The South Manti Big Game Summer Range Improvement project is extremely important for the future health of big game populations as well as many other wildlife species. The UDWR wildlife biologist for this district, Rusty Robinson, has identified this area as his highest priority for need to benefit big game populations. Mule Deer populations in particular have struggled on the south end of the Manti in part because the summer range has been encroached by conifer species. This has happened as a result of fire suppression for the last 100 years. As the conifer trees continue to grow and are not removed by occasional forest fires they outcompete aspen and other understory vegetation. This results in continuous conifer stands across the entire landscape that have very little vegetation growing under the canopy that big game animals and many other wildlife need for food. It also, destroys the health of the tree stand as old trees become more susceptible to disease. When this happens we can also lose the entire conifer stand which is not good for the wildlife that use the conifer. The goal is to have maximum diversity of plant communities which will in turn create a maximum diversity of animal species in the ecosystem. Because these forest systems have been changed and will continue to be changed by humans it is necessary for humans to proactively manage the systems through restoration techniques to achieve the highest diversity possible. By doing this work to reduce the confier stands we can also reduce the risk of catastrophic fires, disease, flooding and mudslides post fire that can contaminate water quality, and lastly protect a multitude of sustainable uses for this land. For this project we are asking for the funds to conduct cultural surveys and to help with the NEPA process to identify the best techniques for restoring this area. Most likely future techniques will involve prescribed fire and mechanical methods of removing conifer trees. It will be a phased project but will cover a massive area of about 90,000 acres. After the surveys and NEPA are complete, future phases will be implemented to do the work on the ground. This proposal is essential to get the ball rolling for the NEPA so that actual treatments can begin much sooner than they would otherwise.

Overall objectives for the 90,000 acre project include: * Regenerate declining aspen by introducing a fire disturbance event to cause mortality of encroaching conifers and stimulate root suckering of aspen clones. * Increase the resistance and resilience of watersheds and associated vegetation (drought, wildfire, insects, and disease). * Reduce the risk of a severe stand-replacing wildfire for the entire project boundary, reducing the risk to life (fire fighters, recreationists, and permittees), property, and to natural resource values. * Restore critical elk and deer habitat and browse species by improving forage quality and quantity * Restore suitable Goshawk, golden eagle, and other raptor species foraging habitat by creating a mosaic of open ground within forested areas. * Restore pollinator habitat by enhancing wildflower-rich foraging habitat through a fire disturbance event.

Wildlife Habitat: The habitat for Mule Deer and Rocky Mountain Elk is degraded and if nothing is done we will continue to decrease in big game population numbers and this could lead to crossing a threshold that would take many years and money to get populations back to where we want them. It also contains habitat for sensitive species such as the Northern goshawk and Three toed-woodpecker that are currently at risk from catastrophic high severity wildfire. Implementation of this project reduces the risk of wildfires impacting these sensitive species to a level that would be extremely costly to rebound from. If we lose plant communities from not doing this project it will be much more expensive to try and reintroduce plant species that are lost through plantings.

