First Spring Road area is winter habitat for the prized Beaver mule deer management unit, and is part of a working cattle ranch. Pinyon and juniper have began to encroach this mountain shrub habitat. While the understory is lacking and still relatively unhealthy, this area has reached threshold that may result in the loss of browse species and result in watershed impacts to the Beaver Watershed. Wildlife in this area has a very high value to the state of Utah and local economies. The Beaver mule deer management unit has long been a "household" name when it comes to trophy quality and hunter satisfaction among general season units. Enhancing mule deer range is crucial for the future of this unit. Other highly prized game species includes elk, cougar, and a developing wild turkeys. Elk depend on this area as transition range and for some late winter range. Increasing the available forage will increase body condition and survival for elk. Increased forage and plant diversity will also benefit other wildlife that use the area. As mentioned above this is a working cattle ranch. Cattle use this area for summer/early fall grazing, and the need for a highly productive range is important for the producer's ability to stay in business. Preserving open landscapes and large tracts of sagebrush habitat is important to ranching success and to many sagebrush obligate wildlife species. Because fire has been remove from most systems, including those listed on this project, fuel loads have increased and could threaten the long term health of the watershed and species in the area. Using the chain harrow, we hope to remove the brush and return the areas of grasses and fords to be productive and more abundant in the area.

1. Increase grass and forbs by 20% in treated areas. 2. Reduce pinyon and juniper by 10% across the treated areas. 3. Diversify the age and cover density of brush to serve wildlife and domestic livestock.

Because fire has been remove from most systems, including those listed on this project, fuel loads have increased and could threaten the long term health of the watershed and species in the area. As previously mentioned the area has been identified as priority for restoration of crucial mule deer habitat under the Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan. "Crucial" means the areas habitat is necessary to sustain the areas mule deer herd. Allowing the area to move into phase 3 pinyon and juniper encroachment will mean less quality habitat and will threaten our ability to meet mule deer objectives for the management unit. There is also a social threshold to consider with private land as part of this project. Right now a large cattle ranch is willing to work with agencies to do the project. This has required meetings, presentations, and a lot of signatures and paperwork to get to this point. Not taking actions to restore habitat when there is local private support for it may account for a lost opportunity in the future. As described above the area is within a Bird Habitat Conservation Area (BHCA) with priority species being sagebrush obligate birds like sage grouse, sage thrasher, and Brewer's sparrow. Not doing the project will lead to an increased density of pinyon and juniper that will decrease the amount of available habitat for these sage dependent bird species in an area designated as important for birds.

Following the Beaver Mule Deer Management: - "Coordinate with federal and state partners in designing projects that will improve fire resiliency and protect areas of crucial habitat." - "Cooperate with federal land management agencies and private landowners in carrying out habitat improvement projects. Protect deer winter ranges from wildfire by reseeding burned areas, creating fuel breaks and reseed areas dominated by cheat grass with desirable perennial vegetation." - "Reduce expansion of Pinion-Juniper woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by Pinion-Juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects." Regarding UDWR Elk Management Plan for Beavert Unit #22: - "Continue to be committed to the statewide goal of supporting habitat projects that increase forage for both big game and livestock." - "Work with private, state and federal agencies to maintain and protect critical and existing range from future losses. Continue projects with USFS, BLM, state and private entities to enhance wildlife habitat." - "Discourage the encroachment of Pinyon and Juniper (PJ) trees into sagebrush and other habitats. Seek opportunities to improve habitat through grazing practices, prescribed burning, and mechanical treatments to improve habitat where PJ encroachment is occurring." Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy * "Reduce fire risk by managing and removing invasive species." Intermountain West Joint Venture Habitat Conservation Strategy * "Support existing public-private partnerships to implement sagebrush habitat conservation, at regional, state, and local scales." "Remove encroaching conifers to functionally restore sagebrush habitat." Utah Wildlife Action Plan * "Lowland sagebrush is a key habitat identified in the WAP." * "WAP identifies inappropriate fire frequency as a threat to lowland sagebrush habitat. This project will reduce future fire risk and act as a fire buffer to adjacent higher risk areas." State of Utah Resource Management Plan "Actively remove pinyon-juniper encroachment other ecological sites due to its substantial consumption of water its detrimental effects on sagebrush, other vegetation, and wildlife." "Conserve, improve, and restore 500,000 acres of mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges." "Work with landowners, federal government and private organizations to conserve valuable wildlife habitat and winter range along urban interface." "Develop mechanisms and policies to incentivize private landowners throughout Utah to conserve valuable wildlife habitat throughout Utah."

