The Black Willow Fire burned areas that feature a mixture of scattered perennial grasses and forbs with cheatgrass in the interspaces. Fire severity was moderate across the burned area and many of the existing perennials were killed. The South Sugarloaf fire burned stands of sagebrush with perennial grasses and forbs. The threats of further cheatgrass and halogeton invasion and proliferation, noxious squarrose knapweed invasion, and soil losses are the principal concerns. Without seeding, most of this burned area would be at risk of a conversion to a cheatgrass-dominated plant community and to squarrose knapweed invasion

The treatment is worthy of the investment to avoid significant losses of topsoil, as occurred on similar soils and winds of the Milford Flat Fire, which can make recovery of the vegetation much more difficult. Site potential is lost often to a point that a threshold is crossed, from which return can be several times more difficult and expensive. This treatment is important to the Fillmore BLM resource specialists, who are making an effort to ensure that the proposed treatments provide the most economical benefits to BLM lands. It is important to note that this seeding effort involves planting the seed to allow the seed the best opportunity for germination and success. Drill seeding treatments maximize results by planting seed in a furrow at the desired seed depths. The drill seeding will be done with BLM crews, a BLM tractor, and one BLM drill setup.

These fires burned with moderate to high severity. The area is susceptible to undesirable species, with nearly all of the above ground vegetation being removed by fire and previous treatments being unsuccessful do to wind and drought. There has been a decrease of perennial vegetation and an increase of annual vegetation within the previously treated area. Retreatment of the area would allow for additional seed bank to be available for germination this spring. Further cheatgrass invasion is a major threat to both burned areas. Cheatgrass already has a presence between scattered perennial vegetation; and a stand conversion to a cheatgrass monoculture is a real possibility. The noxious squarrose knapweed poses a threat to the fire area. It has been a problem in the past in burned areas and in areas with soil disturbances, especially along the roadsides and in washes. Squarrose knapweed has invaded an area of the 2007 Milford Flat Fire.

