Yellow Fork Creek is a stream on the edge of ecological collapse in a landscape of high human use. Stream and upland habitat quality has declined and a high risk of fire threatens habitat and the adjacent/intermixed human community. This effort uses existing partnerships to build on previous fuels treatments and stream restoration efforts. Yellow Fork of Rose Creek is quite degraded. Utah DEQ lists Rose Creek as impaired for E. Coil, requiring a TMDL. Patches of the stream corridor are devoid of woody vegetation. There are no fish in Yellow Fork. The stream habitat diversity is quite low and the stream banks are extremely incised. Yellow Fork has a lot of potential to be a top-notch recreational destination in Salt Lake County. The entire canyon is open, public land, the stream is spring-fed with year-round flow, and the riparian corridor has several robust patches of aspen, willow, and hawthorne. Yellow Fork is also connected to large swaths of upland habitat used by mule deer including spring/fall substantial and winter crucial habitat. Juniper expansion and infilling has degraded the sagebrush/mixed shrub ecosystem and greatly increased the risk of severe wildfire. Where trees dominate, they outcompete understory species for light, moisture, and nutrients eventually resulting in nearly complete removal of the understory. Without understory vegetation the native seed bank is depleted. The site becomes susceptible to soil erosion. Resistance to invasion by cheatgrass and noxious weeds and resilience in the face of disturbance and stressors declines. Excessive fuel buildup can lead to an increase in the severity of wildfires. High severity fire coupled with a depleted understory can make post-fire recovery challenging. The Hi-Country Estates 1 and 2 communities are built on the lower slopes between Yellow Fork and Butterfield Creeks. The fire risk from the Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment in and near these communities is "extreme" decreasing to "moderate" up toward the ridges. There is a need for hazardous fuels treatment near these communities to decrease the risk of high severity fire impacting the communities and to increase the opportunities to safely engage wildfire in the area. The purpose of this project is to improve water quality; restore stream, riparian, and upland ecosystems; improve wildlife habitat; and decrease fire risk to habitats and human communities in and adjacent to Yellow Fork Canyon by constructing beaver dam analogs (BDAs), removing juniper, and seeding with perennial species.

1) Build beaver dam analogs (BDAs) to create habitat for beavers to re-colonize the watershed. If beavers do not re-establish, the BDAs will provide similar benefits to natural beaver activity. 2) Capture sediment, which improves water quality, while also raising the stream bed and reconnecting the stream with its floodplain. 3) Promote healthy vegetation in sections of Yellow Fork Creek that are severely incised and devoid of woody vegetation. 4) Expand the area of and seasonal extent of green riparian vegetation through stream restoration practices and native plantings in order to improve habitat for migratory birds (e.g. Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo), native pollinators (e.g. Western Monarch Butterfly), and summer forage for mule deer in the area. 5) Protect and improve mule deer habitat, including winter crucial habitat. 6) Reduce crown fire potential and fuel loading by decreasing juniper cover. 7) Reduce fire risk to the Hi-Country Estates communities. 8) Further all three goals of the National Cohesive Strategy: Resilient Landscapes, Fire Adapted Communities, and Safe and Effective Wildfire Response.

Yellow Fork is a tributary of Rose Creek, which is currently listed as an impaired waterway due to poor water quality (E. coli). Yellow Fork Creek's riparian forest is facing an ecological threshold. While the upper reaches of Yellow Fork have a healthy aspen community, there are several hundred meters of stream length devoid of woody vegetation. The stream channel is extremely incised, owing to past soil disturbance, and the stream is disconnected from its floodplain. There are currently no fish in Yellow Fork Creek, however partners in UT DWR's Aquatics team support restoration efforts toward a goal of releasing cutthroat trout if habitat improves sufficiently. Upland habitats are threatened by juniper expansion and infilling and the risk of high severity fire. This project will decrease the risk of high severity wildfire by reducing fuel loading and promoting the growth of perennial understory species which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience. Implementing treatments sooner rather than later will prevent ecological thresholds being crossed due to the loss of native perennial species.

