The project is needed to maintain and improve upon past stream restoration work (e.g., WRI projects #833, #1093, #1461, #1743, #3978, #3618, and #5841) that has been completed on the upper Sevier River during the past twenty years. It has been a fairly long time and multiple extremely high flow events have occurred since much of the past work was completed, so there are inevitably locations where the past work was inadequate or is beginning to fail and this proposed project would address these problem areas. Prior to the previous restoration work, the function of the stream/riparian corridor and suitable habitat were lacking for a variety of desirable fish and wildlife species. The channel had become homogenous and disconnected from the floodplain. Riparian vegetation was absent from outside bends, resulting in elevated lateral erosion and lack of cover, a state that persisted because a threshold has been crossed where the banks could not heal themselves and/or grazing would not allow vegetation to reestablish. Additionally, temperature extremes are greater with a wide channel and without healthy, diverse riparian vegetation to mitigate solar inputs during the summer or heat loss during the winter. These degraded conditions negatively impacted brown trout (e.g., increase in fine sediment that limits spawning), rainbow trout (e.g., increased stream temperatures can exceed suitable levels), southern leatherside chub (e.g., lack of cover increases risk of predation), waterfowl (e.g., the stream being disconnected from floodplains dries wetland areas utilized by waterfowl), and greater sage grouse (e.g., loss of functioning riparian corridor that is critical to brood rearing). Temporarily protecting streambanks with structures, planting and seeding streambanks, and implementing more favorable grazing management plans allows desirable riparian vegetation to reestablish and conditions to improve significantly. In addition to the past stream projects that have been implemented, there has also been a lot of upland work, such as pinion and juniper treatments, completed in the area. The upland work and the stream/riparian work dovetail as the two ecosystems are linked and wildlife interacts with both. For example, sage grouse benefit from the upland work for nesting and the stream/riparian work during brood rearing. Maintenance of the stream work would help to ensure benefits from the upland work are maximized.

Primary Goals: 1. Maintain improvements in water quality. 2. Maintain improvements in aquatic and riparian habitat. Water Quality Objectives: 1. Decrease fine sediment loads from streambank erosion. 2. Decrease total phosphorous loads from streambank erosion and overland flow. 3. Narrow fluctuations in stream temperature (e.g., dampen high in summer and low in winter). Habitat Objectives: 1. Decrease channel width to depth ratio. 2. Decrease fine sediment input from streambank erosion. 3. Increase reach-scale habitat heterogeneity (i.e., riffle/run/pool/glide composition). 4. Increase percentage and maximum depth of pools. 5. Increase availability of cover. 6. Increase availability of winter refugia (physical and chemical). Biological Objectives: 1. Increase trout abundance, size structure, and biomass. 2. Increase non-game fish (e.g., southern leatherside chub) abundance and biomass. 3. Increase abundance and diversity of desirable and/or native riparian vegetation.

The Upper Sevier River Watershed has been in a relatively degraded state for years, resulting from years of heavy agricultural land-use throughout the watershed. There has been near extirpation of woody riparian vegetation and the functional loss of riparian buffer zones along sections of the stream corridor. In turn, these changes led to elevated sediment loads (e.g., total suspended solids), negative changes in water chemistry (e.g., total phosphorus), and a general lack of cover and suitable habitat. Additionally, the upper Sevier River is on Utah's 303(d) list of impaired waters for the cold water aquatic life use due to excess total phosphorus. The project location is in an area important to the Utah Wildlife Action Plan, Upper Sevier Watershed Management Plan, Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Southern Leatherside (Lepidomeda aliciae) in the State of Utah, and Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-grouse in Utah. If the project does not go forward, there is a strong likelihood of the river and riparian corridor returning to a degraded state. There is a need for maintenance work on previous projects, especially related to repairing and rebuilding riparian fence river crossings. These fence crossing are difficult to maintain, but critical to maintaining the long-term success of previous projects. If they are allowed to fail, it is not possible to adequately manage livestock grazing and there is a real risk of losing the benefits gain with the previous work. Water quality would once again decrease because elevated loads of total phosphorous and fine sediment would return. Fish and wildlife populations would not reach desirable and/or historic levels because the absence of suitable habitat would worsen. Additionally, habitat conditions downstream of the proposed project where other stream improvement work has been completed could be negatively impacted if the project does not go forward (e.g., not addressing high width to depth ratios and continued lack of riparian vegetation are two important factors driving elevated stream temperatures downstream and bank erosion contributes to an elevated level of fine sediment downstream). Over the past decade, the UDWR and other partners (UDWQ, private landowners, etc.) have already implemented active (e.g., installation of hard structures, bank sloping and shaping) and passive (e.g., grazing management) stream improvement work on about 8 miles of the upper Sevier River from the confluence of Asay Creek and Mammoth Creek to the bridge at Highway 12. The stream improvement work has primarily been completed on private land with the cooperation of landowners, other stakeholders, and multiple agencies. Following through on maintaining past work is critical to keeping support and interest in this type of work. If the project is delayed, the scale of the maintenance work required grows rapidly. It is much more effective and efficient to complete necessary maintenance work sooner rather than later (e.g., better to repair just a small, upstream portion of a bank that is starting to erode than wait until the entire bank has failed). There is also is a risk of losing the good financial, political, and social support that currently exists with multiple partners to implement the project. If the project does go forward, there are few notable threats/risks. Similar stream improvement work has been completed along much of the upper Sevier River near this project area without negative impacts and many positive impacts (e.g., increases in game and non-game fish abundance and biomass).