A.This document tiers to the Manti-La Sal National Forest Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement. The proposal has been reviewed to identify conformance with Forest Plan management direction. It complies with the Forest Plan and meets specific direction to: 1. Minimize hazards from wildfire (LRMP III-5). Human life (firefighter and public safety) is the highest priority during a fire. Once firefighters have been assigned to a fire, their safety becomes the highest value to be protected. Property and natural and cultural resources are lower priorities (Utah Fire Amendment). 2. Maintain a healthy forest by applying appropriate silvicultural treatments (LRMP III-3). The desired condition for this landscape and its component stands provides for healthy stands with varied successional stages of trees and stands (LRMP III-2). 3. Reduce hazardous fuels. The full range of fuel reduction methods is authorized, consistent with forest and management area emphasis and direction (III-43). 4. Ecosystems are restored and maintained, consistent with land uses and historic fire regimes, through wildland fire use and prescribed fire (LRMP III-5). 5. Manage stands in a manner that promotes properly functioning conditions and habitat conditions suitable for the northern goshawk (LRMP III-3). 6. Use timber management to meet other management or resource needs (LRMP III-4). Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Elk Management Plan: This project will help introduce species diversity back into the Sanpete Face area. 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. Habitat fragmentation should not be an issue for wildlife as care has been taken to have leave areas, old growth areas, and treatment areas in good juxtaposition across the landscape to promote species diversity. Implementation of this project will benefit those species that favor early serial communities and early serial vegetation (elk). This project will provide increases in habitat effectiveness and benefit species such as ungulates. Mosaic patterns created by the project will distribute ungulate herbivory across the landscape minimizing overuse to current key areas and allow newly treated areas to have favorable responses to treatments. There will be some short-term (3-5 years) temporary impacts to plant and animal uses of these areas during the implementation phase of the project; however, the overall outcome will provide much needed plant species diversity across the landscape that will last well into the future. Increased vegetation through implementation of this project that will be created through primary succession methods will greatly benefit elk. B. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan: This project will help introduce species diversity back into the Sanpete Face area. 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. Habitat fragmentation should not be an issue for wildlife as care has been taken to have leave areas, old growth areas, and treatment areas in good juxtaposition across the landscape to promote species diversity. Implementation of this project will benefit those species that favor early serial communities and early serial vegetation (deer). This project will provide increases in habitat effectiveness and benefit species such as ungulates. Mosaic patterns created by the project will distribute ungulate herbivory across the landscape minimizing overuse to current key areas and allow newly treated areas to have favorable responses to treatments. There will be some short-term (3-5 years) temporary impacts to plant and animal uses of these areas during the implementation phase of the project; however, the overall outcome will provide much needed plant species diversity across the landscape that will last well into the future. Increased vegetation through implementation of this project that will be created through primary succession methods will greatly benefit mule deer. C. The Wildlife Action Plan:The Northern goshawk in Utah: habitat assessment and management recommendations: In Forest Plan direction for the Northern goshawk, forest vegetation structural stage classes are discussed and how they relate to preference by goshawk for nesting, post fledgling family areas, or rearing and teaching of young and foraging. Careful consideration has been given to Northern goshawk territories found within the project boundaries. Territories will be part of the mosaic pattern designed as "leave" areas for prescribed burn and mechanical treatments. Creating age class diversity through the implementation of this project will ensure future habitat as well as habitat for prey used by goshawk is maintained. 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. D.State of Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy: The Skyline West 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 the Sanpete Face through a collaborative process. The project reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire occurrence negatively affecting property, air quality and water systems. E. State of Utah Forest Action Plan: The Skyline West Project addresses all three of the key goals laid out in the Forest Action Plan: conserve and manage working forest landscapes for multiple values and uses, protect forests from threats and enhance public benefits from trees and forests. All actions called for in the Project work together to reduce wildfire and forest health threats to the surrounding forests and reduce the potential for long-term degradation of forested watersheds. F. Sanpete County Resource Management Plan: Objective A. Healthy forests are managed for multiple uses, most importantly water quality and watershed protection. Additional support and direction listed throughout this document defining county objectives, policies and desired management practices. G. Sanpete County Community Fire Plan: Goal B: Community will work with county, state and federal fire officials to decrease fuels on adjacent public lands to reduce wildfire intensity and impact in and around the community. This project works to achieve Goal B of the Sanpete County CWPP by reducing fuel loading and lowering the potential of wildland fire spread across the. of these areas during the implementation phase of the project; however, the overall outcome will provide much needed plant species diversity across the landscape that will last well into the future. Increased vegetation through implementation of this project that will be created through primary succession methods will greatly benefit elk.

The project treatments would be implemented to effectively restore resilient, fire-adapted aspen ecosystems on a landscape-scale and across boundary by moving the stands toward properly functioning condition in terms of composition (species diversity) and density (crown spacing and fuel loading). In addition the treatments would improve structural diversity, promote aspen regeneration and recruitment, reduce the hazardous fuel loading, and reduce the continuity of fuels across the landscape; thus mitigating the risks and damage associated with a high intensity, high severity, uncharacteristic/catastrophic wildfire and where appropriate, expand opportunities to manage fire for resource benefits and meet Manti-La Sal Land and Resource Management Plan objectives. The stands associated with this project are in a Fire Regime II Condition Class 3 (High). A Fire Regime II is a 0- 35 year or greater fire frequency and high (stand-replacement) severity (greater than 75% of the dominant overstory vegetation replaced). Condition Class 3 is high departure from this regime and is considered outside the natural (historic) range of variability. Consequently, fire suppression actions necessary to protect private lands associated structures would be difficult given the nature of the fuels in the area. Within the project area a lack of disturbance including wildfire suppression have changed stands from early seral species (aspen) to late seral climax species (spruce and fir) resulting in dense canopy and continuous vertical crown structure. A Forest wide spruce beetle epidemic has affected a portion of the project resulting in the mortality of more than 90 percent of Engelmann spruce greater than 8 inches diameter. Because of prolonged drought, dense canopy, and the accumulation of the dead spruce it is highly probable the project area will undergo a uncharacteristic high intensity stand replacing fire. Additionally, in the vicinity of the project there are several private in-holdings (cabins, recreational developments), power lines, municipal water developments, which would be a great risk in the event of such a fire.

Project treatments will considerably lessen the risk of uncharacteristic large scale high severity fires that could result in long-term watershed degradation. By maintaining watershed function, long-term water quality will be maintained or enhanced. By removing conifer it is anticipated that water quantity will be enhanced (seeps, springs, bogs--improved). Fire behavior over the last 2 decades have illustrated the potential for large uncontrollable fires across the Manti-La Sal with current fuel loadings and conifer stand densities. A large wildlife would likely lead to large flood events. Water quantity could increase but most increase would be associated with storm events or early snow melt. This would likely lead to channel instability and down-cutting. Ash, erosion from the fire, and erosion from channel adjustments would decrease water quality by increasing water turbidity and sediment loads. These effects could lead to extirpation of fish populations if the area burned was large enough. Water quantity (and quality) would return to near baseline levels as vegetation recovered over time, but channel adjustments such as down-cutting post-fire would likely have long-term consequences such as reduced areas of riparian habitat and wet meadows.

