Improve current health of the ponderosa pine plant community in the project area and manage it for fire resilience, sustainability and long-term health. Capitalize on previously treated adjacent or overlapping National Forest System lands on Boulder Mountain's North Slope and further reduce the risk of unwanted fire behavior near the communities of Teasdale, Happy Valley, Grover, Black Ridge, Fish Creek Cove, Donkey Flats, Government Creek, East Teasdale and Pine Creek. Project area is critical mule deer winter range and substantial winter range for elk on the north slope of Boulder Mountain. There are currently depredation issues on nearby private lands. There is a need to reduce encroaching conifers to allow the understory to persist with grasses, forbs and shrubs useful for wildlife winter range. This treatment along with the surrounding future Fishlake EA pinyon/juniper and Boulder Mountain Improvement project treatments will improve vital winter range vegetation components. Additionally, one goal of these treatments is to help alleviate big-game ungulate use and pressure off of the private lands that surround Hwy 12. Ponderosa pine is a important habitat component for roosting and foraging wild turkeys and grouse. Improving these stands will help create optimal foraging opportunities as ruffed and blue grouse forage on insects, buds, seeds, twigs and leaves among the grass and shrubs while using the pines for roosting and cover. The project area provides nesting and foraging opportunities for accipiter's and hawks. Reducing high stand densities and improving small game habitat from project treatments will improve foraging opportunities for raptors and maintain adequate trees/snags for nesting. The project area is in-between two perennial streams (Fish Creek and Carcass Creek) which harbor non-native trout. There is a need to reduce fuel loading for fire resilience in the area. This will help protect these tributaries from larger high severity wildfires that can have detrimental impacts to these crucial water sources and fisheries.

1) Reduce contiguous high fuel loading within watersheds adjacent to Teasdale through expanding adjacent treated areas. 2) Secure existing landscape-scale forest health of ponderosa pine forest type. 3) Reduce crown fire and high intensity wildfire potential by decreasing pinyon, juniper, and regenerating high density ponderosa pine post treatment. 4) Increase available moisture for grass, forb, and shrub plant species by removing competition from trees in excess of historical density range. 6) Provide increased forage for big game, turkeys and forest grouse.

Under current conditions, if a high severity wildfire were to occur within or near the project area, limited opportunities exist for fire personnel to intervene before it directly impacts the communities of Teasdale, Happy Valley, Grover, Fish Creek Cove, Donkey Flats, Government Creek, East Teasdale and Pine Creek. Mule deer on the Boulder Unit have seen a steady decline in population of over 1700 animals in the last five years. Population estimate models show a decline from 8373 deer in 2014 to 6600 deer in 2019. When populations are modeled for the 2020 year the population will show another decline. This unit overall is summer range limited by conifer expansion into former aspen stands and winter range limited by encroachment of pinyon and juniper into sage and mountain brush communities. These treatment phases in pinyon and juniper pave the way for treatments with prescribed fire in the encroaching spruce/fir to encourage aspen regeneration. For over 100 years encroaching tree management has been largely "hands off". If you stand in this treatment area you are surrounded by dark green for the 360-degree vista. There is no edge, there is no diversity, there is little food. This trend must be reversed in order to re-vitalize our struggling deer herds. Radio telemetry collars were deployed on Mule Deer in this area in December of 2019. Data from these collars is being used partially to determine if the encroaching conifers in this area also contribute to limiting factors for fawn survival and summering populations of Mule Deer. The cost of depredation issues to DWR on this unit are around $150,000 annually. In general upland birds, including Forest Grouse and Turkeys, require open stands of conifer and aspen with an understory of berry producing shrubs, forbs and grasses. A healthy insect component in this matrix is critical for early brood rearing. Healthy mixed forests, early successional forests, and edges of aspen forests provide these kinds of environments. Our current habitat struggles to provide these requirements.

