The Parleys Watershed Restoration Project FY25 goal is to continue improving the overall health of Parley's Canyon, including improving the health of riparian areas, streams, wetlands and upland sites. Additionally, the goal is to continue to provide a clean and sustainable drinking water supply for the Salt Lake Valley. To accomplish these goals, we have coordinated planning with many stakeholders, including landowners, government entities, and non-profit organizations. There have been many negative human impacts on Parley's Canyon. Parley's Canyon has long been used as a central transportation corridor through the Wasatch Front. The Interstate that runs down the canyon brings many issues, including fire risk from vehicles, polluted runoff from a large impervious surface, and a wildlife connectivity barrier. Historically, Parleys Canyon has been overgrazed and has been clear-cut logged in many areas, creating lasting negative impacts. Inadvertent noxious weed introductions such as myrtle spurge, phragmites, garlic mustard, and yellow star thistle are all major concerns. Decades of wildfire suppression have led to excess fuel biomass and unhealthy forests. Stream incision and historic overgrazing along riparian areas have degraded streams and led to sub-optimal habitat conditions for many fish and wildlife species. Previous phases of this project have made significant progress toward rectifying the impacts listed above. The FY25 project will continue to build on past progress by treating Myrtle Spurge and Garlic Mustard where found, monitoring for new weed invasions in mastication zones, maintaining old and building new BDAs in selected areas, and reseeding of mastication and weed-treatment disturbances. Continued implementation of these restoration methodologies will help in mitigating some of the historic human impacts previously discussed. Weed Treatments- The weed treatments will help to protect native vegetation from being lost and help benefit wildlife species such as mule deer, elk, moose, cottontail rabbits, ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, and many pollinator species such as the monarch butterfly. Cut and Pile and Highway ROW mulching- The USFS plans to go back into areas where we previously cut and piled trees and start to cut and burn larger trees. This will open up the canopy more and greatly increase the understory vegetation. This will help reduce the fire risk to nearby communities as well as benefit wildlife. Mule Deer, elk, moose, cottontail rabbits, little brown myotis bat, and many other raptor species will benefit from having more open meadow habitat. The meadow vegetation will provide more food as well as prey species for predators. BDAs- The construction of BDAs in Parley's Creek and the maintenance of BDAs in Lambs Canyon will help improve the habitat for amphibian species like boreal toads and fish species such as Bonneville Cutthroat trout by providing egg-laying habitat and more diversity of stream structure. In November 2022, as part of the FY23 phase of this project, 262 acres of oak brush were masticated on Salt Lake City and USFS properties for fuel reduction. Additionally, the Salt Lake City property had herbicide treatments applied to the oak stumps after mastication to reduce oak re-growth. Funding is needed to monitor the masticated and herbicide-treated areas for invasive weeds and for seed material to help revegetate disturbances created from the mastication process. Monitoring and maintenance will ensure this ecosystem is sustainable for wildlife and water quality. With this follow-up maintenance, we can meet the goals of this project to reduce wildfire risk and prevent flammable invasive species from replacing removed oak. In conclusion, this is a highly critical watershed for humans, fish, and wildlife species. Previous phases of this project have been successful in improving the health of this watershed, but continued efforts are necessary. The many partners on this project ask for continued funding for the FY25 phase to build on previous work and continue the restoration of the health of this watershed. This project will benefit mule deer, elk, and moose by increasing open meadows and aspen stands. This project will benefit Bonneville cutthroat trout through creating greater habitat diversity with BDAs. This project will benefit bighorn sheep by removing myrtle spurge. (See wildlife tracker data)

This project's overall goal is to improve the watershed health in Parley's Canyon. The project has multiple objectives designed to address all of the Watershed Restoration Initiative's priorities 1. Improve ecosystem health. 2. Reduce and eradicate noxious weeds from the watershed. 3. Revegetate previously weeded and masticated areas 4. Improve fish and wildlife habitat, especially for boreal (western) toad and Bonneville cutthroat trout. 5. Improve water quality and increase water quantity. 6. Address threats to species identified in the Wildlife Action Plan. 7. Addresses specific objectives in local, state, and federal resource management plans. 9. Increase forage for wildlife and livestock where grazing is possible. 10. Increase and protect recreational opportunities including skiing, hunting, fishing, and others.

