The Flatt Fire started June 18, 2021. This was a fast moving fire that burnt 14,356 acres of PJ, sage brush flats, and cliff rose and bitter brush stands. The monsoons of 2021 were intense in the region and the flooding did occur on the burn scare and in the town of Enterprise. The warm season grasses have started to response as well as the cheat grass. Planting seed as soon as possible to make sure it is ready for spring green up will curial for the health of the watershed and the supporting wildlife in the area. Mule deer use this area during the breeding season and winter. This is part of the Pine Valley Mule Deer Herd Management Unit. The establish of browse will vital for the deer in this area. Working with the private landowners we hope to reduce the depredation on agriculture lands and establish high quality forage as soon as possible.

Reintroduce perennial grasses, forbs and shrubs and increase frequency to at least 25%. 2. Reintroduce perennial grasses, forbs, and shrubs on mule deer, and other wildlife habitat. 3. Reintroduce perennial grasses, forbs and shrubs to establish and compete with invasive annual grasses. 4. Reduce sedimentation and erosion.

Cheatgrass has infested this area and contributes to an unhealthy fire cycle. The nature of this species is to carpet a landscape with flashy quick burning fuel for wildfires after its short growth cycle in the cool early part of springtime. Cheatgrass when coupled with frequent fires can change an entire ecosystem. The Flatt fire consumed both the tree/shrub canopy and understory vegetation. Soils within the burn are left exposed to wind and water erosion and are now susceptible to further invasion of the spread of cheatgrass and other non-native annual species. The Flatt fire has been classified as "moderately susceptible" to fire damage for the most part indicating that the soil has potential to be damaged by creating a water repellant layer, volatilization of essential soil nutrients, destruction of soil biological activity, and vulnerability to erosion with high severity fires. Based on these findings, past fire history in similar areas, and visits to the burned area, protecting the watershed values and reducing the erosion potential within the affected area would be a priority for the Flatt fire ESR project. Additionally, containment and control of invasive, non-native species, such as cheatgrass, which may exacerbate erosion potential and fire frequency and severity that would further degrade habitat is also a very high priority.

This action is consistent with the following land use plans and the Normal Year Fire Management Plan. -Secretarial Order 3362: Site specific Management Activities to Conserve or Restore Big Game Habitat, November, 2018 -Pine Valley Mule Deer Herd Management Plan -Pine Valley Pronghorn Herd Management Plan -Utah Wildlife Action Plan

Future fires will continue to be more difficult to control and have devastating effects by burning at a higher intensity, which could lead to fires getting larger and burning unburned habitat. Treatments identified within this proposal, including seeding with more fire resistant vegetation and are expected to reduce the overall threat of future wildfires, which could impact unburned areas in the watershed.

Erosion issues have the possibility to affect culinary and irrigation water systems negatively in high precipitation/flow events with the removal of vegetation on thousands of acres the aforementioned cities.

Required Class III cultural surveys will be contracted through the State of Utah and will be competed prior to chaining, and construction of burned/protection fences.

The Proposed Action is to implement the Flatt Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan (ESR). The evaluation team determined that appropriate measures for this burn would include an aerial application of a desirable seed mixture of perennial plant species across the BLM-managed lands of the fire area, followed by a chaining to incorporate the seed into the soil in areas where topography permits. Also, actions will be taken to prevent the further spread and eradicate noxious or non-native species. There is approximately 102 acres that will be treated this fall with 2.5 oz plateau to reduce the competition of cheat grass. Seeding and Planting Selected areas are proposed for re-seeding within the fire perimeter. contains the proposed seed mix. Proposed treatments include areal seeding only and aerial seeding followed by chaining. Portions of the Flatt Fire are conducive only to aerial seeding. These areas are characterized by steep slopes and are not suitable for mechanical treatments. Aerial seeding followed by chaining or harrowing is the preferred method of seeding in areas where slopes are appropriate and where residual vegetation allows. Noxious or Non-Native Species Prevention Several mapped polygons of Scotch thistle occur within the fire perimeter. These, along with any other Noxious Weeds encountered during our efforts, would be monitored, and treated as appropriate. Actions, if approved, would begin this fall, and conclude by early winter.

The Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring program (AIM) will be used to monitor vegetation in this project site. This monitoring program uses standard core indicators and methods to provide a statistically valid sampling design across the landscape. The Cedar City Field office will have a team devoted to AIM monitoring, and although the sample points are random, it is likely that some of these points will fall within the project area. Photo monitoring will also be used. Wildlife monitoring will be done with big game classifications and sage grouse counts in the treatment area, during annual surveys.

UDWR-working with land management agencies to ensure that resources are available for restoration and that wildlife needs are met. CCBLM-ESR planning and cultural resources with UDWR archeologist. SITLA-Planning and cultural resources

In accordance with the Standards for Rangeland Health, rangelands that have been burned, reseeded, or otherwise treated to alter the vegetation composition would be closed to livestock grazing for a minimum of two complete growing seasons.

The areas or pastures burned will need to be rested from grazing for a minimum of two years (growing seasons). In the long term, this project will likely have an overall positive impact on domestic livestock grazing because of added forage value following seeding.

12/08/2021

03/07/2022

2022

Seeding was used to restore vegetation in the burned areas. Two different mixes were used in different areas of the burned area on BLM land. Private land in the burn received a different seed mix for the land owners agreeable to the seeding. The State land acres received another separate seed mix chosen by the state. The reason two different seed mixes used on BLM land was due to how vegetation returned after fire during the warm season in different areas. Monsoonal moisture after the fire help portions of the burn to re-establish native grasses and forbs naturally, especially Galleta grass and Globe Mallow. These portions of the burn were seeded with a mix of less seed species and quantity of seeds. They were not chained due to the plants returning naturally. The portions of the burn that did not have the same amount of natural regrowth were seeded with a high quantity of seeds with more plant species. These areas were chained where possible. Also apart from the previously mentioned seed mixes, two separate plots on BLM land were selected as test plots for sagebrush seeding. One plot was in the unchained area and the other was in the chained area. Sagebrush seed was applied in varying quantities within each test plot to experiment how sagebrush would re-establish. Herbicide, targeting annual grasses, was applied on one of the SITLA sections. This was done to reduce the amount of invasive annual grasses and help with the establishment of native and desired plant community. A herbicide treatment took place through a contract targeting scotch Pond N Cabin in the burn scare in 2024. The contractor was to grid for scotch thistle, but also treat any of 55 invasive weeds listed in Iron County. This was done using ATVs and spot spraying the infested areas with Tordon 22k.

The seeding was implemented by the contractor Hammond Helicopter via aerial seeding for all the different seed mixes. The GBRC procured and mixed the seed used on this restoration project. The seeding took place December 16-18, 2021 and February 17-19, 2022. The chaining was done In-house by BLM Fire personnel. The chains were provided by the GBRC of the state DNR. The bulldozers were rented from the Wheeler Machinery dealer for Caterpillar. The equipment or the machines were difficult to acquire due to the high demand for them at this time. This delayed the chaining, but the weather was amenable and chaining was able to be completed during the winter months. The chaining started December 17, 2021 and was completed March 7, 2022. The Fire personnel used the bulldozers to clean and/or maintain two retention ponds on state land per request of SITLA. Imazapic was applied by Hammond Helicopter on October 19, 2021. The Imazapic applied at the rate of 2.5oz/acre with 5oz/acre crop oil. Pictures from the following spring show favorable results. Tordon was applied by The Horticultural Group INC on scotch thistle and other noxious species listed by Iron County. This was done from March 2024 to June 2024. The post contract report is found in the document section. The contractor used ATVs and grided areas targeting invasive species.

Photo plots were established to take photos of the project to monitor the vegetation and status to the landscape in the burned area. Trend sites exist in the area that are used to monitor vegetation even before the fire occurred. AIM plots were established in the burn area to monitor vegetation.