SRO WMA's provide some of the most critical wildlife habitat in the region as well as recreational opportunities for constituents of the UDWR. As such, UDWR has an obligation to maintain, improve, and manage these lands to meet the goals and objectives for which they were acquired. Specific management needs vary from year to year and property to property but typically involve: access improvements, fencing, signage, habitat improvement projects, trash removal, and weed control. Additionally, UDWR has a complex of more than 300 guzzlers that have various maintenance needs each year typically including: turning big game guzzlers on and off in the spring and fall, minor repairs, and noting major repairs needed for future proposals.

1)Securing and maintenance of existing fence boundaries. Also property signage and maintenance; 2)Implement a noxious weed control program by inventory and spraying on an annual basis; 3)Maintain public access and recreational opportunities on authorized roads/trails through road maintenance activities; 4)Maintain water developments for wildlife and livestock grazing; and 5)Implement habitat restoration activities to improve wildlife habitat values of WMA's.

Failure to manage WMA's, CE's, and wildlife guzzlers will result in habitat degradation and loss; conflicts with counties, local municipalities, and adjacent landowners and failure to meet and/or comply with legal obligations.

WMA management will help achieve the recommendations and goals of each individual WMA Management Plan. In addition this project will help implement goals A-D of the UDWR's Strategic Plan. Improvements on WMA lands will help specific Tier I, II, and III species listed later in this proposal and identified in the WAP. Numerous key habitats as defined by the WAP will also benefit from improvement and protection of WMAs in the SRO.

Implementing annual noxious weed control programs by inventory and spraying will reduce the fire risk by reducing quick burning annual weedy species and maintaining more desirable fire resistant species. Maintaining fences also aids us in controlling grazing regimes; this further reduces weedy fire prone species. Proper grazing practices also help reduce annual fire prone grasses and weeds.

WMA management (fencing, vegetation) of desirable healthy landscapes improves water quality and quantity. Also guzzler construction and maintenance provides critical water sources for wildlife throughout the southern region.

UDWR archaeologist will be contacted prior to undertaking any projects that may or are likely to require clearance. Survey required for project activities having the potential to impact the ground. Most maintenance activities are supportive of WMA HMP's. Any activities that may trigger a NEPA requirement on Fed Aid properties will be run through the necessary procedures to receive that clearance.

Primary tasks include; fence maintenance, construction of new fences, water developments, road closures, weed control, cattle guard construction, surveys, and sign construction. The habitat manager and maintenance specialist in the region will coordinate maintenance activities in the region with other regional personnel. Habitat section personnel will coordinate with the Volunteer Services Coordinator to find projects where volunteers (Dedicated Hunters) can be used. Weed control will be done under the supervision of the lead maintenance specialist. Special attention will be given to Weed Control in the Richfield and Parowan areas this year due to known weed outbreaks. Fencing and signing will be done by maintenance personnel with assistance from seasonal's and volunteers where appropriate. Road maintenance will be completed by maintenance specialist where possible and in conjunction with county road departments in some instances. Guzzler maintenance will be carried out by assistant maintenance position with assistance provided by other staff as requested.

Established range trend studies on WMA's will be read on regular rotation. Photos and documentation of specific maintenance duties will be collected as needed. Wildlife monitoring will be conducted on those WMA's in which specific surveys for game and non-game species are already in place. Many of the WMA's are included in big game classification routes. WMA Maintenance app is proving to be a bit slow to catch on and its value and applicability will be evaluated in the coming year.

The SRO holds several Conservation Easement Properties in conjunction with multiple NGO's. Several of those are maintained by the SR habitat staff. We work in conjunction with those groups to ensure the integrity of the objectives for which they were purchased. UDWR also works cooperatively with counties on management plan implementation and has partnered with them on activities such as road maintenance and weed control.

Lands owned and managed by the Division will continue to be managed for wildlife according to individual Habitat Management plans. Efforts are made each year to update at least 1 HMP in the region. FY 24 is focused on Clear Lake and FY 25 may look at several Piute County properties. Agricultural lease agreements and grazing permits are being utilized to improve management of the WMAs and will continue to be evaluated and modified as circumstances change.