The project is in pre-NEPA development, therefore all required laws and compliance will be prescribed to when fully developed. This phase of the project will meet analysis of Cultural Resource Surveys in order to consult with appropriate native american tribes and the State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) as well as to develop the Wildlife specialist reports.

We will conduct ground surveys for cultural resources and historical databse research to identify areas to avoid disturbing cultural resources. The treatments will not be conducted in this phase but in the future the methods will include aspen clone regeneration by removing thick conifer that are encroaching. This will be done with hand or mechanical treatment by removing any conifer within 60 ft of aspen clones. These stands will be thinned to approximate tree spacing of 30 ft or greater. Preference will be given to spruce/douglas fir. Smaller diameter fuels will be masticated. Larger diameter fuels will be mechanically decked for local firewood and/or piled to burn. Prescribed fire will be used wherever it is possible.

The prescription is reviewed and adhered to by the implementation crew. The Fuels Specialist, Fire Management Officer, and Siliviculturist periodically assess the treated areas for compliance with management objectives, and are consulted on a case by case basis by the implementation crew when special situations arise. Pre and Post-treatment photopoints, video documentation, migratory bird surveys. Approximately 5 years after completion of a cutting unit, the treatment sites will be reviewed for maintenance treatment needs by the Silviculturist, Fuels Specialist, FMO, or wildlife biologist.

The UDWR wildlife and habitat biologists have requested that this project be done to benefit wildlife species. The US Forest Service - Manti-La Sal National Forest is partnering with the UDWR to plan and implement this project. Sportsman groups like SFW have expressed great interest to UDWR biologist to have habitat work done in this area and will be partners in getting funding for this project. Work will mostly be done in USFS lands since they are the only landowner in the habitat types of interest.

This project will allow for work to be done for many years. It will allow for work to be done on nearly 90,000 acres. We will continue to monitor effectiveness of treatments after and follow up where needed. There will be no seeding done and areas of aspen regen will be large enough that cattle grazing should not be an issue. However, we will monitor aspen regeneration and if herbivory from livestock or wildlife is detrimental we will do what we can to address the issue.

The project area is designated as important big game habitat for mule deer and elk which will provide more opportunity for the sustainable use of hunting. The amount of forage available to livestock is expected to increase significantly as a result of this project as well and will greatly benefit ranchers and their livelihoods. With the removal of conifers and oak the amount of usable grasses and forbs in the aspen under-story is also expected to increase significantly. With increased forage livestock distribution and management is expected to improve. Many areas that are currently unproductive due to overgrowth will soon become desirable for future uses by livestock. Future phases of the project may also include riparian restoration and increased opportunity for fishing.

07/21/2021

06/26/2024

2024

In the summer of 2021, we did our first round of Goshawk surveys on approximately 3,000 acres in the headwaters of 12-mile canyon, on the Manti-La Sal National Forest. In June of 2022, we did the second goshawk survey. We surveyed at over 300 call stations and found only one possible goshawk sighting, but no nests were found. So there will be no areas that we need to avoid for goshawks within the project area. We began cultural surveys in June of 2022 and finished in June of 2024. In total, we completed 16,749 acres of cultural surveys in Twelve Mile Canyon, Six Mile Canyon, and Manti Canyon. We have the NEPA completed for 7,627 acres of work to begin in the 12-mile canyon. Work has already begun.

The South Manti Big Game Summer Range Improvement project is extremely important for the future health of big game populations, especially mule deer on the Manti deer unit. Mule Deer populations have struggled on the south end of the Manti in part because the summer range has been encroached by conifer species. This has happened as a result of fire suppression for the last 100 years. As the conifer trees continue to grow and are not removed by occasional forest fires, they outcompete aspen and other understory vegetation. This results in continuous conifer stands across the entire landscape that have very little vegetation growing under the canopy that big game animals and many other wildlife need for food. It also destroys the health of the tree stand as old trees become more susceptible to disease. When this happens, we can also lose the entire conifer stand which is not good for the wildlife that use the conifer. The goal is to have maximum diversity of plant communities which will in turn create a maximum diversity of animal species in the ecosystem. Because these forest systems have been changed and will continue to be changed by humans, it is necessary for humans to proactively manage the systems through restoration techniques to achieve the highest diversity possible. By reducing the conifer stands, we also reduce the risk of catastrophic fires, disease, flooding and mudslides postfire that can contaminate water quality. Lastly, we protect a multitude of sustainable uses for this land. For this project, we received funds to conduct cultural surveys and to help with the NEPA process to identify the best techniques to restore this area. Techniques involved prescribed fire and mechanical methods of removing conifer trees. We covered a massive area of about 16,000 acres.

We will continue to monitor effectiveness of treatments after and follow up where needed. There will be no seeding done and areas of aspen regen will be large enough that cattle grazing should not be an issue. However, we will monitor aspen regeneration, and if herbivory from livestock or wildlife is detrimental, we will do what we can to address the issue.