The pinyon-juniper and big sagebrush areas lie within the Lowland Sagebrush and Mountain Shrub Steppe and Gamble Oak Habitat type which is one of the key habitats identified in the WAP (Wildlife Action Plan). The proposed projects will address some of the habitat management strategies outlined in the bighorn sheep, deer and elk management plans for herd unit 21 (Fillmore Oak Creek Unit ) including: *Continue to improve and restore sagebrush steppe habitats critical to deer according to DWRs Habitat Initiative. *Maintain habitat quantity and quality at a level adequate to support the stated population objectives while at the same time not resulting in an overall downward trend in range condition and watershed quality. *Work cooperatively with land management agencies and private landowners and or grazing permittee to plan and implement improvement projects for the purpose of enhancing wildlife habitat and livestock range resources in general. *The project also helps fulfill the state mule deer management plan section IV Habitat Goal: Conserve and improve mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. *The proposed projects will address the following goals and objectives of the Division of Wildlife Resources most recent strategic management plan: *Resource Goal: expand wildlife populations and conserve sensitive species by protecting and improving wildlife habitat. *Objective 1: protect existing wildlife habitat and improve 500,000 acres of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state. *Objective 3: conserve sensitive species to prevent them from becoming listed as threatened or endangered. *Constituency Goal: Achieve broad-based support for Division programs and budgets by demonstrating the value of wildlife to all citizens of Utah. *Objective 2: improve communication with wildlife organizations, public officials, private landowners, and government agencies to obtain support for Division programs. *UDWR SR critical big game winter range are important browse communities that need to be enhanced and improved. The Division will employ a variety of methods to achieve this including prescribed grazing, prescribed burning, reseeding and seedling transplants, also mechanical treatments. Priority areas will include sagebrush-steppe and mountain browse communities. Falls within the rangeland focus area for WRI wildlife species for mule deer and elk. Utah Wildlife Action Plan, 2015 Publication Number 15-14, State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources, Effective 2015-2025 -- Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the uncharacteristic and surpluses of older age class, including: Dixie/chain harrow, brush mowing or other treatments that reduce the older age class and stimulate the younger/mid age classes; herbicide or mechanical treatments single tree mulching/cutting of invading conifer. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule deer. Section IV Statewide management goals and objectives. This plan 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 2013 (p11-12). Strategy C. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that are being taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats. Strategy f. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages. Fillmore Pahvant/Oak Creek Deer Herd Management Plan Unit #21 (2015) - Habitat Management Objectives -- Encourage vegetation manipulation projects and seeding to increase the availability, abundance, and nutritional content of browse, grass, and forb species. Strategies: Habitat Protection, Improvement and Maintenance - Reduce expansion of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands into sagebrush habitats and improve habitats dominated by Pinyon-Juniper woodlands by completing habitat restoration projects like lop & scatter, bullhog and chaining projects; maintain summer fawning areas by increasing beneficial habitat work in summer and transitional habitat areas.(p3-4) Utah Wild Turkey Management Plan Newly treated areas through fire or mechanical means will attract use by wild turkey which are abundant on Oak Creek Management Unit. Insects and new growth will be readily available to support turkey populations, also the availability of more water in the Church Hills and Long Canyon areas. UDWR Wildlife Action Plan This project is geared toward meeting the goals found within this plan for a variety of wildlife species from large to small. The entire proposed project area is found within a UWRI conservation focus area. *This plan is consistent with the Fishlake National Forest Plan for wildlife habitat enhancement and fuels management to improve habitat, reduce fuel loading, and protect against catastrophic wildfire. *Other project have been completed by the Forest Service and UDWR in past years within the Long Canyon and Whiskey Creek HUC 12 area. *Project within the are also benefit the management plans objectives of the lower Sevier River Watershed, as this will reduced sediment run off and create a healthy rangeland communities. *Management Plans are also in conjunction with NRCS overall goals of healthy rangelands and communities, improving watersheds and reducing erosion and sediment. The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment *FFSL CWPP Process is a local Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is a collaborative plan created by the fire department, state and local forestry, land managers, community leaders, and the public. The planning process maps values at risk, and requires actions to reduce risk, such as prescribed burning, fuel reduction, or other measures that adapt a community to better confront their wildfire threat. *Area is also part of the Millard RWPP FFSL Plan which was implemented in 2014, there are Wildfire Codes and Ordinances associated with this plan. Project would also be relevant to NCS Goals and supported through the FS National Cohesive Strategies. CAT FIRE Objectives and Strategies: In 2013, the State of Utah developed the Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy (CAT FIRE) in response to the severe 2012 fire season. Reducing the catastrophic wildfire requires attention to three interdependent goals identified in the National Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy -- Restore and Maintain Landscapes, Fire Adapted Communities, and Wildfire Response. These goals have been embraced throughout the development of the state's CAT FIRE strategy. Mitigation of hazardous fuels can change fire behavior making it easier to suppress. The effects of the mitigation, however, are not limited to life and property safety but will also affect forest health, water quality, vegetative species abundance, etc.

The need to reseed and establish a improved community of grasses, forbs, shrubs and browse species is critical to support wildlife and livestock in the future. Through restoration efforts from the BLM, Grazing Permitees and UDWR this will be a partnership that can obtain the goals and objectives through working together to restore and maintain the area effected by the burn. We need to make sure the reseeding efforts are a success to allow for reduction in wildfire behavior due to the resilient seed species being planted that can help suppress fire activity in the future.

Soil/Water Stabilization Both of these fires had moderate to high severity removing the soils protective vegetative cover killing existing perennials. The soils of the area have been mapped and documented to be prone to wind erosion, similar to the neighboring 2007 Milford Flat Fire that suffered major soil losses in 2008 and 2009 until soils were stabilized through ESR seeding treatments. These burned areas have become areas of undesirable annual vegetation and experienced some wind erosion. Seeding treatments are needed to stabilize soils, and the proposed seed mix is focused on plant species that have consistently proven effective in stabilizing silty loam soils and sandy loam soils such as those present on the Black Willow and South Sugarloaf sites respectively.

