The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is acquiring services to promote aspen regeneration on the Cold Spring Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to contribute to long-term wildlife habitat management objectives, while also reducing fuels.

Vegetation treatments on the Cold Spring WMA are designed to promote aspen regeneration, provide diverse mixed-age plant communities, diversify wildlife habitats, and reduce fuels.

This project will complement past aspen regeneration projects on the property and disperse browsing pressure on young aspen communities. Care should be taken during treatment to maintain diverse age-stands, provide mature trees and snags for wildlife habitat, and to reduce the risk of spread of bark beetles to heavy conifer communities. Project design will consider slope to reduce risk from erosion. Forest communities will be identified to the extent possible to ensure transition for forest communities to range communities does not occur.

Cold Spring Habitat Management Plan Cold Spring Forest Stewardship Plan Utah Wildlife Action Plan-- aspen habitat, olive-sided flycatcher Deer Herd Unit Management Plan- Nine-Mile Unit 11 Elk Herd Unit Management Plan- Nine Mile Unit 11

There are private lands adjacent to the Cold Springs WMA that have cabins and other structures within less than a mile of the property boundary. This project will create diversity in fuel types and help create fuel breaks. Treatments would be implemented to effectively restore resilient, fire-adapted aspen ecosystems on a landscape-scale by moving the stands toward properly functioning condition in terms of composition (species diversity) and density (crown spacing and fuel loading). In addition the treatments would improve structural diversity, promote aspen regeneration and recruitment, reduce the hazardous fuel loading, and reduce the continuity of fuels. The project will also promote a diverse herbaceous plant community that will also prevent fire movement. The Forestry Fire and State Lands Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal rates the project area as high to moderate wildfire risk, moderate threat, high to very high effects and a production rate of 56 to 74%.

Research has indicated that for every 1,000 acres of conifer encroachment into aspen there is a loss of 250 to 500 acre-feet of water that is transpired into the atmosphere. Project treatments will result in short to moderate term impacts to water quality, but project design features will prevent long-term degradation. Project treatments will decrease the risk of catastrophic, large-scale, high severity fires that could result in long-term watershed degradation. By maintaining watershed function, long-term water quality will be maintained or enhanced. By removing conifer it is anticipated that water quantity will be enhanced (seeps, springs, bogs are improved). Aspen forests are a valuable watershed component with a beneficial relationship to surface water and groundwater sources, providing a sustained, high-quality water yield and watershed protection. A study in northern Utah (Burke and Kasahara 2011 in Hydrol. Process. 25:1407-1417) found that conifer canopy reduced the snow-water equivalent on a site by 10-40% compared to aspen. Numerous other studies have documented the wide-ranging benefits of aspen communities to watershed health (USFS Gen Tech Report RMRS-GTR-178, 2006). Due to leaf litter, soils under aspen tend to have high amounts of organic matter, ground cover and water-holding capacity. Soils under aspen are less susceptible to erosion due to the high percentages of ground and herbaceous vegetation cover and high rates of infiltration. With lower rates of evapo-transpiration, there is a significant improvement in water yield from aspen forests compared to conifer types. Aspen forests also protect the watershed by being resilient to wildfire, often acting as a buffer to slow fire and reduce adverse impacts to the watershed from catastrophic fire. Therefore, actions to sustain aspen forests on the landscape have a beneficial effect on water quality and quantity.

Cultural surveys have been completed and SHPO concurrence will be complete prior to implementation.

Treatment will focus on promoting aspen regeneration in small patches throughout the WMA. This project is part of a pilot for 106 reforestation. Their cable-felling technique will be used to accomplish project goals. Patches of trees will be retained including snags for wildlife habitat. Half-acre pockets of aspen will be retained. Douglas-fir and spruce will be retained when encountered, particularly douglas-fir greater than 5" DBH. Felled aspen will be machine-piled into slash piles for future burning. Existing piles from past treatment will be burned as part of this phase of the project. Five to ten tons of slash will be retained on the ground including at least 4 trees/acre that are 20 feet long and 20 inches in diameter. Buffers will be placed around drainages, roads, and nests (which will be surveyed prior to project implementation).

DWR Range Trend has monitoring sites on past projects. One or more new transects may be implemented for future research. Ongoing research on this methodology is occurring through Utah State University.

Forestry, Fire, and State Lands has been collaborating with the DWR on treatment design and contracting details. Forestry, Fire, and State Lands will be implementing pile burns on the property with assistance from DWR personnel who are red card certified.

The Cold Spring WMA as had approximately 425 acres treated in the last several years using a variety of methods including mechanical treatments and prescribed fire. Future projects will be prioritized to preserve spruce and Douglas fir stands and promote aspen regeneration. Future treatments should not occur for an additional 5-10 years to maintain a variety of aspen forest stand age classes on the property. Future forest management will follow the Forest Stewardship Plan and consultation with Forestry, Fire, and State lands.

This project would increase herbaceous vegetation which would benefit wildlife by increasing forage on the landscape. The WMA is a small portion of public land containing mule deer and elk summer range on the Nine-Mile management unit, which is primarily comprised of private property. Having the ability for the public to access and recreate on the WMA is a great benefit to the community. Increasing the availability and palatability of wildlife forage will encourage a greater number and diversity of wildlife to reside on the land and make them available for public use, rather it be consumptive or non-consumptive viewing. Previous treatments in the area have provided quality hunting opportunities and sportsmen have submitted letters commending the work done on the property to increase hunting opportunity.