1. The continuation of the Parley's Canyon restoration work will help to ensure the success of previous phases of the project and help set more foundational work for the health of Parley's ecological systems. 2. Many wildlife species rely on healthy forests. The loss of habitat from river channelization and noxious weed invasions poses a major threat that potentially lead to decreases in wildlife populations, including elk, moose, mule deer, American Pika, Ferruginous Hawk, and olive-sided flycatcher. 3. Managing noxious weed species (e.g., garlic mustard and myrtle spurge) before they have reached an ecological threshold and out-compete native vegetation is essential to maintain ecosystem function. Once noxious weeds have reached an ecological threshold, control may be impossible. 4. The streams in the project area are moderately degraded and are becoming more incised, and riparian vegetation is being lost. Once these ecological thresholds are crossed in degraded streams, low-tech-process-based restoration cannot be effectively used to restore ecological function of streams. Healthy streams and riparian buffers often foster biological diversity in both plant and animal species. Beaver damn analogs and other low-tech process-based restoration strategies improve drought-resilience in small streams and promote habitat necessary for Wester toad/Boreal toad and other amphibians. Stream restoration projects also benefit bat species such as the Little Brown Myotis by providing habitat for diverse invertebrates which the bat species prey on.

This project complies with guidance and addresses objectives outlined in the following management plans: 1. The Boreal Toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) Conservation Plan (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 2005) 3.1 Fire Management. 3.1.1 Protect habitats in forest stands adjacent to and within 2.5 miles of breeding sites. 3.1.2 Restrict burns to late fall through early spring, when boreal toads are inactive in known occupied areas. 3.1.3 Determine impacts of fire through monitoring of known breeding sites. 3.2 Habitat Fragmentation. 3.2.1 Prevent further habitat fragmentation of breeding populations. 3.2.1.a Identify and preserve dispersal corridors. 3.2.1.b Identify and preserve metapopulation structure. 3.2.2. Restore historic dispersal corridors where possible. 3.2.2.a Identify where migration and gene flow among occupied habitats should be facilitated. 32 3.2.2.b Improve habitat conditions in degraded dispersal corridors where appropriate 3.3.1.c Minimize depletion of boreal toad prey base. 3.3.1.d Minimize degradation of bank conditions. 3.3.1.e Minimize degradation of water quality. 3.3.1.f Minimize depletion of emergent and riparian vegetation. 3.9.2 Minimize habitat loss and degradation associated with water management. 3.9.2.a Minimize stream channelization. 3.9.3 Create, restore, and maintain new habitats through water management. 3.9.3.a Create shallow shoreline margins in new impoundments. 3.9.3.b Deepen impoundments to maintain sufficient water levels through metamorphosis. 3.9.3.c Create new wetlands according to boreal toad breeding habitat requirements. Robby, where is it appropriate to fix numbering outline? 2. Deer Herd Unit 17a Management Plan 1. Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the unit by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. 2. Seek cooperative projects to improve the quality and quantity of deer habitat. 3. Provide improved habitat security and escapement opportunities for deer. Future habitat work should be concentrated on the following areas.: ? 4. Quaking aspen forests unit wide. We will be working in the quaking aspen stands to reduce conifer competition. 5. Anywhere along the front that would avert deer from entering cities. By improving the habitat condition up higher in the canyon we will hopefully keep deer from going down into the city. 3. Wildlife Action Plan 1. Under the threats, data gaps, and action section of the plan it identifies a list of Essential Conservation Actions. It states the need to restore and improve degraded wildlife habitats?. 2. The habitat type that this project is located in as identified in the WAP is the aquatic scrub/shrub type, forested aquatics, and riverine. We will be improving the habitat in this key habitat and addressing the threats to this habitat type. 3. The plan identifies sediment transport imbalance as a medium threat to this habitat type and this project will help to reduce sediment transport by stabilizing the banks with vegetation and rocks. 