This project is located in an important watershed that supports agricultural, fishing, recreation and drinking water for the Cache Valley. Several common goals exist among private landowners, Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, Division of Wildlife Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program and U.S. Forest Service Forest Health. These goals are cross-boundary and landscape scale, which include creating resilient forest lands across hundreds of acres throughout the watershed. The goal of this project is to improve the watershed, provide wildlife habitat, and create resilient forests. In addition, this project will increase water quality and quantity, improve wildlife habitat, decrease the potential for catastrophic fires, improve forest vigor and diversity, while providing economic opportunities for a declining local forest industry. This project has recently become even more relevant due to numerous new infestations of balsam woolly adelgid (BWA) found throughout northern Utah that are increasing hazardous fuels and decreasing species diversity.

Project Goals: 1. Improve wildlife habitat for species that rely on mahogany stands, riparian wetlands, aspen stands, and conifer forests. 2. Create diverse forests that are resilient and protected from pest outbreaks. 3. Decrease the potential for catastrophic fire and improve water quality. 4. Improve forest vigor and diversity while providing economic opportunities for a declining local forest industry. Project Objectives: 1. Improve big game habitat in dense mahogany/juniper stands with lop and scatter projects on critical southwest slopes to remove juniper. 2. Improve riparian habitat for greater sage grouse and monarchs by installing BDAs in targeted locations. 3. Increase water quality and quantity for wildlife and livestock by installing BDAs throughout the properties. 4. Improve wildlife habitat and forest biodiversity, resiliency, and age-class diversity by planting a wide variety of tree species to reduce threats to these forest stands from insects and diseases. 5. Reduce hazardous fuels and catastrophic risk by removing subalpine fir, diseased, dying and dead timber and promoting fire-resistant species such as aspen.

The high-density mahogany stands have reached a nearly closed canopy, while treatments now will improve the health of the mahogany and lend to the opportunity for young mahogany to thrive. The eastern side of the project area falls into a core sagebrush area and has Mill Creek and Sheep Creek passing through. Installing BDAs and improving these riparian areas would greatly benefit the Greater-Sage Grouse. A recent study (Donelly et. al. 2014) reveals a strong link between wet sites, which are essential summer habitat for sage grouse to raise their broods, and the distribution of sage grouse breeding areas or leks. This project area has several springs that are critical summer and brood rearing areas for grouse. Monarch butterflies, a USFWS candidate species, would also benefit from improving riparian areas. Some of the most forb diverse habitats are those around water and by improving these critical riparian areas we are improving pollinator habitat. Several locations have been identified as valuable for BDA installation due to down-cutting or the lack of beaver activity. These structures will improve the riparian areas for a number of critical big game and threatened species such as greater sage grouse and monarchs. The conifer stands that will be treated and replanted as part of this grant and the Little Bear Forest Resilience project have been heavily impacted by tree-killing species such as Douglas-fir beetle, western balsam bark beetle, and the invasive Balsam Woolly Adelgid (BWA). Some of these stands have been harvested and are not properly regenerating, while others are so infected they will be dead soon and there will be no forest component to provide wildlife habitat or watershed values. All these areas need to be treated and replanted as soon as possible with BWA resistant host species to preserve the ecological values of forest stands. If treatment is delayed, the benefits from spreading out the wildlife grazing impacts on all the aspen treatments and tree plantings will be lost and it may be difficult to adequately spread out these impacts. Tree plantings will also be more successful if they are completed quickly after treatments to ensure better establishment and reduced competition from grasses and shrubs.

This projects objectives are a critical component to several of the property's Forest Stewardship Plans that specifically outlines several related management objectives: 1) Manage timber resources on the property to provide for sustainability and enhancement of forest resources. 2) Maintain or enhance wildlife use and habitat on the property with an emphasis on grouse, elk, turkey, and mule deer. 3) Provide healthy aspen and conifer stands, which are adequately regenerating and providing quality habitat. 4) Plant trees in areas that did not sufficiently regenerate in logged areas and improve the health and diversity of tree species on the property. This project is part of the Little Bear Watershed Resilience project with the objectives to 1) regenerate and protect forested areas by encouraging resilient forests and 2) manage the landscape to resist oncoming wildfires. This project addresses concerns from the Cache County Resource Assessment that specifically references the issues of 1) aspen stands being displaced by conifers 2) continued need for forest thinning and regeneration and 3) the reduction of fuels to decrease the chance of high intensity wildfires. Several of the main priorities outlined in the Utah Forest Action Plan are applicable to this project 1) conserve and manage working forest landscapes for multiple values and uses 2) protect forests from biotic and abiotic threats 3) enhance public benefits from trees and forests This project also addresses several conservation actions identified in the Utah Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy Plan: 1) disturb conifers to favor aspen regeneration and 2) support prescribed burns or other methods to disturb conifers and favor aspen in regards to fire cycle alteration. This project also helps meet the USFS mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. More specifically, the Little Bear project meets the USFS Forest Health Protection mission which strives to promote healthy, productive forest ecosystems by protecting trees and forests from insect outbreaks, diseases, exotic plant invasions, abiotic stressors, and human-caused damage. The emphasis of this work ties directly to National and Regional priorities to improve forest conditions. USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Strategic Plan: Project addresses habitat threats for priority species within a PFW priority area (Big Water Focus Area) for restoration work.