This project will decrease the risk of high severity wildfire by reducing fuel loading and promoting the growth of understory vegetation, which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience. As demonstrated by the nearby Brianhead fire during the summer of 2017, treatments like these can break up the continuity of fuels and act as fuel breaks. This project will do the same if a fire is ignited nearby where fuel loading is heavy such as in phase 3 pinyon and juniper invaded sites. The current fire regime condition class is moderate (2), and would be reduced to low (1) immediately after treatment. Much of the project areas is a lowland sagebrush habitat type which has been identified in the 2015-2025 Utah Wildlife Action Plan as a key habitat. The threats associated with this key habitat are inappropriate fire frequency and intensity. This project will help to reduce fire frequency and intensity by diversifying the understory and removing the large fuels. Reducing the threat of wildfire is also important because of the critical nature of this habitat to mule deer and elk. Completing this project and reducing the risk of fire will help to protect important sagebrush steppe and mountain brush habitat that is critical for priority species including, but not limited to, mule deer and elk. This project will also help to protect the springs and wetlands. If a high severity fire were to move through the area water soil infiltration would decrease, erosion will increase, and the potential for water to get into the aquifer will decrease and spring flows may decrease. The values at risk or VAR are first life and property. This is a signification risk because of the residential community just to the north of this project. A fire could easily burn to the north and without a reduction of fuels could run on the private and destroy homes, cabins and at the very worse take life. If a fire was to burn in this area thousands of acres of high quality wildlife forage and habitat would be lost and the Beaver Watershed could become severely impaired.

According to Folliott (2012), research showed that pinyon and juniper expansion into areas historically dominated by higher forbs and grasses impeded streamflow for off-site uses. Because pinyon and juniper is water competitive this often reduces grasses and forbs in an area. "The increase in bare soil, particularly in the spaces between trees, typically leads to increased runoff and soil loss as the juniper infestation increases" (Thurow 1997). Increased runoff and sediment loading decreases water yield and water quality within the watershed. Studies have shown converting from PJ to brush and grassland habitats should enhance stream-flow (Barr 1956). Increase the amount of ground cover will increase the amount of percolation, decrease the amount of soil loss to rill and sheet erosion and decrease the force of run off as in drains to the naturally formed gullies and washes. The decrease in sediment loss will increase soil healthy, the availability of water in the soil for forage, and improve the watershed for and ground water health.

All practices will be installed according the state and federal requires. Cultural clearances will be done to satisfy appropriate agencies. Treatment will be implemented between August 15 to April 15.

Harrowing will be done the by landowner. The UDWR 24' chain harrow will be used to reduce the brush and some PJ. The harrow will be pulled two ways to create the need disturbance to the soil and remove brush in areas. Between polygons harrow can be pulled, but own to create minimal disturbance in areas not seeded. The harrowed areas will be seeded using a UDWR rangeland drill applying the approved seed mix.

UDWR/NRCS: Pre and post photopoint monitoring in treatment areas. UT-2 Range assessment done pre-treatment and post treatment. NRCS Pinyon and juniper woodland survey

NRCS and private landowner

Any seeded areas will require a MINIMUM 2 year rest to establish seeded species. Landowner has committed to using electric fence to keep livestock seeding while they establish. This project will also help the landowner better distribute and graze not only his private property but also his adjacent public allotments. This means the potential for improved range management and range conditions moving forward.

This project will have a big benefit to the grazing operation. This property is part of a the Beaver mule deer management unit in the state of Utah. It has gain name of producing trophy quality deer as a general season unit. As mention deer use this property throughout the summer and fall months. Enhancing the quality and quantity of forage will theoretically improve body condition when these deer leave for the toughest months of their live cycle, winter.

11/01/2021

12/06/2021

2022

Using a D6 dozer the private land owner pulled the 21' chain harrow two-ways reducing the sage brush and preparing the soil for seed. After the harrowing a seed drill from the GBRC was used to plant the approved seed mix in the treatment polygons. Shortly after the seeding was complete a major moisture event happened and conditions are looking good for the success of the seeding if moisture events continue through the year.

Staff from the GBRC deliver a 21' chain harrow and seed drill to the project site in November 1. The landowner immediately started harrowing on weekends and in the afternoons after work. Once the an certain amount of harrowing was completed a John Deere tractor was used to pull the drill and seed was drilled following the harrow. Seeding and harrowing was completed December 6, 2021 and the GBRC staff came and picked both up.

Grazing will be deferred for two growing seasons. A water development is still to be installed with pasture fencing. Once the landowner is allowed to start grazing again, it will be to a provided grazing management plan provided by the NRCS.