4. It identifies channel down-cutting as a high threat and this project will help to remove the channels in the stream and make a more subtle gradient. This project will raise the water levels to restore the floodplain and reduce this channel down-cutting. 5. The plan mentions a management strategy that this project addresses to help improve this habitat type through 1.( restoring more natural water and sediment flow regimes) WAP Ch. 7-1; Mountain Riparian Habitat, criteria and score totals (ch. 7-8) 3rd highest priority statewide. Ch. 6-15; Western Toad; threat - 4. Statewide Moose Management Plan 1. Population Management Goal: Achieve optimum populations of moose in all suitable habitat within the state. 2. Habitat Management Goal: Assure sufficient habitat is available to sustain healthy and productive moose populations. 3. Recreation Goal: Provide high-quality opportunities for hunting and viewing of moose. 5. Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan Habitat Objective1: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019. 6. Statewide Elk Management Plan 1. Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. 2. Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. 7. Utah Beaver Management Plan Watershed Restoration (pg24) Objective 2: Facilitate and promote beaver-assisted restoration activities and expansion of existing beaver populations in areas that beaver are already present, habitat exists to already support them and human-beaver conflict potential is low and/or easily mitigated. Strategy 2. Assess what might be limiting or keeping beaver from expanding (e.g. limited woody vegetation resources, over-trapping, predation, incised channel conditions), and identify management actions that might address those specific limiting factors (e.g. riparian improvement, grazing management changes, temporary trapping closures, more cover (i.e. deep water) for beaver, or use of beaver dam analogues to either create some initial cover or intermediate stability from flood disturbance). 8. Salt Lake County Integrated Watershed Management Plan 1. Identifies stream restoration as a priority implementation task (Pg. 10) 2. It identifies Parley's Creek as a priority watershed. 3. The plan identifies improving habitat as a priority. (Pg 80) 9. Parleys Creek Management Plan http://www.slcdocs.com/utilities/Stream%20Study%20website/Parleys/Final/7_Projects_Parleys.pdf 1. Pg.15 Goal: Improve Riparian Habitat through Control of Invasive Plant Species and Restoration of Native Plant Communities 2. Action: Initiate invasive plant removal/control efforts in city-owned riparian corridor areas, beginning upstream and working downstream, utilizing an integrated weed control strategy. 10. Summit Park Forest Stewardship Plan 2018: Manage forest resources in the best interest of forest health, which should minimize losses associated with injurious insects and diseases. Detection and monitoring will be key components in minimizing forest pest impacts. Maintain or enhance wildlife use and habitat. Maintain favorable aesthetics by means of preventing large scale tree mortality. Adhere to the Forest Legacy Deed of Conservation Easement parameters. Actively manage to reduce the control/spread of noxious weeds, found throughout the property. 11. Summit County Code: 10-4-3: Critical Lands, 10-4-7 (A): Fire Protection Fuel Breaks/Vegetation Manipulation: Hazardous fuels in the form of native vegetation will be cleared around structures and around the perimeter of the development to assist in wildfire prevention measures. This fuel break is not intended as a complete vegetation clearing firebreak. 13. Utah Administrative Code R68-9 (Utah's Noxious Weed Act): Utah Noxious Weed Act and the Summit County Code, Title 4, Chapter 4. The Act states that local governments are directed to take the necessary steps to manage the noxious weeds within their jurisdiction and provides specific authorization for local enforcement. 15. UDWR Strategic Management Plan Objective R2 Maintain existing wildlife habitat and increase the quality of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state. Objective R4 Decrease risks to species and their habitats through integrated implementation of the WAP, Objective C6 Increase hunting and fishing opportunities 16. Utah Shared Stewardship Agreement (May 2019) This project is within Shared Stewardship priority areas. We have applied for Shared Stewardship as well and working with USFS and FFSL to do this. Meets objectives to reduce hazardous fuels.