The proposed drill seeding acres have been surveyed for cultural resources by local FFO Archaeologist. Areas of concern have been identified and will be avoided.

Treatment/Activity Description Drill Seeding treatments would be completed on 266 acres this winter/spring, using a seed mix specifically prescribed for each ecological site to stabilize the exposed soils. The species in the seed mix were selected with the focus on species that establish quickly on drier sites, compete with cheatgrass, and stay green longer into the summer to make the seeded areas more resistant to fire and more tolerant of fire if the area burns again. Drilling would be done perpendicular to the prevailing winds as much as is practical to shelter and protect new tender seedlings from the wind. Drilling perpendicular to the wind also helps with the wind erosion problem by providing catchment furrows for wind-born sediments, rather than allowing particles to bounce along the surface and jar new particles loose, which snowballs the wind erosion problem (saltation). In contrast, drill furrows in line with the wind scour out rather quickly as furrows offer no resistance to the wind. This technique has proven successful on other fires in this area.

Implementation will be monitored: BLM personnel would ensure that treatments are accomplished in a professional manner. A monitoring study will be established in the drill seeding treatment. An effort will be made to choose a study site that is representative of the burned area so that monitoring data reflects the actual degree of recovery. This will be done by stratifying the treated area by several parameters such as soil types, slopes, precipitation, and ecological sites; then placing study sites accordingly to yield good representative samples of ESR treatments. The study will be done by stretching out a 100-foot tape and placing the quadrat (roughly 0.5 m2) 200 times along transects that run off the tape at right angles. Cover is determined by recording the plant species or other items (e.g. rocks, litter) that intersect two specific points on each of the 200 quadrat placements for 400 total hits. As the cover study is done, nested frequency data will also be collected by recording the presence or absence of each species at each quadrat location. Then, relative frequency values are calculated for each species present and also for the type of plants (i.e. seeded, volunteer perennial, annual). In addition, a photo will be taken at the same location and direction each year.

Work will be done by BLM employees and funded by WDD Fuels program.

Livestock grazing would not be authorized on public land within the project area for a minimum of two growing seasons in accordance with BLM policy. Once seeded natives become established with sufficient vigor as determined by BLM specialists, grazing and other current management would allow for the protection of the those species. The FFO Weeds Specialist will be responsible to oversee weeds treatments and ensure that an effective and quality job is done. Any treated noxious weed infestations that need further work will be reported to the BLM Weeds Specialist who will arrange for additional treatments, and if needed, may make adjustments to the herbicide application rate or to the treatment methodology to improve results.

There are little to no uses for the project areas right now. Through the restoration efforts of drill seeding the area we will be able to reseed the area with use of rangeland drills using the selected seed mixes of perennial grasses, forbs, shrubs, and browse that will continue to contribute to improved rangeland health, increase in water production for grass species. Overall there should be better forage production making more forage available for livestock and wildlife. The available seed bank for the area would also increase allowing for further proliferation of desirable species in the area.

02/09/2022

03/07/2022

2022

Two separate seed mixes were created for the different soil types of the project areas. The seed was mixed through the Great Basin Warehouse and hauled to the project site. A single rangeland drill was pulled by a tractor over the two project areas with the seeding depth set for the different soil types to allow for optimal opportunity for the seed to establish and germinate.

The two project locations were chosen from previously treated fire scars that were not as successful at recovery as we would have liked. The drought that followed in the the years after the original reseeding allowed for difficult seed germination and soil stabilization. The sites have been monitored for multiple years without much success of recovery. The plan was to develop seed mixes that would help with stabilization while also helping to bring in desirable plant species.

The areas will be rested for at least two growing seasons. Monitoring will occur on the two treatment sites to better evaluate the stabilization and recovery of the sites. More years of rest will occur if the monitoring of the sites dictates a need and a relative success of the reseeding effort.