Primary goals of the project are to promote the re-establishment of native plant vegetation to help keep non-native vegetation at low levels while also continuing to support ecological biodiversity and provide for wildlife (i.e., greater sage-grouse and big game species) and permitted livestock grazing. An additional outcome from this treatment is providing erosion control through soil stabilization. Soil stabilization efforts goals are to limit soil movement to reduce the risk of alluvial slides moving on to roadways. Treatment areas contain primarily downy brome but other noxious and invasive species may be present.

The treatment was selected to stabilize the environment post fire to reduce the risk of non-native plant species invasion and soil stabilization. The fire in the proposed polygons burned hotter and left a higher percentage of bare ground. Aerial seeding will be conducted in the fall of 2021 within the burned treatment polygons. The proposed seed mix was developed by an interdisciplinary team to provide sufficient species diversity to protect the habitat for sensitive species and local infrastructure from large sediment movements. In addition to re-establishing GRSG and big game habitat, successful treatments will reduce the likelihood of future large scale fire events from occurring on the treatment area.

The fire in the identified polygons burned hot and left a higher percentage of bare ground. No action would likely result in an increase in cheatgrass, noxious weeds, and increased sedimentation into the Price River Drainage. An increase in cheatgrass can alter the fire regime and expose the site to accelerated erosion on a more frequent basis resulting in an increase risk to the values at risk.

-The Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan has the following applicable objectives and strategies: Habitat Objective 2, strategy d -- Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve elk habitat with emphasis on calving habitat and winter ranges. Habitat Objective 2, strategy h -- Emphasize improvement of upper elevation winter ranges to encourage elk to winter at higher elevation than mule deer. -The Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan has the following applicable objectives and strategies:Support all habitat objectives and strategies in this plan to protect and improve mule deer habitat including energy development mitigation in crucial mule deer habitat. *Habitat Objective 2, Strategy D; 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. Green River District BLM Fire Management Plan: *Achieve the desired mix of seral stages for the PJ and mountain big sage vegetative types. *Create fuel breaks within the Wyoming sagebrush type to prevent unplanned fires from removing largeamounts of sagebrush. Reduce fuel loads. *Chemical treatments would be utilized in conjunction with prescribed fire and mechanical treatments to achieve desired objectives, and to also control invasive species. -The Price RMP ROD directs that vegetation should be managed to attain an ecological stage that will benefit wildlife, livestock grazing, livestock use, and ensure high species diversity. The Green River District Vernal BLM Fire Management Plan aims to achieve a desired mix of seral stages for all major vegetative types. This project will help create diversity of vegetative types in the area. -Utah Wildlife Action Plan identifies Mountain Shrub as a key habitat type as well as several threats to species that will benefit from this project. See the Threats/Risks section for details on how this project relates to the WAP. -The Utah State Resource Management Plan has several applicable objectives and policies & guidelines: *The State promotes fuel breaks, thinning, chaining, prescribed fire and the selection of fire-resistant vegetation in green-stripping and burned areas. * The State will pursue opportunities to conduct and assist other partners with fuel reduction work including mechanical treatments and prescribed fire. *Support the use of mechanical or chemical means or fire to alter or perpetuate forests and increase herbaceous yield where timber harvest is impractical or demand does not exist." *Improve vegetative health on public and private lands through range improvements, prescribed fire, vegetation treatments, and active management of invasive plants and noxious weeds.

The fire in the identified polygons burned hot and left a higher percentage of bare ground. No action would likely result in an increase in cheatgrass, noxious weeds, and increased sedimentation into the Price River Drainage. Priority and critical habitat for sage-grouse and several big game species is found within the proposed burned treatment polygons. Wildlland Urban Interface Values at Risk: * Highway 6 corridor. * Railroad corridor. * The communities of Helper and Martin, located downstream of potential surface runoff and soil erosion from the fire. * Municipal water treatment plant: Price River Water Improvement District. * Historic mine structures. * Coal Mine infrastructure * Price river watershed and tributaries. * Price Canyon Recreation area. * Bristle cone pine stands and trail.

