The Sunny Cove fire was started by a lightning strike on July 17, 2023 and burned for approximately a week. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to approximately 68 acres. The burn area contains steep terrain, many large boulders and also standing juniper tree skeletons. To reduce the risk of erosion, weed colonization, and to improve wildlife habitat we are proposing to seed the fire via aerial application. Noxious weeds and invasive species, may readily invade and become established following a fire. Cheatgrass is a species that will continue to increase in dominance as disturbances occur. If cheatgrass establishes and increases in concentrations, the risk of frequent fires increases. The goal of seeding the project area is to help outcompete noxious and invasive plant species.

1. Reduce future fire risk. 2. Improve wildlife habitat. 3. Reduce erosion risk and speed up recovery time. 4. Reduce the risk of invasive weeds from establishing. Seeding treatment will be conducted in the fall of 2023 with an aerial application within the burned treatment polygons. The proposed seed mix was developed provide sufficient species diversity to protect the habitat for sensitive species and local infrastructure from large sediment movements. In addition to re-establishing big game habitat, successful treatments will reduce the likelihood of future large scale fire events from occurring on the treatment area.

The fire in this location burned hot and left a high percentage of bare ground. No action would likely result in an increase in cheatgrass, noxious weeds, and increased sedimentation into the the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. An increase in cheatgrass can alter the fire regime and expose the site to accelerated erosion on a more frequent basis resulting in an increase risk to the values at risk.

Utah Bighorn Sheep Statewide Management Plan B. Habitat Management Goal: Provide good quality habitat for healthy populations of bighorn sheep. Objective: Maintain or improve sufficient bighorn sheep habitat to allow herds to reach population objectives. Strategies: c. Work with land managers to minimize and mitigate loss of bighorn habitat due to human disturbance and development. d. Initiate vegetative treatment projects to improve bighorn habitat lost to natural succession or human impacts. e. Encourage land management agencies to use fire as a management tool to improve bighorn sheep habitat. When possible, allow fires that can have beneficial effects for bighorn sheep to burn. The Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan has the following applicable objectives and strategies: Habitat Objective 2, strategy d -- Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve elk habitat with emphasis on calving habitat and winter ranges. Habitat Objective 2, strategy h -- Emphasize improvement of upper elevation winter ranges to encourage elk to winter at higher elevation than mule deer. The Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan has the following applicable objectives and strategies: Utah Wildlife Action Plan identifies Mountain Shrub as a key habitat type as well as several threats to species that will benefit from this project. See the Threats/Risks section for details on how this project relates to the WAP. Land Management Plan for the Ashley National Forest Wildlife: Coordinate management actions with management plans of other Federal, state, and local agencies, tribes, and adjacent landowners. Expand opportunities to manage wildlife habitat through coordination and collaboration along and across administrative boundaries. Vegetation: 03 Ground disturbances in and next to plant communities that are susceptible to or are affected by invasive plants should be seeded within 1 year following disturbance. Plants that have proven capability to compete with invasive plants should be used. 04 Plant communities that are susceptible to or are affected by invasive plants that have been burned with prescribed fire or wildfire should be seeded during the same growing season following the fire. Seed mixes should include plants that have proven capability to compete with invasive plants The Utah State Resource Management Plan has several applicable objectives and policies & guidelines: -- The State promotes fuel breaks, thinning, chaining, prescribed fire and the selection of fire-resistant vegetation in green-stripping and burned areas. -- The State will pursue opportunities to conduct and assist other partners with fuel reduction work including mechanical treatments and prescribed fire. --Support the use of mechanical or chemical means or fire to alter or perpetuate forests and increase herbaceous yield where timber harvest is impractical or demand does not exist." --Improve vegetative health on public and private lands through range improvements, prescribed fire, vegetation treatments, and active management of invasive plants and noxious weeds.

The project is located immediately adjacent to the Sunny Cove Campground and Swimming area, the Mustang Ridge Campground and boat ramp, and the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. These areas may have a higher risk of fire starting in the area due to high human use for recreational purposes. Thus, if cheatgrass is allowed to dominate the landscape there is a greater risk for the values at risk and important wildlife habitat in the area being affected by another fire due to an increased fire cycle.

Treatments are designed to recover the habitat by using grass, forbs and shrubs to help stabilize soils, and prevent erosion into the Flaming Gorge. Bare soil can lead to an increase in runoff, soil loss and erosion (Thurow and Hester 2015). Erosion can lead to a reduction in soil productivity and can also increase non-point source water pollution, thus having the potential to affect water quality within a watershed over time (Thurow and Hester 2015). If this treatment is not done, there is a greater potential for cheat grass and other noxious weeds to dominate and reduce the hydrological storage capacity within the local environment.

This project is in compliance with FS laws and regulations.

Seeding of the burn area will be conducted in the fall of 2023 via aerial application within the burned treatment polygons.

Pre and post pictures will be taken where the aerial seeding occurs. The Ashley NF ecologist has several monitoring sites within the burn area which will help measuring vegetation changes and help to inform future management.

The Ashley National Forest will be working with the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative and the Northeastern UDWR biologists to complete this project. The Ashley NF has worked with their local botanist, NRCS botanist and local UDWR biologist on developing an appropriate seed mix for the proposed treatments which are located on USFS managed lands.

The project area will be monitored to determine if herbicide treatments are needed and additional seeding efforts needed depending on the initial success fire rehab treatments. Treated areas will be monitored (depending on available funding) at 3 to 5 year intervals to determine future actions in the project area.

No livestock grazing occurs in the project area. This area is popular for recreation, wildlife viewing and hunting. Local biologist have also identified this area as important habitat for big game species especially bighorn sheep. With the projects ability to reduce the effects of invasive species and erosion in to the Flaming Gorge, this will also have an indirect effect down stream in the Green River reducing sedimentation and improving water quality for fishing.

10/01/2023

10/30/2023

2024

The contractor used a fixed wing aircraft to fly seed onto the 68 acres polygon (the fire scar) due to the rough terrain.

The Sunny Cove fire was started by a lightning strike on July 17, 2023 and burned for approximately a week. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to approximately 68 acres. The burn area contains steep terrain, many large boulders and also standing juniper tree skeletons. To reduce the risk of erosion, weed colonization, and to improve wildlife habitat the Ashley National Forest in Collaboration with the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative seeded the fire via aerial application on October 30, 2023.

The project area is being monitored by the Ashley NF ecologist The monitoring data will help us determine if a reseeding is needed in the future and if herbicide is needed for any weed issues that may arise.