This action responds to the goals and objectives outlined in the Dixie National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (1986) (LRMP). The desired conditions described above and the purpose and need for this project are consistent with Dixie National Forest goals and objectives found in Chapter IV of the Forest Plan. The District has also compared the proposed action with the general direction and standards and guidelines listed in the LRMP to determine compliance, and found that the proposed action is compliant with the general direction and standards and guidelines listed in the LRMP. This review, along with supporting rationale is found in the project record. Some of the relevant goals and objectives are listed below: * Maintain structural diversity of vegetation on management areas that are dominated by forested ecosystems (Dixie LRMP, 1986, General Direction, Pg. IV-25). * Ecosystems are restored and maintained, consistent with land uses and historic fire regimes, through wildland fire use and prescribed fire (Dixie LRMP (as amended by the Utah Fire Amendment), 2001, Pg. IV-13.). * Reduce hazardous fuels; the full range of reduction methods is authorized, consistent with forest and management area emphasis and direction (Dixie LRMP, 1986, (as amended by the Utah Fire Amendment, 2001 pg. A-41)). * Vegetative modification projects should be designed to break-up continuous fuel types and serve as fuel breaks (LRMP pg. IV-13 Goal no. 48, objective (d).). * Silvicultural prescriptions should be designed to maintain a visual quality objective of partial retention, enhance long term visual quality, diversity, and provide for insect and disease control (Dixie LRMP, 1986, Management Area 2A, Pg. IV-63.). * Visual resources are managed so that management activities maintain or improve the quality of recreation opportunities. Management activities are not evident, remain visually subordinate, or may be dominant, but harmonize and blend with the natural setting (Dixie LRMP, 1986, Management Area 2B, Pg. IV-68.). * Tree stands are managed for specific size, shape, interspersion, crown closure, age, structure, and edge contrast (Dixie LRMP, Management Area 4B, Pg. IV-82.). * Treatments are applied to increase forage production of existing grass, forb, and browse species or to alter plant species composition. Prescribed burning, seeding, spraying, planting, and mechanical treatments may occur (Dixie LRMP, Management Area 5A, Pg. IV-97.). * The area generally will have a mosaic of fully stocked stands that follow natural patterns and avoid straight lines and geometric shapes (Dixie LRMP, 1986, Management Area 7A, Pg. IV-116.). * Improve habitat capability through direct treatments of vegetation, soil and waters (Dixie LRMP, 1986, Pg.IV-35). Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan Habitat Management Goal: Conserve and improve elk habitat throughout the state. Habitat Management Coordinate with land management agencies and private landowners to properly manage and improve elk habitat, especially calving and wintering areas. Watershed Restoration Initiative Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. (pg. 16) Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule deer. Section IV Statewide management goals and objectives. This plan will address Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2013 (p11-12). Strategy C. 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 or aspen habitats. Strategy f. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages. Plateau Deer Herd Management Plan Unit #25 (2015) - Habitat Management Objectives -- Encourage vegetation manipulation projects and seeding to increase the availability, abundance, and nutritional content of browse, grass, and forb species. Strategies: Habitat Protection, Improvement and Maintenance - Reduce expansion of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by Pinyon-Juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects like lop & scatter, bullhog and chaining projects; maintain summer fawning areas by increasing beneficial habitat work in summer and transitional habitat areas.(p.3-4) Wayne County Resource Management Plan 2017- By reducing density of ponderosa pine reproduction, this project is in line with the Wayne County Resource Management Plan. 13. Ponderosa Pine -- Ponderosa pine stands are maintained in an open condition which will support a good understory of perennial grasses and browse plants and periodic low intensity fire. Encroachment of shrubs or excessive density of pine reproduction that can support stand replacing crown fires is prevented.(pg 50) National Cohesive Strategy By means of 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. 1. 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) State of Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy The Teasdale Front 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 near Teasdale. The project reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire occurrence negatively affecting property, air quality and water systems. 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) 5. Adopt Key Recommendations from the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. (pg. 15) * Encourage federal land management agencies to expedite fuels treatments. (pg. 15) * Prioritize landscapes for treatment (irrespective of jurisdictional boundaries). (pg. 15)