The project would help to address "Threats" listed in the Utah Wildlife Action Plan: 1. "Improper Grazing (current)" - the project would utilize riparian fencing and an agreement with landowners for a rest period followed by short duration, high intensity grazing during spring time only (i.e., Potential Conservation Action Code 2.1.2). 2."Channelization / Bank Alteration (direct, intentional)" - the project would use structures, grazing management, and planting/seeding to increase the heterogeneity in stream channel characteristics and promote a more diverse riparian plant community (i.e., Potential Conservation Action Code 2.3.6). 3. "Sediment Transport Imbalance" - the project would use structures, grazing management, and planting/seeding to reduce the rate of streambank erosion, which can cause imbalance in sediment transport and elevated levels of nutrients (e.g., total phosphorous) (Potential Conservation Action Code Not Listed). 4. "Increasing Stream Temperatures" - the project would use structures, grazing management, and planting/seeding to establish a more robust and diverse community of riparian vegetation (i.e., Potential Conservation Action Codes 2.3.5, 2.3.6, 2.3.15). The project would help to meet goals and objectives listed in the Upper Sevier Watershed Management Plan: 1. "Maintain or improve water quality and quantity for local needs while providing for the needs of recreation, fish and wildlife" - the project would help to establish woody riparian vegetation where needed, decrease sediment flow into the river, etc. 2. "Provide suitable habitat for a diversity of wildlife species" - the project would provide and protect quality fish habitat and recreational angling opportunities. 3. "Maintain and restore desired vegetation that is resilient and sustainable" - the project would move vegetation communities closer to desired conditions. 4. "Maintain ranching and agricultural as sustainable economic, cultural and lifestyle components of the Upper Sevier Watershed" - the project would be done on private land in a manner that helps to "address potential and real conflicts between wildlife management goals and private land use". The project would implement conservation elements called for in the Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Southern Leatherside (Lepidomeda aliciae) in the State of Utah: 1. "Habitat Enhancement" - the project would help to restore habitat conditions within the historical range of southern leatherside. 2. "Restore Hydrologic Conditions" - the project would help to restore natural hydrologic characteristics and water quality (e.g., riparian buffer of nonpoint source pollutants). The project would help to meet habitat-related objectives in the Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-grouse in Utah: 1. The project would promote a healthy, functioning riparian habitat along the upper Sevier River and benefit late brood-rearing habitat for greater sage-grouse.

This project encourages a healthy riparian zone, which can provide a vegetation community and microclimate that may reduce the risk of fire to a limited degree and increase the potential use of these areas as control points and fuel/fire breaks. There are quite a few homes and fences, including several immediately adjacent to the main project area, that would be at a lower fire risk if the project is implemented.

The project would reduce the risk that the gains to improved water quality and better aquatic and riparian habitat that have been made over the past decade or so are not lost. The project would likely help reduce potential phosphorous and sediment loads in the upper Sevier River, as well as address habitat alteration issues, all of which were listed concerns in the upper Sevier River TMDL. The project would protect and help reestablish a dense and diverse corridor of riparian vegetation, helping to reduce phosphorous and sediment inputs from streambank erosion and creating an important buffer zone for filtration of nonpoint source pollutants from overland flow. Furthermore, the livestock grazing strategy (rest for at least 5 years, followed by limited spring grazing) proposed and maintained by the project would help to increase litter cover and water infiltration. The project would also improve and protect habitat for multiple species by increasing habitat heterogeneity at varying scales. The project helps to maintain a connection between the stream and floodplain, increasing the presence and diversity of desirable and/or native riparian vegetation. Water infiltration should be higher during periods of overland flow and high discharge, which leads to elevated soil moisture, ground water recharge, and generally more consistent flows later into the season.

Archaeological clearance was completed for the initial project and would not be required for the maintenance work being proposed for this project. NEPA is not required. Utah Division of Water Rights Steam Channel Alteration Permit and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permits are required and would be secured by the UDWR.

