via land management plans and with private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning, wintering and migration areas. e) Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019. f) 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. g) Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah. This plan addresses improving and restoring Mule deer habitat, by working in cooperation with partners, mitigating invasive annual species, ensuring that seed mixes contain sufficient forbs, and browse species, and improving sagebrush-steppe. https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/biggame/pdf/mule_deer_plan.pdf 8) Utah Wildlife Action Plan: a) Mountain Shrub (page 53) project addresses key threats (pg 55) to this habitat; * Continuing the use of appropriate methods for reducing the spread and dominance of invasive weeds and annual grasses, including "early detection -- rapid response" programs. * Continuing the development of new plant materials (especially native forbs) and restoration techniques suited to this habitat. Continuing the use of appropriate methods for reducing the spread and dominance of invasive weeds, including "early detection -- rapid response" programs.

This project will help to reduce the establishment of a monoculture of cheatgrass which will reduce future fire risk.

BY establishing a good understory with a root system we will be able to hold more soil in place and prevent erosion from contaminating water supply.

We will not be doing any ground disturbance so will not need to do surveys.

Most of the fire burned moderatley hot and did not kill many of the perrenial grasses on site. However, we wanted to add forb and shrub components since this is a high value winter range for both deer and bighorn sheep.We want to make sure that cheatgrass doesn't establish and that we don't lose our forb and shrub community. So we will also spray some plateau on areas that are high risk for cheatgrass establishment and do some check dams to reduce erosion. We will fly seed on aerially with no ground disturbance. We will then also spray herbicide on aerially at 6oz/acre. on the lower elevations where we do not seed.

We will continue to monitor how the herbicide works to reduce cheatgrass. With before and after photos.

BLM, SITLA, UDWR.

We will continue to see how the seeding and cheatgrass control work and plan future projects as needed.

This project will increase and restore understory vegetation and quality for livestock.

09/24/2020

11/30/2020

2021

The Big Springs fire burned 2,608 acres of BLM land on the west side of the Stansbury mountains. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources habitat biologists and BLM emergency fire response team identified this fire as needing some reseeding efforts and some chemical treatments to keep cheatgrass form establishing. This project identified critical areas where cheatgrass would likely be a problem to reseeding efforts and Plateau herbicide was flown on these areas totaling 933 acres in early October. The remaining 1,676 acres of the fire was then aerially seeded in late November of 2020. We will evaluate how the area looks that we sprayed with plateau herbicide and if needed we will do follow up seeding.

The Big Springs fire burned 1,676 acres of BLM land on the west side of the Stansbury mountains in the summer of 2020. Often after wildfires in the west deserts of Utah, all that will grow back is a non-native grass called chaeatgrass, that will outcompete other native vegetation. Cheatgrass is undesirable because it dries out early in the summer, typically by June, and then is not used by livestock and provides an added fire risk. In order to reduce the risk of cheatgrass establishing post fire, we sprayed herbicide in high density cheatgrasa areas and seeded a plant mix that is beneficial for wildlife and livestock in other areas that had low density cheatgrass prior to the fire.

The BLM will continue to monitor the success of this effort and if needed we will do future treatments. We may need to reseed and chain the areas that we sprayed with plateau herbicide last year but we will see what native vegetation comes in on its own.