The ponderosa pine forest type is now dominated by mid to mature aged classes and an even-aged understory of younger ponderosa pine with pinyon/juniper expanding into the ponderosa pine areas. Some of the younger ponderosa pine trees have formed tight groupings, or jackpot clumps, throughout the project area. These young ponderosa are growing next to or under the crowns of the mature trees creating a ladder fuel hazard. The exclusion of fire within this ecosystem has created an unhealthy amount of younger ponderosa and pinyon/juniper. The younger ponderosa pines and pinyon/juniper are now more dense and continuous across the project area. Approximately 58% of the tree cover is ponderosa pine with the other 42% primarily consisting of pinyon/juniper in the understory. Ladder fuels are well developed that can create an avenue for wildfire to transport into the crowns of the mature ponderosa pine trees thus causing a high severity, high mortality fire. These historic, frequent fire forests are now susceptible to high severity, large scale wildfires like the Lost Lake Fire of 2012 also on the north slope of Boulder. The Lost Lake Fire exposed the fire danger that exist and impacts the communities of Teasdale, Happy Valley, Grover, Fish Creek Cove, Donkey Flats, Government Creek, East Teasdale and Pine Creek. In addition to ladder fuels, there is an increase of forest litter leading to a hotter and more easily spreading fire and increasing the lethal effects of fires on vegetation by concentrating heat on the upper soil layers and around the stems of trees and shrubs. The project area is located in the transition zone from pinyon/juniper to ponderosa pine and is fire regime group I , 0 - 35 year frequency with low/mixed severity. There have been some historical treatments in the area such as timber harvesting . The current FRCC over the project area is 70% FRCC 3 high departure with 30% FRCC 2 moderate departure. With the proposed treatments the project area would move to the FRCC 1 low departure .

The project area is located primarily within areas geologically described as being tertiary volcanic rocks underlain by sedimentary formations with much of the soils being derived from landslide debris composed of this volcanic rock. The predominant soil types are very deep and well drained with high runoff potential with the hazard of water erosion being low to moderate (no soils found in the project area are listed as being highly erosive or unstable). The topography is varied, having some localized steep locations (as high as 65 percent), but most of the area has a moderately low gradient with the arithmetic mean within the project boundary being approximately 22 percent (based on slope being calculated from 30 meter digital elevation data). Most of the precipitation in the project area falls in the wintertime and is stored as snow, summer monsoonal events occur in the project area and can lead to a rapid increase in overland flow and stream discharge. Completing phase I of the Teasdale Front Fuels Reduction Project will benefit water quality and quantity within and downstream of the project area. The proposed planning would seek to design projects that would regenerate improved understory conditions, grass, forbs, and shrubs. Improving understory conditions would improve water quality by leading to less generation of sediment during overland flow events and thereby delivering less sediment to riparian areas and streams within and downstream of the project area. The three perennial fish bearing streams in the project area are Spring Creek, Fish Creek and Carcass Creek. These streams are tributaries of the Fremont River which is a 303d impaired waterbody for total dissolved solids (UDWQ). Seven springs also occur within the project area, they are 2481, 1801, 882, 2244, 2245, 2102 and 2027. Flows in perennial streams on Boulder Mountain would experience an increase as pinion-juniper presence and associated water consumption is reduced. Restoring uplands will reduce the impacts of future wildfires and reduce the risk of future watershed degradation. Treatments will considerably lessen the risk of catastrophic, large-scale, high severity wildfires that could result in long-term watershed degradation Reducing PJ density in the project area will decrease consumptive water use by the trees and lead to increased groundwater charging (resulting in an increase in baseflows within the project area). It has been shown that variations in groundwater discharge (which would increase as a result of the proposed actions) generally increase variations in streamflow but reduce variations in stream temperature [e.g., Silliman and Booth, 1993]. Meaning the proposed actions would be expected to benefit stream temperature in the streams by reducing the maximum temperatures currently being observed. The increase in understory cover/function, reduced overland flows, and resulting reduced sediment loading into surface waters, would result in a benefit to water quality (pH, DO, nutrient loading). Benefits to water quality and quantity may not be substantial in the first year after treatment but are expected to be significant with time. Upland treatments will benefit downstream water quality and quantity. Communities and downstream water users will also benefit from the reduced risk for catastrophic wildfire, increased base flows, and decrease of sediment loading resulting from the proposed project activities.

A Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact on the Teasdale Front Range Fuels Reduction Project was signed by Fremont River District Ranger Kurt Robins on March 22, 2016. The proposed project area has been surveyed for archaeology clearance and SHPO consultation is complete.

Using contracted recourses remove ladder fuels in the ponderosa pine plant community; consisting primarily of removing small diameter (<8 inches round at Diameter Breast Height (DBH)) pinyon / juniper and excess ponderosa saplings to reduce ladder fuels. Downed vegetation will then be burned after a drying period using hand ignitions by the Fremont River Ranger District Fire and Fuels personnel . .

Project area monitoring would occur after project implementation is complete. Invasive and noxious weeds are not known to occur in the project area; however, treatment areas would be monitored post implementation. If noxious and/or invasive weeds are detected, the District would take the appropriate actions to control spread and eliminate the noxious and/or invasive weeds from the treatment areas. Wildlife monitoring would continue post implementation. Ponderosa pine and pinyon/juniper responses following treatments would also be monitored. Repeat photo points and range site survey locations consisting of nested frequency sites recording vegetation and percent cover already exist within the proposed project area. Vegetation surveys consisting of macro-plots or transects will occur following treatment and five years after treatment. Vegetation plots will either be established in the project area or re-read for monitoring locations already established within the treatment area. The UDWR conducts annual mule deer classification routes in this area. In addition, deer populations on this unit are modeled annually using classification data obtained in conjunction with migration initiative studies. Elk surveys are conducted aerially every three years. This monitoring will continue as currently scheduled. Fisheries biologists have quantitative fish monitoring stations on all three of these streams that are monitored at ~ 5 year intervals. Forest botonists also has a Riparian Level III Inventory on Carcass Creek and a couple of upland sites near Fish Creek that are part of a long term vegetation trend studies on the Dixie National Forest. Monitoring reports and photos will be uploaded a they become available.

Division of Wildlife Resources employees have had extensive involvement in treatment area and implementation planning. Adjacent private landowners are already working with the State of Utah's Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to create defensible space around their properties. During the Habitat Council Tour in 2020, there was interest expressed in additional treatments on the North Slope of the Boulder to benefit mule deer populations. Mule Deer Foundation has looked at this area in specific for additional treatments to benefit wintering populations of mule deer. Hopefully treatments on the North Slope of the Boulder will reduce depredation concerns from deer and elk in the Teasdale and Grover areas.

Once pre-treated areas within the project boundaries meet necessary conditions to support low severity prescribed fire behavior, the district proposes to introduce regular prescribed burning as needed for the project area to reach and maintain the desired health and fire resiliency of the ponderosa stand. Additionally, as long as fuel conditions are right and stand to benefit, naturally ignited fires will be considered on a case by case basis for use in managing project area fuels. The project area is within the North Slope allotment. This allotment has a 150 cow/calf pair on a deferred rotation system. Currently, the majority of the cows will stay within the 2,000 acre burn foot print of the 2012 Lost Lake fire, where there is sufficient amount of forage. No changes to the existing management plan is anticipated at this time but will be monitored and future changes may occur.