The Price River Watershed: Treatments are designed to recover the habitat by using a seed mix to help stabilize soils, and prevent erosion into the Price River. Bare soil can lead to an increase in runoff, soil loss and erosion (Thurow and Hester 2015). Erosion can lead to a reduction in soil productivity and can also increase non-point source water pollution, thus having the potential to affect water quality within a watershed over time (Thurow and Hester 2015). Water quantity may be improved by improving and promoting new shrub growth with a productive understory reducing overland waterflow. If this treatment is not done, there is a greater potential for cheat grass and other noxious weeds to dominate and reduce the hydrological storage capacity within the local environment.

No areas of concern for Cultural were Identified within the proposed polygons by BLM Archeologist. A DNA is being prepared to address impacts from the treatment (aerial seeding). PUP (Pesticide Use Permit) will be completed completed for the herbicide treatment for the burn areas.

Aerial seeding will be conducted within the burned treatment polygons in the fall of 2021.

Pre-post pictures will be taken at sites where the herbicide is applied and where the aerial seeding take place. Monitoring will consist of randomly located vegetation transects with the purpose of measuring both overstory and understory vegetation change. Measurements will include line-point intercept cover, tree density, species richness, and seeded species frequency using BLM's Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) protocols. New AIM plots will be added within the Bear Canyon burn area. Monitoring data will be maintained by Green River District Fuels program. AIM data and photos points will be uploaded into WRI database.

The BLM Green River District and Price Field Office will be working with the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative to complete this project. All acres will be seeded if needed, will be identified with the livestock permittees to ensure adequate rest following project implementation. The BLM Utah has a MOU with the Great Basin Research Center to allow for seed procurement using the WRI system. The Utah BLM will work with local UDWR biologist on developing an appropriate seed mix for the proposed treatments on mostly BLM lands.

Minimum 2 years of rest will be required from grazing after the seeding occurs. Follow up herbicide and seedings may be needed depending on the initial success fire rehab treatments. Treated areas will be monitored (depending on available funding) at 3 to 5 year intervals to determine future actions in the project area using (AIM) protocols.

Grazing permittees have been impacted by the wildfire. The areas or pastures burned will need to be rested from grazing for a minimum of two years (growing seasons) if seeded. In the long term, this project will likely have an overall positive impact on wildlife and domestic livestock grazing because of added forage value following seeding. This area is popular for wildlife viewing and hunting. Local biologist have also identified this area as crucial habitat for sage-grouse and several big game species. With the projects ability to reduce the effects of erosion into the Price River, this will also have an indirect effect down stream in the municipal water treatment plant reducing sedimentation and improving water quality.

10/18/2021

10/22/2021

2022

After the Bear Fire collaboration began between multiple groups deciding what action if any was needed. The BLM was planning on applying seed to some of their areas and it was decided to partner with WRI and apply seed to some private and SITLA as well. Seed was acquired from the Great Basin Research Center in Ephraim and then flown on via fixed wing aircraft. About 3 mile portion of the fuel brake on the Ford Ridge side of the fire was hand seeded by the BLM.

The Bear Fire started on June 8, 2021 from a lightning strike. BLM was planning on conducting aerial seeding on specific locations within the fire that burned at a higher severity and had slopes that were conducive to seeding. After collaboration it was decided to also fly seed on the Private and SITLA at the same time. Seed was flown on in the fall of 2021 (October 18-22). Seed was mixed at the Great Basin Research Center in Ephraim and transported to the project site by the aviation company. The contract was to complete seeding for both the Bear Fire and Pack Creek Fire that burned at similar times within the southeast region.

The area is under continued monitoring for unwanted vegetation (noxious weeds) in future WRI proposals (#6215). Other projects may also be needed to address erosion issues depending on vegetation response and weather events. Future WRI proposals will be submitted for other project work.