1) Utah's Wildlife Action Plan: DWR Publication Number 15-14, State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources, Effective 2015-2025: One goal of this plan, is to increase the extent of native riparian vegetation by restoring beavers on the landscape, using the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool (BRAT). For the upland habitats in the project area recommendations for improving conditions include: Promoting policies and management that allow fire to return to a more natural regime; Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the Uncharacteristic class, including cutting/mulching of invading pinyon and juniper trees, and herbicide or mechanical treatment of non-native invasive species such as cheatgrass; Promoting management that includes seeding a diversity of grasses, forbs and shrubs that will lead to increased resiliency and resistance in the plant community. 2) Utah's Beaver Management Plan (2017 update): Stated goal is to "maintain healthy, functional beaver populations in ecological balance with available habitat, human needs, and associated species." Using the BRAT tool and conversations with aquatic biologists, big game biologists, Utah DWR has identified Yellow Fork Canyon as a suitable habitat for beaver relocation. 3) Beaver WRI grant: Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources works closely with Utah State University to live-trap nuisance beavers, quarantine, and relocate them to more suitable areas. 4) Pony Express Resource Management Plan (BLM 1990) as amended: While the project is not specifically mentioned in the original plan, Wildlife and Fisheries Decision 4 (protect important wildlife habitat values from disturbing activities, page 37) and Decision 5 (improve crucial habitats of present wildlife populations, page 37) apply to the project. 5) Approved Amendment and Decision Record for the Salt Lake District Proposed Fire Management Plan Amendment, EA-UT-020-98-08 (BLM, 1998). Alternative 2-Proposed Action/Integrated Fire/Resource Management Plan (page 7-8) includes the fuels treatment methods in this project. The objectives of the project are consistent with the decision to emphasize greater use of vegetation management to meet resource management objectives. 6) West Desert District Fire Management Plan (BLM 2016): Consistent with goals, objectives, and protection measures (section 2.2) and with the priorities and goals of non-fire fuels treatments (section 3.3.2). 7) Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 2019: Section IV Statewide Management Goals and Objectives. This proposal will address Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2024. Strategy b: Work with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize mule deer habitats that need enhancement or restoration. Emphasis should be placed on crucial habitats including sagebrush winter ranges and aspen summer ranges. 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. Strategy e: Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinyon-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire. 8) National Cohesive Strategy goals: Resilient Landscapes, Fire Adapted Communities, and Safe and Effective Wildfire Response. 9) Hi-Country Estates 1 and 2 Community Wildfire Protection Plans: Identified need for fuel reduction of pinyon-juniper to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire in these communities.

BDAs and beaver reintroduction are low-cost fire mitigation strategies. By building BDAs, we are creating habitat for beavers to re-establish (see future management section) and take over these structures long-term. BDAs hold water back temporarily within the stream channel, increasing the surface area of stream and wetted soils along the stream bank. When soil moisture persists throughout the year, riparian plants remain green during dry summer months, serving as a green fire breaks. Recent studies have shown that beaver dams serve as fire breaks on the landscape, can reduce the severity of fires, and provide refuge for animals during large fires. Beavers also provide inexpensive thinning services. Pinyon and juniper tree encroachment is the result of long-term fire suppression, however these dense canopies now pose an even greater fire risk. Mastication and thinning treatments will mitigate the risk of high severity fire by decreasing and rearranging the fuel loading. The treatments will also create more opportunities for safe engagement of wildfire. Treatments on private land near homes will create defensible space.

Water quality: Pinyon-juniper treatments BDAs both benefit water quality by reducing the risk of large wildfires. BDAs serve as natural fire breaks and reduce total suspended sediment loads by reducing streamflow velocity, allowing sediments to settle out. Suspended sediment can clog irrigation lines and other infrastructure. BDAs also push water laterally and vertically into shallow groundwater, promoting exchange between surface water and riparian soils for further pollutant removal. Water quantity: BDAs will improve in-stream flows. BDAs increase the area of hydric vegetation, increasing water availability for mesic riparian habitats, and natural in-channel storage by encouraging lateral spread of water and shallow groundwater recharge.

NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 compliance will be initiated by BLM for the pinyon-juniper treatments on BLM land early calendar year 2022 and will complete it by fall prior to the beginning of work slated for this year. Compliance with additional applicable laws will be integrated with the NEPA process. We will acquire a stream alteration permit (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued Programmatic General Permit 10 PGP-10) for the BDA work. Sageland Collaborative will work with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Cultural Resources Program Specialist to review the stream restoration sites and confirm that the BDAs comply with Utah Code Section 9-8-404 and NHPA We do not foresee the need for any municipal-level approvals for our work in Yellow Fork. We have acquired site access permission from Patrick Leary at Salt Lake County Open Space. In compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, we plan BDA building activities such that we do not disturb nesting songbirds by working in the stream during nesting season.