Thinning of mahogany/juniper areas will significantly the ladder fuels contributing to dangerous crown fires. Thinning and salvage operations on aspen restoration projects combined with matching projects will reduce the risk of wildfire by removing overly dense, dead or dying trees and replacing them with healthy, regenerating aspen forests. Open aspen stands will replace dense conifer stands and drastically reduce the risk of fire, especially in areas near the Scare Canyon cabin community. More open stands with adequate spacing between trees will allow safer engagement by firefighters and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire. Trees planted with this grant will create a diverse and resilient ecosystem in place of dense subalpine fir forest stands that will otherwise add to fuel loads once killed by balsam woolly adelgid or other subalpine fir mortality agents. Added BDA structures will provide potential drafting sites to be used in the event of a wildfire. Widened riparian areas around BDA locations will create wider buffers to essentially act as fuel breaks.

BDAs will help hold water longer upstream, while retaining sediment and reducing downcutting along the streams. Water tables will rise with the installation of BDAs and increase the amount of riparian vegetation. Forest thinnings aspects of the project will improve water quality by increasing tree species diversity and reducing densities in the area. The removal of conifers from aspen stands will improve the quality and quantity of water in the area as ground cover is improved and the amount of water used by the area will decrease dramatically. Pure aspen stands are well known for providing better water quality and quantity due to their deciduous nature which allows snow to fall to the ground rather than sublimate off the conifers in the winter. Water quantity will increase as more snow falls to the ground due to lack of subalpine fir, increased amounts of snow/water will be available to infiltrate into the soil. Planted trees will be much more open and spaced out compared to subalpine fir with natural pockets that hold/shade snow. This project is located in the Little Bear watershed, which provides a critical water source for Paradise and Avon Cities, the Blacksmith Fork River and provides important agricultural water for Cache Valley.

NEPA not necessary on private lands. Archaeology has been completed for the matching project funding to remove subalpine firs. No additional disturbance will be required for tree planting project areas. Where USFWS funds/contribution occur, USFWS Partners biologist will complete compliance on private lands prior to work being implemented.

BDAs will be installed in several locations to promote beaver activity and decrease stream flow to improve water quality and riparian areas. Dense mahogany stands will undergo a lop and scatter process to remove encroaching juniper and promote a healthy mahogany stands for various wildlife species. Dead and dying subalpine fir stands will be mechanically cut and piled to remove hazardous fuels and promote aspen regeneration. Tree seedlings of various resilient species will be planted to restore conifer forests and promote biodiversity.

The Forest Stewardship Plans for these properties specifies an ongoing monitoring strategy to detect new weed infestations, erosion, and insect and disease outbreaks. A baseline inventory was conducted in 2020, which included photopoints, average trees per acre, average diameter, and stand density. These locations are monitored and re-inventoried as needed on a regular basis as the Forest Stewardship Plan is revised on a regular schedule. FFSL will accompany the landowner yearly to assess treatment success in regards to aspen recruitment, fuels reduction, forage improvement, and wildlife usage. Qualitative monitoring will be done to establish photo points. USFWS PFW will work with partners to complete some of the monitoring described, as well as doing our own photo point monitoring. As part of the USFWS landowner agreement, USFWS biologist will visit the sites at minimum once per year to assess needs, success, failures, and the need for any follow-up treatments/maintenance for the duration of the 10-year Landowner Agreement.

