The East Fork fire burned over 89,000 acres on the south slope of the Uinta Mountains. The fire reached to areas of deer and elk winter range and destroyed habitat that these species rely on during winter. During the Fall of 2021, the DWR, in partnership with the Ashley National Forest and the Ute Indian Tribe, seeded approximately 9,000 acres of lower elevation wintering areas that were susceptible to cheatgrass invasion. As agency personnel continued to meet and identify rehab needs, additional areas were identified where seeding would be desirable. While the majority of the East Fork Fire is expected to recover through natural ecological succession, it is felt that certain areas would benefit from additional seeding to provide forage and competition with potential invasive species and to help promote recovery. The areas included in this project are centered on areas of high soil burn severity in habitat types that are not expected to recover as quickly. This project aims to aerially seed an additional 730 acres of burned forest areas to compete with potential cheatgrass expansion and provide extra forage for wildlife and livestock.

Rehabilitate burned areas by aerially seeding desirable species that will compete with cheatgrass and provide forage for wildlife and livestock.

Post-fire is the prime time for cheatgrass to expand in range. If seeding isn't done, cheatgrass will continue to expand in this area and will outcompete native species. Re-seeding burned areas will also help reduce erosion potential during storms. The burn area drains into Rock Creek. By seeding, we hope to prevent or reduce sediment transport into Rock Creek, which would severely impact the river and possibly the Stillwater ponds.

The Ashley National Forest Land Resource Management Plan has objectives, standards, and guidelines to: -- maintain or improve all range in a fair or better condition class -- improve and conserve the basic soil and water resources -- maintain or improve soil stability, site productivity, and repair or stabilize damaged watersheds -- stabilize areas damaged by fire, mining, or other events -- Conduct damage surveys following disasters to determine restoration needs and take corrective action as soon as funds became available. The Utah Wildlife action plan identifies Mountain Sagebrush, and Mountain brush as key habitats. The WAP identifies "Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity" and "Soil Erosion and Loss" as threats to these habitats. The Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan has an objective to improve the quality and quantity of forage on elk habitat by initiating broad scale vegetative treatment projects. The Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan has an objective to improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on crucial ranges by initiating broad-scale vegetative treatment projects. The State of Utah Resource Management Plan contains the following relevant objectives, policies, and guidelines: -- The State supports the efforts of the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative and other rehabilitative efforts throughout the state. -- The State will seek to protect, conserve, and improve Utah's fish and aquatic wildlife and the habitats upon which they depend. -- Encourage Federal agencies to re-seed/revegetate burn areas as soon as possible post-fire to mitigate sedimentation in streams and riparian areas. -- Improve vegetative health on public and private lands through range improvements, prescribed fire, vegetation treatments, and active management of invasive plants and noxious weeds. -- Conserve, improve, and restore 500,000 acres of mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. -- Protect existing wildlife habitat and improve 500,000 acres of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state by 2025. -- Produce and maintain the desired vegetation for wildlife and domestic livestock forage on public and private lands. The Duchesne County Resource Management Plan promotes policies that maintain and improve the quality and quantity of desirable plant cover to protect watersheds and rangelands, and encourages that fire-damaged areas be re-vegetated with seedings or plantings as soon as possible after the fire event. A TMDL has been approved for the Duchesne River Watershed, identifying total dissolved solids as an impairment in the Lake Fork River. The Duchesne River Waterhsed Restoration Plan contains goals to "improve water quality in the watershed by decreasing the TDS and Sediment load" and to "improve wildlife habitat."

This project is focused more on rehabilitating after fire, than on reducing fuel loads and preventing fire. However, by seeding species that will compete well with cheatgrass, this project could help reduce the risk of increased fire frequency and behavior.

The project areas are upstream from Lake Fork River and Rock Creek, both of which flow into the Duchesne River. A TMDL has been approved for the Duchesne River Watershed, identifying total dissolved solids as an impairment in the Lake Fork River. Following fire, erosion is expected to increase the amount of total dissolved solids in Lake Fork and in Rock Creek. Seeding burned areas will help to control soil erosion and should reduce the amount of material entering the river.

Since no ground disturbance will be involved, archaeological clearances are not necessary. According to the District Ranger on the Ashley National Forest, this project will not require NEPA.

Seed will be applied to the project area via fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter in the fall of 2021.

The Ashley National Forest has implemented numerous vegetative monitoring plots to assess the effects of the fire and to monitor fire recovery. These sites will be visited three years after the fire (which would be two years following this seeding effort). These studies will document the effectiveness of seeding efforts. The project manager will work with USFS ecologists to obtain monitoring reports that can be uploaded to the WRI database.

DWR biologists started coordinating with personnel on the Ashley National Forest during the fall of 2020, while the East Fork Fire was still burning. A proposal for seeding was developed and included the Ute Indian Tribe, which allowed seeding on Tribal lands. The Grazing Improvement Program was also involved in the Phase 1 effort. Further discussions between DWR and USFS personnel identified additional areas to attempt seeding in 2021 (FY2022). DWR biologists will oversee project implementation, while USFS ecologists will conduct monitoring.

The Ashley National Forest will adapt their grazing management to maximize seeding success. This will include rest from grazing following seeding and will be adapted as needed based on monitoring of the seeded areas. Future phases of restoration, including re-building livestock watering sources and additional shrub and/or tree plantings are being discussed.

Seeding the burned area will promote and protect forage resources for both wildlife and livestock, and will help protect water resources for fish species. This will protect recreation uses such as hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing. The Ashley National Forest will determine whether or not, and how, timber resources in the area might be salvaged following the fire.

11/17/2021

11/20/2021

2022

Seed was broadcast using fixed wing aircraft. Seeding started on November 17, 2021, and finished by November 20, 2021. No chaining or other ground disturbance was conducted

The East Fork fire burned over 89,000 acres on the south slope of the Uinta mountains. The fire reached to areas of deer and elk winter range and destroyed habitat that these species rely on during winter. During the Fall of 2021, the DWR, in partnership with the Ashley National Forest and the Ute Indian Tribe, seeded approximately 9,000 acres of lower elevation wintering areas that were susceptible to cheatgrass invasion. As agency personnel continued to meet and identify rehab needs, additional areas were identified where seeding would be desirable. This project seeded an additional 8,407 acres of burned forest areas.

The Ashley National Forest will work with livestock grazing permittees to rest the area from grazing while seed establishes. The forest has multiple vegetative study sites within the seeded area. Future treatments may be considered based on monitoring results.