BLM will masticate pinyon and juniper trees on approximately 237 acres between Yellow Fork and Butterfield Canyon, adjacent to Hi-Country Estates 1. Mastication is limited to slopes less than 30%. Up to 100% of trees would be removed, but scattered and clumped trees would be left to protect wildlife, old-growth, and visual resources. Affected areas will be seeded prior to mastication to promote perennial herbaceous growth. FFSL will create fuel breaks by thinning, scattering and chipping trees along the edge of BLM property abutting private lands between Butterfield and Yellow Fork Canyons. We plan to install up to 150 BDAs in Yellow Fork Canyon. We will hire a contractor to install pre-sharpened fence posts into the steam bed, using a hydraulic post pounder. Based on prior work in this stream, each BDA needs 3 to 5 posts to span the stream channel. Next, we will recruit volunteers to fill in the gaps between fence posts with materials found on site (rocks, branches, etc.). We will plant 500 plants (native tree, shrub and herbaceous species) along the riparian corridor. We will consult range maps in the NRCS technical note (Tilley et al 2012) for riparian species in the intermountain west. Plantings will coincide with with BDA placement to increase water availability to young vegetation.

FFSL will work with landowners to ensure best management practices are being followed to maintain the best value of fuels mitigation efforts. BLM will monitor fuel treatment effectiveness for a minimum of five years post-treatment.Multiple 3-spoke monitoring plots will be established and read within the project area. Vegetation and ground cover data will be collected using the line-point intercept method and nested frequency. Photos will be taken and a botanical survey of the plot completed. Data will be collected pre, 1, 3, and 5 years post treatment. Reports will be generated as data are collected and summarized and uploaded to the WRI database. Sageland Collaborative will monitor the site before and one year after BDA installation using the Rapid stream Riparian Assessment tool (Stacy et al. 2013), and monthly water quality samples between March and October using the Utah Water Watch protocol. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will install trail cameras to monitor beaver and other wildlife activity in the restored area. DWR and Camp Williams Environmental Resource Management have set up Pinyon Jay monitoring stations on Camp Williams and one in Yellow Fork Canyon. These stations will provide data on Pinyon Jay occupancy in the area potentially for 5+ years.

BLM will complete NEPA compliance, and carry out mastication and seeding activities on BLM-own land. FFSL will contract Utah Fire Authority to carry out chipping and spreading activities along private landowner property lines. FFSL will continue to develop relationships with landowners in adjacent properties for future fuels mitigation activities beyond FY23. Utah DWR Central Region habitat section will work closely with Sageland Collaborative to implement BDAs and participate in the volunteer events. Members of the Utah DWR aquatics team have visited the site and expressed support for building BDAs and improving the riparian habitat. If the habitat improves sufficiently, this stream could host cutthroat trout. Utah DWR big game biologist Jason Robinson also visited the site and expressed support for trail cameras, improvements for summer forage, and beaver activity in this watershed. Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation owns the land that the BDAs will be implemented on, and has expressed enthusiastic support for restoration of this stream.

The first phase of the juniper treatment will be mastication on BLM land north of Yellow Fork. Lop and scatter and pile burning are planned for several hundred more acres that connect the initial mastication treatment to Yellow Fork Canyon. The subsequent phases will be covered in the NEPA completed this year. There will also be expansion into privately owned lands in subsequent phases as funding and landowner relationships continue to grow. Releasing beavers -- UT DWR has been using beavers for habitat restoration in other watersheds around the state. Yellow Fork Canyon is listed on their list of potential beaver release sites to improve the hydrology and wildlife habitat, as well as mitigate water quality issues identified by the Division of Water Quality. This project will significantly increase the chances of successful beaver establishment. Upon completion of this project and sufficient time has passed, UT DWR will assess whether other absent native species (i.e. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout) can be reintroduced due to the improved habitat.

Tree reduction and seeding activities will improve native vegetation, mule deer forage and habitat for wild turkey. The treatments will improve overall ecosystem resilience, helping sustain all ecosystem services into the future. BDAs promote expanded green vegetation along the stream channel, leading to improved health of riparian, stream, wet meadow and wetland sites. Expanded green vegetation improves summer forage for mule deer and other big game animals and hunting in the region. These pools also provide resting habitat for fish. Revegetating sections of the creek will improve bird habitat and bird watching opportunities. Yellow Fork is in close proximity to rapidly growing Herriman City. Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation is interested in promoting recreational use of this canyon.