The Little Bear project seeks to create resilient forests and rangelands across more than 15 private landowners that own more than 50,000 acres, adjacent to previous cross-boundary WRI projects that include the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. These projects will promote healthy forests and educate private landowners to become better stewards of the lands. This project will complement ongoing USFS Landscape Scale Restoration projects and previous WRI projects while expanding their impact on the local watersheds. More than 250 total acres will be directly impacted from this funding and the matching contributions from FFSL, USFS, USFWS, and private landowner contributions. This project dovetails and supports several previous WRI projects, which are a collaboration of School Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), U.S. Forest Service Forest Health Protection, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands (FFSL), and private landowners. Significant funding has already been committed to these projects and additional funding will be sought to supplement this grant. USFWS PFW has accompanied partners on site visits to the property and is in agreement with project objectives. PFW is supportive of improving wildlife habitat across the property with our emphasis being on the property's eastern side. The eastern side of the property falls into a core sagebrush area and has Mill Creek and Sheep Creek passing through. Installing BDA's and improving these riparian areas would greatly benefit the Greater-Sage Grouse. A recent study (Donelly et. al. 2014) reveals a strong link between wet sites, which are essential summer habitat for sage grouse to raise their broods, and the distribution of sage grouse breeding areas or leks. This project area has several springs that are critical summer and brood rearing areas for grouse. Monarch butterflies, a USFWS candidate species, would also benefit from improving riparian areas. Some of the most forb diverse habitats are those around water and by improving these critical riparian areas we are improving pollinator habitat. Furthermore, conservationists are coming to realize the importance of late season forb vegetation for migrating monarch butterflies. Late season food sources are necessary to get them through migration and to winter habitats in Mexico and California and riparian areas supply those late season nectar sources. Lastly, this project would also benefit the federally threatened Ute Ladies'-tresses,if they are present on the property. While Ute Ladies'-tresses has not been observed on the property, USFWS's iPac research site shows that the property has the appropriate habitat to support it. USFWS PFW's contribution for this phase of the project will primarily be in-kind and include: supplying posts for BDA's, technical advice, assisting with project implementation, monitoring, and having the landowner sign a 10 year agreement.

USFWS Partners Program: As part of the landowner agreement with USFWS the landowner agrees to leave the habitat restored in place for a 10-year period and during that time will work with the USFWS biologist to monitor and access needs, success, and any needed adaptive management. Given the slow growth of most stands in this area, it will take more than 30 years before any conifer stands require re-entry and potentially many more decades before treated aspen stands are in need of additional restoration to maintain the objectives of the projects. Thinning of mahogany stands will also have long lasting effects with little maintenance required. Implementing treatments now will ensure long-term watershed protection and reduce the potential of major wildfire that may increase sedimentation within the watershed. Uneven-aged and newly regenerating stands will serve as buffers to any oncoming wildfires and pest outbreaks.

This project partners with the Little Bear Forest Resilience project through the USFS Landscape Scale Restoration funding and the Cooks Cabin CatFire project. Combined, these projects will allow for timber harvesting and salvaging, firewood cutting and other wood products. These properties are grazed by cattle and wildlife and these projects will have a temporary effect of increasing grazing potential when the subalpine fir is removed using the Little Bear Forest Resilience funding. In the long term, these stands will someday be available for future timber harvests and thinning for various wood products. Material from thinning projects will be available for fencing projects, BDAs, and other post and pole needs.

07/20/2023

03/12/2025

2025

The Little Bear Restoration project was completed as expected and greatly expanded in acreage due to additional funding from federal, state, and private funds. Approximately 25 BDAs were installed in September 2023 in 5 different locations on the Coldwater Ranch. An additional 20 BDAs were installed in Bear Hollow on Coldwater Ranch in July 2024. Thinning projects to reduce juniper began in August of 2024 and treated more than 315 acres with the goal of improving mahogany stands for wildlife while reducing hazardous fuels. The aspen improvement project that spans multiple properties and combines funding from CatFire, WBB, WRI, and RMP funding was awarded and they began work in the fall of 2024. Approximately 80 acres of the 220 acre project have been completed and the contractor is currently on pause due to the federal funding involved in the project. A total of 41,685 tree seedlings were planted across more than 100 acres using a combination of funding, which included Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, limber pine, and ponderosa pine.

This project has been a great success with collaboration between DWR, USFWS, FFSL, USFS, Cache County, Box Elder County, and private landowners/volunteers. More BDAs than expected were installed and maintained. More than triple the seedlings were planted due to additional funding from USFS and Rocky Mountain Power. Double the aspen regeneration has been completed with another 140 acres contracted from matching funds if the federal pause is lifted. An additional 100 acres of mahogany stands were treated using additional RMP funding.

All projects will be continued to be monitored indefinitely into the future. Disturbed aspen restoration areas will be monitored for weeds and treated in cooperation with the private landowners. BDAs will continue to be checked and maintained on a yearly basis. Tree seedlings will be monitored for survival on an annual basis to determine survival rates and potential areas that may need to be supplemented in the future. Thinned mahoganny stands will be checked regularly with input from the landowner on desirableness of this unique treatment and observations of wildlife and livestock using these areas.