This project is a multi-phase project that has already done a lot of work to reduce fire risks to communities and infrastructure. In this phase of the project we will continue to reduce the fuel loads by thinning conifer trees within aspen stands. This will reduce the fire severity and allow for more natural fires to take place. We will also work with UDOT to remove grasses and shrubs along the ROW where the risk of fires starting from vehicles is the greatest. Almost every year there seems to be a fire started from sparks coming from vehicles and lighting grasses and shrubs. Thankfully these fires have not resulted in death or severe property damage. But we cannot continue to rely on luck. We need to do more to reduce the fire risk along the ROW. The USFS is going to give money to UDOT to do this work through the WRI program. The combination of an essential watershed, high recreation use, and a high to extreme wildfire risk rating according to UWRAP designated Parley's Canyon a priority area for WRI and the Shared Stewardship program. In these high priority areas, fire has been suppressed to such a degree, the resulting stand dynamics is dominated by disease and insect infestation full of dead and down and dying conifers that are prone to catastrophic wildfires This is extremely concerning for people who live in communities in Lambs Canyon, Summit Park, Jeremy Ranch, Park City, and Mount Aire. Interstate 80 along with a major utility corridor provide access to and from Salt Lake City and coincides with the northern boundary of the project. Billions of dollars in commerce, infrastructure, and private property damage could occur. In the instance of a wildfire, both public and firefighter lives would be at risk. This project will continue the process that we have started in previous phases. This project will also pave the way for future fire risk reduction efforts including possibly controlled burns through the USFS. The BDAs and stream restoration will also help increase riparian wet areas and green vegetation which will act as green strips or fire breaks to slow and stop catastrophic fire spread.

The project area is of high value and a priority for funding within WRI and Shared Stewardship given its location within Salt Lake City's protected watershed, which provides drinking water to 360,000 people daily and feeds into the Parley's Water Treatment Facility. Parley's Creek is impaired water (303d List Cause of Impairment e.Coli and is of high recreational value). The importance of the watershed to so many users makes this project high value. Protecting the quality and quantity of water resources has both instream benefits and downstream benefits. Using low-tech, process-based restoration to improve stream health will capture sediment and begin the process of aggrading incised stream channels. Healthy streams store water in the watershed, recharge groundwater, and regulate the flow of water throughout the year. There is evidence that healthy riparian corridors can halt the spread of wildfires and create more vegetation regrowth and resilience post-fire. Healthy riparian corridors are more resilient to wildfires because riparian vegetation such as willows and cottonwoods thrive after disturbance. Vegetation root systems in riparian corridors stabilize streambanks and are more resilient to flooding (i.e., down-cutting and incision), if and when post-fire rains erode into waterways. Conversely, degraded riparian corridors are not resilient to wildfire; they will require extensive efforts to restore vegetation and hydrologic function (i.e., deep incision and down-cutting). Riparian habitats can be resilient to wildfire and generally do not require extensive restoration (Halofsky and Hibbs 2009). A dense stand of degraded vegetation along a streambank could result in high fire severity burning, severely impacting the ability for natural recovery.

The first phase of this project funded the cultural surveys on USFS lands and supported compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). All NEPA requirements were completed on 03/2021. We will acquire individual stream alteration permits (PGP010) and any necessary municipal permit requirements, state historic preservation act (SHPO) for each low-tech process-based stream restoration implementation and maintenance project. Salt Lake City worked with Salt Lake County MSD to ensure the appropriate permits and approvals were in place for Oak Mastication in 2022.