Grazing is utilized by the Division to reach habitat management goals/objectives within the southern region. Grazing will be used on an as needed basis on WMA's following the grazing plans contained in the HMP's for each WMA. Grazing will be permitted under the Division's Land Use Rule by SRO habitat section personnel. Many WMAs provide significant opportunities for hunting including big game, waterfowl, and upland game. Additionally, several of the SRO WMAs are geared specifically toward fishing access and opportunity. Region receives multiple requests annually for permits for recreational activities and typically denies these requests as they are not in line with the intended purpose of the WMA.

07/01/2024

06/30/2025

2025

During FY 25 WMA fences were maintained throughout the year to ensure property boundaries were secure and signed. Future HC proposals will continue to be brought forward to address aging fence concerns throughout the region. Yankee Meadows restrooms continue to see significant use. A new HMP is being developed for Yankee Meadows this year and will guide decisions about future uses including camping. Crystal Clean Pros continues to provide the restroom cleaning service from Memorial Day through Labor Day and does a good job with many users commenting how well the restrooms are maintained. We worked with the USFS to send a fire crew to fell trees along the section of fence that has seen significant burned trees falling on the fence and hope that will yield good returns for the future with less trees downed on the fence annually. The Elbow Ranch was a significant focus this year as the previous permittee sold their ranch and we chose to spend the summer establishing the 2nd pivot and updating infrastructure on our own. Our crew helped with planting and fencing the 2nd pivot area as well as multiple repairs on the irrigation infrastructure such as repairing leaky valves and placing rock in pivot tracks to prevent further ruts deepening. Road closures both seasonal and permanent were worked on at both the Fillmore and Parowan Front WMA's. This included some new gates that make the seasonal closures much easier to implement. Also improved a drift fence to prevent go-arounds on the Summit Unit of the Parowan Front WMA. New cattleguards have been installed on the Beaver and Fillmore WMAs. Several other cattleguards were also cleaned and re-installed including at Indian Peaks. At Indian Peaks we worked on the roads with the county. Significant time was also spent with reconstruction of the east boundary 4 miles of fence in conjunction with the Indian Peaks WRI project. Weeds are controlled on an as needed basis with the biggest emphasis continuing to be ongoing work to combat a thistle infestation on the Summit Unit of the Parowan Front WMA. The patch appears to be shrinking as a result of the diligent and consistent efforts of the crew. The Kingston Canyon WMA also received some special attention repairing fence that was damaged in flood events. Guzzler maintenance sees Mike Jenson continue to handle the role and continuing to fulfill the needs with assistance from the habitat seasonal crew as needed. Mike has continued to utilize the guzzler maintenance collector app and we continue to be excited about its utility in helping collect and pass on information. Mike and the seasonal crew have helped Curtis Roundy, Kendall Bagley, and Vance Mumford with the installs of several other WRI/HC funded new guzzlers. Additionally, Mike took on complete rebuilds of guzzlers at Mud Springs and near Kanosh.

Kerry Hanks, Lead Maintenance Specialist, oversaw a majority of this work utilizing a team of seasonals and dedicated hunters to accomplish the needed maintenance tasks. Mike Jensen oversees the guzzler maintenance program and utilizes the habitat seasonal crew as needed. Various other Division employees help out with work on WMA's on an as needed/requested basis.

Grazing continued on select units on the Parowan Front, Parowan Valley, Fillmore, and Kingston Canyon. Parowan Valley has also continued to be farmed and grazed under a grazing permit. The operator at the Elbow Ranch sold their ranch this past year and we elected to not graze the area during the spring of the year and run the pivots ourselves this past summer while we got the vegetation in the 2nd pivot established and infrastructure in place to manage grazing/agricultural use in the future. All SRO grazing permits have reached their 10-yr maximum renewal windows and/or had permittees choose to end thier agreement (Elbow Ranch). As such we will be re-evaluating and developing bid packets to solicit grazers for the future this coming winter. All previous permits will be evaluated for benefits and other areas will be considered for additional grazing. Once these evaluations are complete bid process will follow our lands use rule and get grazers in place and ready to go by next spring.