The strategies for achieving project goals are centered on protecting the function and health of the stream channel and stream corridor. The major restoration techniques that would be used on the project include: (1) Large woody debris and rock structure installation - Private contractors would haul large tree and rock material to the project area and operate the necessary heavy equipment (e.g., excavator and front-end loader) to install large woody debris and rock structures in the stream and along banks where there are failing banks. The structures would be intended to add cover for fish, help address problems associated with elevated rates of streambank erosion (e.g., recruitment of fine sediment or high total phosphorous loads), and protect cattle crossing structures to manage livestock grazing. (2) Streambank shaping and sloping - All failing banks where floodplain connection has been lost would be shaped and sloped back to at least a 2:1 slope in a manner intended to promote reconnection of the river with the floodplain and help address streambank erosion problems. The stream channel slope, pattern, and location would not be changed. Work would only occur on existing stream banks. The stream would be narrowed and deepened in some locations, but cross-sectional area of the channel would be maintained. (3) Riparian seeding and planting - All disturbed ground and areas lacking adequate riparian vegetation would be seeded with desirable and/or native grasses and a work crew would be hired to plant willow cuttings and bare root riparian trees and shrubs (e.g., water birch, cottonwood, red-osier dogwood, chokecherry, elderberry and golden current) to add cover and address streambank erosion problems. (4) Livestock management - Livestock grazing within maintenance areas of previous projects would be managed by repairing and rebuilding failing sections of riparian fences, particularly stream crossings. Grazing would not occur within riparian areas for five years is locations where vegetation is lacking. Thereafter, livestock grazing within riparian areas would occur at an intensity, duration, timing, and season such that woody riparian vegetation is not degraded or lost due to grazing by livestock (e.g., short duration, high intensity during spring). Project implementation would likely occur in the fall of 2024.

Broadly, assessing effectiveness of the larger effort to improve water quality and increase the abundance and diversity of fish and wildlife along the upper Sevier River has been through before-after, control-impact, and before-after-control-impact comparisons; where "before" refers to monitoring sites prior to completion of any stream improvement work, "after" refers to a monitoring sites following completion of any stream improvement work, "control" refers to monitoring sites in which no stream improvement work has been or will be completed, and "impact" refers to monitoring sites in which stream improvement work has already been completed. These types of analyses are required to control for fluctuations in response variables (e.g., total phosphorus levels) that could be influenced by factors with natural spatial and temporal variation (e.g., annual precipitation). The results have generally indicated improvements to water quality and fish and wildlife and will continue regardless of where or not this project is implemented. Therefore, monitoring for this specific project would largely be regular checks and communication with the landowners to make sure the structures and fences are functioning.

The principal partners in the project are the UDWR (project design, implementation, monitoring, maintenance, in-kind funding), private landowners (support of project, maintenance), and UDWQ (funding, monitoring). Monitoring efforts are coordinated with the southern leatherside conservation team. The USFWS would also be involved in the project to ensure compliance with the ESA. There are close to ten landowners if you include all the different maintenance portions, but basically there will be two main landowners in the main project area. We have a standard 20 year agreement with landowners that we use for this type of work (allow public access, follow grazing management plan, and help with maintenance of fences are kind of the main points).

Monitoring of the project would guide future management. Riparian fences and crossings would be maintained and additional planting of woody riparian vegetation would be completed. Grazing would be excluded from the fenced riparian area for a minimum of five years; thereafter, livestock grazing within the the fenced riparian area would occur at an intensity, duration, and timing such that woody riparian vegetation are not degraded or lost due to grazing by livestock. The Upper Sevier River Watershed Management Plan, the Southern Leatherside Chub Conservation Agreement and Strategy, and the DWR commitment to sport fishing on this reach will also contribute to future management, helping to prioritize goals and objectives and determine strategies to achieve those goals and objectives.

The project would promote availability and sustainability of the upper Sevier River sport fishery. The work improves habitat for Brown and Rainbow Trout (e.g., reducing fine sediment that can limit spawning success) and has generally resulted in high abundances of all fish species in previous projects. Additionally, the project helps to increase and maintain angler access within the project areas. The project would improve habitat for Southern Leatherside Chub (e.g., increased pool frequency with cover) and Greater Sage-grouse (e.g., more desirable vegetation communities for brood rearing), which can ultimately help to reduce the likelihood of listing under the ESA and avoid all the limitations placed on sustainable uses that can be associated with a listing. The project would ultimately create a riparian pasture for livestock and rotational grazing would be implemented (e.g., short duration, high intensity during spring) that should be mutually beneficial to the stream health and function, fish and wildlife, and livestock. While the woody riparian vegetation that would be planted is not necessarily intended to high value for livestock (e.g., willow, cottonwood, water birch, red-osier dogwood, chokecherry, golden currant), it would help to provide some additional forage for livestock.