Fuels Reduction- The USFS is planning to cut and pile conifer trees within aspen stands to restore the natural state so that we can really open up meadow habitats that will greatly benefit wildlife. They will use hand-cutting crews that will pile the branches and then burn the piles when air conditions are best to reduce smoke. ROW Fuels Reduction- UDOT will use in-house mulching machines and mowers to remove grasses and shrubs that are a high fire risk. Weed Control Best management practices for myrtle spurge include both manual removal and chemical control in the early spring prior to seed dispersal. In areas where plants are growing on steep slopes and where manual removal could increase erosion, chemical control is preferred using a mix of 2,4-D and dicamba with a surfactant. If the plants can be removed manually with limited disturbance to soils, best management practices include removing at least four inches of the root with care not to get the sap in the eyes or on skin. Similarly, Garlic Mustard is best controlled through with IPM methodologies including both chemical and manual control. Treatments will be conducted both in Low-tech, Process-based Stream Restoration (LTPBR) We propose to build up to 25 new low-tech stream restoration structures (beaver dam analogs, BDAs) in Parley's Creek during FY25. We will additionally carry out necessary maintenance on BDAs in Parley's and Lamb's Canyon Creeks. LTPBR structures are meant to be self-sustaining, even as some debris or fence posts may wash downstream, however, maintenance and close monitoring of each project within the first few years following implementation may be helpful for jump-starting the processes needed to restore riparian habitat. Low-tech structures (i.e., beaver dam analogs and post-assisted log structures) are constructed using the methods described in Low-tech, Process-based Restoration of Riverscapes (Wheaton et al. 2019). Untreated wooden fence posts approximately 3-4" in diameter will be used in construction. Posts are driven into the stream bed with a gas or hydraulic post pounder. Posts extend approximately one meter above the channel bed and are spaced approximately 0.5 - 0.8ft apart and driven to a depth of approximately 2ft into the streambed. Volunteers and partners weave native vegetation, rocks, and mud between the posts to create a structure that will resemble a beaver dam. The structure slow water flow, but allow fish to pass through. The structures are placed 10-30 meters apart within the stream reaches. After a year the health of the stream will be evaluated, and future actions can be planned. Additionally, willows or other native plants may be planted at the restoration sites to improve the establishment of riparian vegetation.

The project will be monitored for success in the short and long term and will be reported back to WRI. Stream Restoration: Effectiveness of stream restoration (e.g., BDAs) will be monitored using the Rapid Stream-Riparian Assessment (RSRA) survey. The RSRA generates a score for water quality, hydrogeomorphology, fish and aquatic habitat, riparian vegetation, and terrestrial wildlife habitat. This method was selected because it is both a time and cost-efficient means to monitor restoration projects. Sageland Collaborative will carry out RSRA surveys on two reaches of Parley's Creek, and two reaches of Lamb's Canyon creek during FY25, and report cumulative monitoring results from annual pre/post restoration surveys to the WRI database. Data is also available online at citsci.org. Salt Lake County is committed to collecting long-term water quality data. We will compare pre-treatment data to post-treatment. Pollinator monitoring: Sageland Collaborative and volunteers will monitor each BDA site using the Utah Pollinator Pursuit's opportunistic survey for Monarch Butterfly, Western Bumblebee, and other pollinators. This protocol uses Survey123 smartphone app to document presence of milkweed and species, other floral resources present. Amphibian Monitoring To assess conditions for boreal toads, we will do pre- and post-project aquatic habitat surveys based on Utah's standardized field protocol. The data will be included in the long-term dataset managed by Sageland Collaborative, Hogle Zoo, and Utah Geologic Survey. Based on results, boreal toad re-introduction sites will be selected and prioritized. Utah's Hogle Zoo and Sageland Collaborative will coordinate with regional biologists to prioritize survey locations for breeding boreal toads in and around Parley's Canyon to increase understanding regarding habitat conditions, how they may be improving, and potential surrounding areas that may be considered as part of the meta-population connected to Parleys Canyon. These efforts are necessary to the eventual planning for possible repatriation of toads in Parley's Canyon in the future. Historic toad locations, regional biologist recommendations, and analysis of existing GIS layers indicating potentially suitable breeding habitat conditions will be used to prioritize survey locations around the Parley's Canyon project area. Recommended survey locations will be separated by no more than seven kilometers from the project area (and less than five kilometers in areas of steeper terrain). Biologically relevant boundaries to surveys will be based on the existing boreal toad migration limits in the scientific literature. Newly prioritized survey locations will be added to Sageland Collaborative's community science field visit calendar if the locations are appropriate for engaging the community where others may be surveyed by Sageland Collaborative biologists and interns. Additionally, Sageland Collaborative is undertaking long-term amphibian aquatic habitat assessments monitoring of potential boreal toad breeding habitat associated with restoration sites.