11/02/2023

11/30/2023

2024

BLM Fuels: One contractor with multiple machines were completed 205 acres of juniper removal near Hi-Country Estates and Butterfield Canyon. Aerial seeding of 233 acres occurred prior to mastication. Riparian Restoration: Sageland collaborative, volunteers, and Goodfellers Inc. built BDAs in Yellow Fork Creek by installing custom 4' length, 2.5" diameter untreated wood fence posts approximately 1' apart, and 2' deep into the streambed using hand tools. Posts were trimmed to the ordinary high-water mark. We filled spaces between posts with branches, rocks, coconut coir, and sod clumps were used as fill material. Each BDA used between 4 and 6 posts. Riparian Habitat Monitoring: Before and one year after restoration activities were implemented, the condition of the stream was assessed using the Rapid Stream Riparian Assessment (RSRA) protocol (Stacey et al. 2006). The RSRA protocol was developed as a means to efficiently assess the condition of a stream. RSRA utilizes qualitative and quantitative data to generate a score for water quality, hydro-geomorphology, fish and aquatic habitat, riparian vegetation, and terrestrial wildlife habitat. The data is then converted to a score that ranges from "1", representing highly impacted and non-functional conditions, to "5", representing a healthy and completely functional system. Stacey, P.B, A.L. Jones, J.C. Catlin, D.A. Duff, L.E. Stevens, and C. Gourley. 2006. User's Guide for the Rapid Assessment of the Functional Condition of Stream Riparian Ecosystems in the American Southwest. FFSL: FSL hired United Fire Authority to create fuel breaks (Cut & chip) covering 7.5 acres along the edge of BLM property abutting private lands between Butterfield and Yellow Fork Canyons.

BLM Fuels: The purpose of this project was to improve critical mule deer winter habitat and reduce fire risk to the community of Hi-Country Estates by removing juniper and seeding where necessary. The seed, provided through GBRC, was aerially applied on November 2, 2023. Hammond Helicopter was awarded the contract for $35/ac. The work was completed in one day with a fixed wing airplane. Retroscape LLC. out of Logan, Utah was awarded the Hi-Country mastication contract for $215/ac. They used two Barko 930 rubber tire machines with mulching heads to complete the treatment. Work was completed between November 13-30, 2023. We were not able to mulch approximately 28 acres due to cultural resource avoidance and inaccessibility due to steep slopes. Riparian Restoration:The purpose of the BDA project in Yellow Fork was to reduce sediment loading to Rose Creek, repair the incised stream channel, and create suitable habitat for improving riparian vegetation. We successfully built 95 BDAs out of the 150 planned covering approximately 2 stream miles. We also arranged several meetings with downstream water right holders who had concerns about BDAs built in the watershed, returned to the site to carry out maintenance following the record-setting snowmelt of winter/spring 2023. Prior to FY23, initial restoration work in Water Fork/Rose Canyon (40 BDAs) and Yellow Fork (57 BDAs) were completed between 2020 and 2021, funded by a Nonpoint Source Grant (N2024-569). We have attached cumulative monitoring report for annual RSRA surveys conducted annually since the project began. Riparian habitat monitoring: RSRA surveys were completed before & 1 year after Yellow Fork BDAs were completed. Our full restoration & RSRA monitoring report is attached. FFSL: With $30K from WRI, FFSL created fuel breaks by thinning 7.5 acres of pinon & juniper trees along the edge of BLM property abutting private lands between Butterfield and Yellow Fork Canyons. FFSL contributed $10K in-kind for project management/coordination, contracts/agreements, cooperator billing/invoicing, landowner permissions, tracking/GIS and community outreach in High Country estates. FFSL also contributed $25k in CatFire funding for this area to create more depth within the project area cutting and chipping. UFA also contributes over $10k a year for community chipping events through High Country Estates 1 & II.

BLM Fuels: This area will be managed as sagebrush habitat in the long term. The treatment area will be maintained over time by removing juniper regrowth. Vegetation monitoring will continue to occur for at least 5 years post-treatment. Noxious weeds will be identified and treated on a regular basis. The area is not grazed, therefore, no rest from grazing is required. Riparian Restoration: Sageland Collaborative and UDWR are committed to continued maintenance of BDA structures in Yellow Fork to ensure the stream continues to capture sediment and improve water quality downstream. Sageland, UDWR, and UGS are working together with water right holders to develop a flow monitoring study and experimental breach of BDAs, tentatively planned for 2024. All future work in the creek, including maintenance, re-vegetation, will include downstream water users. UDWR is working with water users to evaluate Phragmites clogging the main stem of Rose Creek as well. FFSL: In 2023, FFSL secured WUIPPM Grant funding to complete 15 more acres in this project area for 2024 - 2025 to lengthen and widen the shaded fuel break that separates private and BLM land in upper High Country Estates I. We will continue to monitor this area for regrowth to gauge the need for retreatment and understory change/regrowth.