The area has 5 miles of road that will be maintained following implementation. Hunting for small and big game will continue to occur and should be improved with greater visibility of game within the project area. Hand cutting will promote increased grass, forb, and shrub communities when all phases are complete. With the removal of conifer, the amount of usable grasses and forbs in the understories is also expected to increase significantly. With increased forage, livestock distribution and management is expected to improve. Many areas are currently unproductive due to extensive conifer shading. Traditional timber sales are occurring on Boulder Mountain south of the project area, where commercial Engelmann spruce stands exist. The Fishlake NF has started NFMA analysis adjacent to the project area for a project involving prescribed fire and mechanical treatments for the entire ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, seral aspen, and Engelmann spruce vegetation types on Boulder Mountain. District Timber staff have been promoting commercial biomass sales of normally non-merchantable timber such as white fir, sub-alpine fir, pinyon, and juniper to local private companies to be processed into wood chips, Christmas trees, or essential oils. Some interest is starting to be shown and hopefully a market niche will be developed and more of the biomass produced from the mechanical portions of this project will be able to be utilized. Fishing (a variety of fish species) is a popular activity at Coleman Reservoir and Pine Creek. Restoration will improve transition and summer ranges that will benefit wildlife along with improving water quality and reducing risk to fish habitat and watersheds from uncharacteristic wildfire. This project will promote sustainability for a variety of sportsmen and sportswomen by assuring hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations. Vegetation treatments that encourage grass, forb, and shrub community vegetation will continue to provide quality deer fawning and elk calving habitat. A productive understory combined with some dead and down trees is optimal habitat for big game birthing.

06/01/2021

04/30/2024

2024

The Teasdale Front Fuels Reduction project was completed in three phases of treatment types to achieve the objectives. The first treatment phase was a lop and scatter of encroaching conifers. The contractor (3 B's) used a 14-person chainsaw crew to remove conifers (pinyon pine and juniper) less than < 8 inch Diameter at Root Collar (DRC) on approximately 1,017 acres. Smaller ponderosa pine and other ladder fuels were also cut to specifications to reduce future wildfire risk. This treatment started June 1, 2021, and ended around September 30, 2021. It was determined that the slash from the lop and scatter contained heavier amounts of downed scattered trees than anticipated. To mitigate the heavy fuels, a second treatment was used to pile the downed slash using a contracted crew (Imperial Forestry) on approximately 1,017 acres starting May 24, 2023, and ending around September 11, 2023. The third treatment was U.S. Forest Service personnel coming in and burning the piles on approximately 280 acres thus far, starting December 7, 2023, through April 9, 2024.

The Forest Service USFS (Fremont River Ranger District) and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources completed a habitat restoration project on the North Slope of Boulder Mountain southwest of Teasdale, Utah. The project objectives are 1- Improve health and vigor of the ponderosa pine community, 2- Improve fire resilience, and 3- Improve mule deer and elk habitat on the north slope boulder mountain. This project focuses on reducing pinyon and juniper succession on approximately 1,017 acres within the mountain shrub and ponderosa pine vegetation types along the north slope of the Boulder Mountain. The project consisted of using two contracted crews to lop and pile encroching conifer and using USFS personnel to burn the piled debris. The project started in June of 2021 and piles were burned through April 2024. Bitterbrush response in cut areas responded well in the spring of 2022. Due to hot, dry weather in May and June of 2024 the brush response slowed down. Monsoon rains arrived in Late July and it rained off and on for 22 days in a row. The bitterbrush and other native grasses responded very well to these rain events. Due to the success of this project, there were an additional 1,251 acres of lop and scatter treatment adjacent to this project to the east as part of the Lower Bowns/Carcass Creek project in 2024.

The Teasdale Front Fuels Reduction project coincides with other Boulder Mountain vegetation projects nearby to conserve and improve wildlife habitat, mitigate wildfire risk and improve forest health. Monitoring will continue in the future. Long-term vegetation trend data collection is performed on a three- year rotation on the Dixie National Forest and in this general area with multiple sites pre- established on the north slope of Boulder Mountain. Wildlife data will be collected by USFS employees on Forest Sensitive species and Focal species post treatment. The Utah Division of Wildlife has migration and survival studies going forward on big game that use this project area for winter and transitional summer habitat for mule deer and elk.