UDWR Habitat Restoration Biologists have been coordinating efforts between multiple landowners and interest groups in Parley's Canyon for the last three years to bring multiple phases of a landscape-scale watershed restoration project. This year, Aaron Benzon, from SLC Watershed, will be leading the effort to bring together these multiple entities to propose one landscape-scale level restoration project. Sageland Collaborative (Rose Smith and Jens Ammon) will carry out RSRA surveys, design and permit new BDA structures in Parley's Creek (Phase 3), and support SLCDPU in building new structures with 1-2 volunteer events. Sageland Collaborative will also carry out annual post-restoration monitoring at two sites in Lamb's Canyon for riparian health and structure maintenance needs. Sageland will co-organize one volunteer event with UDWR, SLCDPU, USFS to maintain BDAs in Lamb's during FY25. Aaron Benzon from SLC Utilities is the project manager on this project. Patrick Nelson from Salt Lake City Utilities/Watershed Management has been a collaborator. SLC is also very supportive of the work in the canyon (as owners of land and water rights in the canyon). Sage Fitch, the Salt Lake County Bee and Noxious Weeds Program Manager has been involved in planning the weed control aspects of the project for garlic mustard and myrtle spurge. UDOT, SLC Open Lands, and the BLM are supportive of doing weed control on their lands. Bill Stocksdale from the community of Forest Home that owns about 640 acres in Lambs Canyon, has written a letter of support that is attached.

This project is part of a multi-year effort to improve watershed health. We will continue to monitor the outcomes of this project in the longer-term to evaluate results and inform future management. We will continue to monitor and control noxious weeds and the success of stream restoration efforts to reach objectives and will make any future repairs or adjustments as needed to ensure their success. There may be further work to introduce boreal toads and other native species in future initiatives depending on the results of surveys and the overall effectiveness of planned actions.

As outlined in the description of sustainable uses, recreation is defined as sustainable use. This project will greatly benefit recreational uses such as hunting and fishing by improving the habitat for fish and wildlife. Hunting is a popular activity in the canyon, given its proximity to Salt Lake City. The extended archery hunt is extremely popular in this area, and hundreds of hunters can have quality hunting experiences. Bonneville cutthroats are stocked in Parleys Creek, and this project will help improve angler opportunities. It will also benefit the experience that mountain bikers, hikers, snowshoers, cross country, and downhill skiers will have by ensuring the area's resiliency to fire, weed infestation, and disease. Wildlife forage availability will increase by reducing competitive weeds. Additionally, BDAs will increase forage in riparian areas through water dispersal. All grazing benefits resulting from this project will be for wildlife because most of the project area is in a protected watershed where livestock grazing is not allowed. This project has a complete NEPA that will help allow for timber harvest in the future or other biomass utilization. Hogle Zoo has expressed interest in using this project to help educate the public, providing an increased opportunity for wildlife viewing. A large part of Utah's economy is driven by this recreation, and protecting this watershed will help preserve those sustainable uses and continue to support the economy.

07/01/2024

09/18/2024

2025

For work done on Forest Service Lands it will be done in the spring of 2025 due to unforeseen personnel loss, budget cuts, and changing priorities.

The cut and pile portion of the project was waiting on the silvicultural prescription which did not arrive in time due to personnel shortages unforeseen at the time of project submission. Contracts will be submitted later this fall for implementation in the early summer once snow has melted. Some problems have arisen while transferring the bullhog equipment to UDoT. For

This project is still a priority for the Salt Lake Ranger District along with its partners. 2025 will likely be the year this project is implemented.